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 and 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 distance objects.  To treat myopia, the laser is directed at removing tissue at the center of the cornea, thereby 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 shaped too flat or the length of 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, the laser is directed at removing tissue at the periphery of the cornea to steepen the curvature of the flat cornea, which results in moving 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, the laser is used to reshape the cornea into one spherical curve.  As a result, 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 that have undergone the procedure achieve great vision that could have never been possible with past conventional technology.
• 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, which is 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 accomplish this procedure with precision that would be nearly impossible with a hand-held blade.
• Customized Wavefront technology: prior to this, conventional LASIK only addressed lower order aberrations (myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism) which post-operatively can provide 20/20 vision, but the “quality” of vision may not be the best due to other visual imperfections in the eye referred to as higher order aberrations.  Everybody has there own unique higher order aberrations, like your own fingerprint.  Using Wavefront, the doctor uses a computer program that is able to generate your own 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 will evaluate your vision and your entire eye health. Thorough exams are required to measure your eyes and check for pre-existing conditions will be conducted. If these evaluations indicate that you are a candidate for laser vision correction, we will refer you to the finest surgeons in the city.