Laser & Cataract Surgery

Refractive Laser Surgery Consultation

Refractive surgical procedures work by altering the shape of your cornea, changing the way your eye focuses light. These procedures often result in less dependence on or, in most cases, even the elimination of, glasses or contact lenses. The latest of the Laser Vision Correction procedures is LASIK, or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.

Laser Vision Correction, clinically known as excimer laser - LASIK, is a computer controlled beam of ultraviolet light than can be used to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

Nearsightedness (Myopia)

occurs when the cornea is shaped too steeply or the eye is too long. When light passes through the eye, it gets focused at a point in front of the retina instead of on the retina, resulting in blurry distance vision. A myopic eye can see near objects more clearly than distant objects. To treat myopia, a laser is used to remove tissue at the center of the cornea, flattening the steep curvature of the eye. As a result, this optically moves the point of focus from the front of the retina to directly on the retina.

Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

occurs when the cornea is too flat or the eye is too short/small. When light enters the eye, it is focused beyond the retina. A farsighted eye can see distant objects more clearly than near objects, though neither is in sharp focus. This condition worsens after the age of 40. To treat hyperopia, a laser is directed at removing tissue at the periphery of the cornea to steepen the curvature of the flat cornea, which moves the point of focus from behind the retina to directly on the retina.

Astigmatism

is caused by an irregularly-shaped cornea that has more than one curvature (like a football as opposed to a basketball). These multiple curvatures cause light rays to scatter within the eye and not focus on any single point -- resulting in blurred/distorted vision at all distances. To treat astigmatism, a laser is used to reshape the cornea into one spherical curve. This eliminates multiple focus points within the eye and causes light to be singly focused at one point directly on the retina. With tremendous new advances in laser vision correction, many patients now undergo the procedure and achieve superior vision that was not possible in the past.

Intralase

is a laser that is used in the first step of LASIK to precisely create the flap that is folded back before the actual excimer laser is used to reshape the eye. Traditionally, a microkeratome, a hand-held sliding blade, was used to create the flap. A majority of complications can take place from this initial procedure as it can be difficult to achieve accurate depth, flap thickness, or centration on a curved cornea. But with the advent of Intralase, your surgeon can safely and accurately perform this procedure with precision that would be nearly impossible with a hand-held blade.

Customized Wavefront technology

Prior to this technology, conventional LASIK only addressed lower order aberrations (myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism) which post-operatively can provide 20/20 vision, but not necessarily the best "quality" of vision due to other visual imperfections in the eye called higher order aberrations. Everyone has unique higher order aberrations, like a fingerprint. Using Wavefront, eye doctors use a computer program that is able to generate a personalized 3D map of both the lower and higher order aberrations, which is then used to guide the excimer laser to reshape your "customized" cornea.

Candidates for Laser Vision Correction

• At least 18 years of age
• Had a stable vision prescription for at least 1 year
• Healthy eyes - no cataracts or corneal/retinal disease
• Refractive prescription within range of effective treatment

Evaluation

Before recommending you as a candidate for Laser Vision Correction, we evaluate your vision and overall eye health, performing thorough exams to measure your eyes and check for pre-existing conditions. If these evaluations indicate that you are a good candidate for laser vision correction, we will refer you to the finest surgeons in the city.

Kerry Assil, MD

We co-manage patients with Dr. Kerry Assil, one of the world's leading eye surgeons and inventor of RK and numerous LASIK and implant techniques since 1990. That means you can work with your regular eye doctor here at StudioEyes for pre-surgery evaluation and post-surgical care and trust your eyes to one of the world's top eye surgeons.

Dr. Assil has performed more than 30,000 procedures, trained more than 10,000 opthamologists from around the world in the latest refractive and ocular surgical techniques, and is the developer of numerous eye surgery procedures and methods. The Assil Eye Institute is the official LASIK center of the LA Lakers.

Dr. Assil's career highlights

• Inventor and first surgeon in the world to perform the combined technique of RK; April 1991
• Co-inventor and first surgeon in the United States to perform two-incision RK for correction of myopic astigmatism
• Inventor and first surgeon in the world to perform computer guided RK
• First in the United States to implant KeraVision Intrastromal Corneal Rings® (ICR®) (Intacs™) in Phase III FDA trials
• First surgeon in Western United States to perform Phakic IOL using the Ophtec Verisyse™ Lens; December 1997
• First in California to implant Verisyse Phakic Intraocular Lens in Phase III of the FDA trials; May 1998
• Performed the first Verisyse Phakic Intraocular Lens Procedure for farsightedness; June 2000

Dr. Assil's Areas of Specialty include

• Small Incision Cataract Surgery
• Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis - LASIK
• Intraocular Lens Exchange
• Photorefractive Keratectomy - PRK
• Phakic Intraocular Lenses
• Corneal Transplantation
• Iris Reconstruction
• Radial Keratotomy - RK
• Astigmatic Keratotomy - AK
• Kera Vision® Intacs™ Intra*
• Corneal Ring - ICR

Return to top