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Carl J. Hanig, MD |
Procedures: Laser Vision Correction
Usually the shape of your cornea and eye are not perfect and the image on the retina is out-of-focus (blurred) or distorted. These imperfections in the focusing power of the eye are called refractive errors. Glasses or contact lenses are designed to compensate for the eye's imperfections. Laser surgical procedures on the cornea, aimed at improving the focusing power of the eye, are one form of refractive surgery. These changes to the cornea correct your vision permanently to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses.
• LASIK (Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis): In LASIK surgery, a mechanical microkeratome using a metal blade or femtosecond laser is used to cut the front corneal tissue creating a flap on the front of the eye. With the flap open to reveal the stroma (middle section of the cornea), an excimer laser is then used to reshape the corneal stroma without damaging adjacent stroma. The flap is folded back over and heals overnight. Most LASIK patients have mild discomfort the day of laser surgery and see in the 20/20 to 20/40 range by the next morning.
• PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy): In PRK surgery, a corneal flap is not created. Only the very top (epithelial) layer of the cornea is removed before the excimer laser sculpts the cornea. A "bandage" contact lens is applied and used for 3-4 days to help the epithelial layer to heal. More discomfort and slower visual recovery are expected as compared to LASIK. PRK surgery may be used, instead of LASIK, when a patient has a large refractive error or has a relatively thin cornea. The ultimate outcomes with LASIK and PRK are the same.
• Epi-LASIK: Epi-LASIK surgery is similar to PRK in that the excimer laser is applied to the surface of the cornea and there is no flap. However, in Epi-LASIK, the surface epithelial layer only is removed with a special microkeratome. As compared to PRK, there may be faster visual recovery and less discomfort with Epi-LASIK.
• Zyoptix (Custom Cornea Correction [Bausch & Lomb]): In conventional LASIK or PRK surgery, the excimer laser is programmed with the patient's refraction prescription (the same as used to prescribe glasses or contacts) to sculpt the cornea. In Zyoptic surgery, the procedure is the same as in LASIK or PRK. However, using sophisticated wavefront technology, we first measure the unique errors (aberrations) of your eyes. We then can program the excimer laser with this information and treat both your refractive error and your specific aberrations. Zyoptix has been shown in several studies to reduce side effects such as problems with night vision and contrast sensitivity, and also to increase the percentage of patients that achieve 20/20 vision.