eye surgery

Questions and answers: Laser eye surgeryVancouver SunA doctor talks with his patient after performing laser eye surgery. …and more »

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Lasik preparation

Diagnosis

You’ll be expected to undergo an assessment consultation with a consultant to determine whether LASIK surgery is right for you.
You’ll need to to remove soft contact lenses at the least one day ahead of your assessment and hard/gas-permeable lenses at least a week prior to. This is due to your contact lenses affecting the trial measurements your ophthalmologist will arrive at.

The assessment examination

Your consultant will speak to you on the outcomes you may honestly anticipate from LASIK, as outcomes will change from patient to patient.
You might undergo:

an examination that creates a computerised picture of the surface of your eyeball to ‘map’ the cornea – this checks whether LASIK is appropriate for you
a broad vision test
diagnostic examinations, eg measuring the thickness of your cornea and the size of your pupils in diverse light circumstances

Organising for your operation

If LASIK is appropriate for you and you choose to proceed, an appointment will be established for you to undergo the routine.
Your consultant will explain how to prepare for your procedure. If you smoke you’ll be expected to stop, because smoking increases your chance of developing an infection and slows down your recuperation.
You will not be fit to wear contact lenses for a set length of time prior to LASIK eye surgery. Your consultant will instruct you how long the required period will be.

The process is generally carried out as a day case under local anaesthestic. This totally stops feeling around your eyes and you’ll remain conscious during the procedure. The process ordinarily requires a total period of approximately an hour.

You might be expected to sign a acceptance form. This substantiates that you realise the hazards, benefits and potential options to the operation and have acknowledged your permission for the perocedure to start.

Lasik Versus Lasek

LASEK (or laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis) is a laser sight correction routine that’s similar to both LASIK and indeed PRK

In all 3 operations, an excimer laser is applied to reshape the cornea and correct sight. The processes differ in the formulation of the cornea before the excimer laser treatment.

But as opposed to PRK, where the superficial level of the cornea (named the epithelium) is removed and cast aside before the laser reshaping of the eye, in LASEK, the epithelium is loosened and lifted out, however is then substituted on the eye following the laser procedure.

LASEK vs. LASIK
In LASIK, a flap is produced in the cornea before the excimer laser treatment. This flap, which is made with a femtosecond laser or a microkeratome, comprises some the external layer of the cornea (the epithelium) and underlying corneal tissue known as the stroma. Normally, a LASIK flap is 120 to 160 microns thick.

In LASEK, a flap is produced, however it is a good deal thinner and comprises solely of the corneal epithelium. A LASEK flap is just 90 to 100 microns thick. This flap is repositioned following the excimer laser treatment, and fresh epithelial cells grow onto the eyeball to supersede those in the flap.

One advantage of LASEK in comparison with LASIK is that the LASEK flap allows for the full corneal stroma to remain intact, therefore additional stromal tissue stays for reshaping by the excimer laser. For rectification of the same numbers of shortsightedness, this ensures the cornea should have higher residual thickness and biomechanical durability following LASEK than after LASIK.

Additionaly it could be less hazardous for a lot of patients — particularly those with thinner-than average corneas — to have their shortsightedness rectified with LASEK in comparison with LASIK.
Analyses indicate LASEK develops visual results that are alike those created by LASIK. Nevertheless, post-operative recovery and visual recuperation calls for longer with LASEK, which may be annoying to some patients.

Laser Eye Surgery FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What are the hazards connected with laser eye surgery?
According to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists problems occur in fewer than 5% of cases.

A few people have trouble with dry eyes in the weeks following surgery and artificial tear supplements may be required in the long-run.

A lot of people have experienced glare or halo results whilst night driving, especially just following the procedure. This is more probable the higher the correction which has been carried out, but is seldom serious.

What is the recuperation time?
The majority of patients have a moderately comfortable time post surgery and have returned to work inside a few days to a week.

Dependent on the vision rectification undertaken, it is sensible not to drive for a fortnight following surgery. Tinted glasses with ultraviolet
protection are called for whilst in the sun for the first 3 months.

Could Laser eye surgery assist with age-related sight loss?
laser surgery won’t be able to remedy age-related presbyopia and the requirement for reading spectacles or bifocals/varifocals that people frequently need in their 40’s. This is since presbyopia is not induced by the eye being long or short sighted, it is actually a result of the lens within the eye becoming less flexible with age.

Could both eyes be treated on the same day?
Yes, however your surgeon will point out the risks. In order to reduce the hazard of cross contamination if problems develop, each eye will be done as individual treatments.

Is laser surgery a permanent answer?
The more procedures a consultant has done, the greater the success rate, ascertain what results your consultant has achieved and the amount of people who have had to return in for additional treatment to improve on the first outcome.

One in three patients may yet need spectacles for some intents, such as nigh-ttime driving and a few patients discover that they may start to get long- or short- sighted again some time later on after surgery. Whenever this occurs, it could be conceivable to have a re-treatment carried out.

Patients who are short sighted may often read at close range without their glasses, though until they reach their 40’s they may additionally read using glasses. It is of value to recognise that if the short sight is treated with laser surgery then these people may likely require reading glasses in their forties due to presbyopia

Lasik Eye Surgery – How Is It Exactly Done?

The primary target of a lasik eye surgery is the cornea. Prior to invention of the lasik technology for correction of the eye lens power, the correction of myopia (short sightedness) and hyperopia (far sightedness) was through use of refractive lens. Alternatively, a traditional surgery using a scalp was used to correct the cornea and shape it to a normal position.

Lasik eye surgery has brought in a new dimension to correction of eye refractive defects. Just exactly how is it done? What are the risks associated with the procedure? These are questions that you may need good answers on before you decide whether or not to go for the procedure.

In Lasik eye surgery, the surgeon uses a micro-blade called microkeratome blade. This is used to create a slit through the cornea and the section is flapped over to access the cornea. Unwanted sections of the cornea are then removed and the flap returned. Using an excimer laser, then flap is removed.

Like is the case in use of eye glasses or contact lens, there are varying corrections for the short sightedness (myopia) or the far sightedness (hyperopia). Both vary in terms of whether the cornea should be made flat or steeped respectively. In the use of lasik eye surgery, the cornea is either flattened to correct the short sightedness or steeped to correct the far sightedness. Astigmatism is also corrected using the lasik surgery.

The benefit of the use of lasik against other traditional methods such as PRK is that the patient does not have to undergo lots of imaging and long stay in the wards to recuperate, instead, it only takes a few days of preparation and immediately after the lasik eye surgery and the patient keep on with the routine functions. The actual Lasik surgery is less than 5 minutes and the people are healthy.

All the above depend on finding the best and professional doctor. You need not feel guilty of not being able to engage your personal doctor. This is a procedure that you cannot take chances on. Therefore the best bet is to find in the most qualifies surgeon who will be able to advice you on the best action.

Other than lasik, there are other procedures that can be bused to correct the refraction history. This includes the already mentioned PRK, Lasek and ep-lasik.