|
||
Laser eye surgery is a vision correction treatment or procedure to provide patients with better eyesight and eliminate the need of contact lenses or glasses. This treatment is used to correct the vision of people with short sightedness (myopia), astigmatism and long sightedness (hyperopia). Laser eye surgery may not be suitable for everyone especially for children. However for those who are interested in laser eye treatment, most patients aged 18 and above whose prescriptions over the last 12 months have stabilized ought to consult a laser-trained specialist refractive optometrist or qualified ophthalmologist who will determine the patient's suitability for treatment based on their specific circumstances, age, profile of healing, medical history, treatment expectations and personal prescriptions. Make sure the consulting doctor uses a laser that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safety reasons.
The first type of treatment is called Precision. This procedure is typically conducted as an outpatient care using eye drops that contain local anesthesia. A computer controlled laser beam is used to perform the refractive correction by reshaping the cornea. It normally takes approximately three days for a patient to recover. Just like any medical treatment there is no cast iron guarantee that this procedure will completely eliminate the need for corrective lenses.
The second type of treatment is called LASIK eye surgery which is currently the most frequently performed and highly effective elective procedure to treat low, moderate to high prescriptions. It employs a cool beam of light from the excimer laser to gently reshape the cornea of your eye. This surgery procedure although more invasive than Precision, only takes about 10 minutes, patients generally experience less discomfort compared to other types of vision correction methods and a real bonus is that both your eyes can be treated at the same time with immediate result of vision improvement following treatment.
Patients need to be made aware that even though laser eye surgery has a good track record in terms of its safety and success rate, it is still not a completely risk free procedure. It is not possible to predict with 100% confidence how the eye will respond to the different types of treatments, there is a real risk of under-correction or over-correction. In this instance further surgery will be called upon to improve the result. Sometimes there is a chance that the cornea becomes infected following treatment which will impact the speed of recovery. Very few patients may even experience the reverse effect of decreased vision as the laser eye treatment causes corneal haze to develop or unexpected complications occur. For others regression sets in as improvement of vision starts to wane, therefore re-treatment may be required. Some may also develop severe dry eye syndrome as the eyes are unable to naturally produce enough tears to moisten the eyes following laser surgery. This may lead to momentary blurring of vision and other visual problems. If this happens, the patient will need intensive eye drop treatment and further surgery.
Despite all of the above mentioned risks, thousands of procedures are carried out every day around the world and in the overwhelming majority of cases, patients are very satisfied with the results.
If you're looking for the most advanced type of eye procedure then check out Epi-LASIK. It takes the best of LASIK surgery and combines it with LASEK and PRK. Basically the procedure involves separating the epithelial from the cornea. Instead of slicing the top of the cornea (which is what happens with LASIK), an epikeratome is used to create the hinge.
Typically people who opt for this type of eye corrective surgery have a very thin cornea and have either moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Like the other types of laser eye surgery, vision is corrected with the use of laser beams that re-shape the cornea.
What are the Benefits of Epi-LASIK?
The main benefits of Epi-LASIK is the time taken to recover and the speed in which vision is restored. Since the cornea isn't cut with a sharp blade known as a microkeratome, the cornea doesn't need to heal. Also because only a thin layer of the epithelial is separated it can heal very quickly. Risk of incorrectly cutting the cornea also is not a problem. So the potential of losing your vision does not exist. The pain is less too.
Although Epi-LASIK is relatively risk-free there is still the potential of problems occurring. However if you find a good surgeon who conducts a thorough diagnostic test, these risks should be very minimal indeed.
Like other laser eye surgery procedures, the Epi-LASIK operation will only take 10 minutes or less to complete. In order to reduce any pain experienced, anesthetic drops are placed into your eye. Then the epithelial is moved so the laser can do its job.
Whilst the operation is being conducted, your eye needs to be stabilized with special equipment. The epithelium separator then passes across the eye to flatten the cornea making it easier to separate the epithelial. It does not stay completely; instead it keeps attached in the middle as apposed to the side which is what happens with LASIK.
To remove unwanted tissue from the cornea, a laser emits pulses of UV light. The procedure continues until the correct amount of tissue is removed. Afterwards, antibiotic drops are placed in the eye to prevent infection and a bandage similar to a contact lens is put in place. Those choosing the Epi-LASIK procedure can usually continue normal life the day after the procedure. You will then require several follow-up visits to keep a check on the healing progress and your vision.
Be very careful when choosing your Epi-LASIK eye surgeon. Find out as much as you can about their experience with this particular type of procedure along with success rates. You will also want to know what level of care you will receive before, during and after the operation. Plus of course all the associated costs.