Over the years, the LASIK procedure has evolved to become better and safer. The LASIK procedure still consists of two main steps: 1. creating a flap and 2. reshaping the cornea under the flap. The ultimate in safety and results in LASIK is iLASIK which is the culmination of improvements in both steps.
In the first step, flap creation, a metal blade is replaced with a laser. In the second step, a technology termed “wavefront-guided” treatment is used to insure the final shape is free of aberrations in order to achieve the best quality of vision. The resulting advance in LASIK technology is termed “iLASIK”. Because new instruments and user fees set by the laser manufacturers are added to this premium LASIK procedure, patients can expect to pay more for iLASIK than conventional LASIK.
Recently other technology has been developed to reduce the cost and still achieve some of the advantages of iLASIK. Z-LASIK offers the advantage of a more precise flap thickness over the bladed microkeratome but it does not match the safety or visual results of iLASIK.
Patients may want to believe that the newer, cheaper Z-LASIK technology is just as good as iLASIK, but just as with many other things in life, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t”. The iLASIK procedure has proven itself to be the best technology available for LASIK vision correction. After extensive investigation, the U.S. military has chosen iLASIK exclusively for performing vision correction on our troops because of it’s stellar history.
Medical Director, Dean Dornic, MD is the first Raleigh area ophthalmologist to perform iLASIK and has extensive experience in all-laser LASIK procedures. If you believe, as we do, that the few extra dollars to receive a better LASIK procedure is worth it, why not come in for an evaluation?