Posts Tagged ‘ilasik’

You Can Get a Cheaper LASIK, but You Can’t Get a Better LASIK than iLASIK

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

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?

LASIK for Military Pilots

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Within the Department of Defense a total of 25 warfighter refractive surgery centers (Army: 12, Navy: 7, Air Force: 6) completed more than 312,000 refractive surgery procedures over the past 10 years. Laser vision correction has been allowed for all aspects of military service, including aviation, special operations, and support personnel. It is also approved for NASA astronauts.
The Navy is currently undertaking a study on US Naval aviators at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and Portsmouth. To date, more than 200 aviators are in the study. Refractive errors up to -7.50 diopters are represented and the results have been outstanding. All procedures were performed with IntraLase and 90% were wavefront-guided; the exact same technology featured at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina for our LASIK patients.
All aviators were able to return to flight status within two weeks after myopic LASIK and within four weeks after hyperopic LASIK. Patient satisfaction was excellent three months after LASIK. One hundred percent were able to achieve 20/20 levels of vision. There were no complaints of significant glare, halos, haze or sharpness of vision. Ninety-eight percent felt that LASIK helped their effectiveness as a naval aviator and ninety-nine percent indicated that they would definitely recommend LASIK to their fellow aviators.
The US armed forces have embraced LASIK as a way to make troops “combat ready”. Over the years vision correction technology has evolved such that LASIK has proven to be a safe and effective procedure. But not all LASIK is equivalent. In order to achieve the phenomenal success illustrated in this latest study, IntraLase and wavefont-guided (Custom-Vue) LASIK is necessary. This premium LASIK comes at an increased cost and the wary consumer should not be lulled into the false notion that inferior, “imposter All-Laser” LASIK can achieve this level of success. Time and time again, large scale, commercially unbiased studies such as those conducted by the US armed forces have demonstrated the superiority of genuine iLASIK over other LASIK technologies.
Maybe you don’t need the type of vision needed to land a plane on an aircraft carrier, but couldn’t you benefit from the superior vision offered by genuine iLASIK in your activities of daily living? Raleigh area LASIK candidates can avail themselves of this “fighter pilot” grade vision at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina. Of course, all medical procedures carry with them some risks and to make sure you are a good candidate for iLASIK you are invited to come in for a free consultation with Dr. Dornic. Dr. Dornic will describe all your options and taylor a treatment plan that is personalized just for you.

iLASIK vs zLASIK: Which is Better?

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

The first all-laser LASIK procedure made use of the IntraLase laser to make the flap rather than a blade. When the IntraLase laser is combined with AMO VISX’s proprietary CustomVue wavefront-guided treatment, the resulting procedure is termed “iLASIK”. The IntraLase laser has gone through several upgrades since it was first developed to improve it’s safety and precision. Because the IntraLase flaps can be made to fit like a “manhole” they tend to be more secure than those cut by a blade. Also, if something interrupts the creation of the flap, treatment can be restarted without any ill consequences. Since the introduction of IntraLase, Ziemer, a Swiss company, has introduced a laser to make LASIK flaps. Dr. Dornic has used both of these lasers to perform LASIK. The Ziemer laser is less expensive but it is not as well refined as the IntraLase laser. While the IntraLase laser can make flaps of varied thicknesses and architecture, the Ziemer laser can only make flaps of 3 different thicknesses and 3 diameters. The Ziemer can also only make flaps that are cut in much the same shape as a blade. They are therefore not as secure as an IntraLase flap. Another limitation of the Ziemer laser flap is that unlike the IntraLase laser, your surgeon cannot see the flap being made. Therefore, the surgeon cannot intercede to correct a problem such as misalignment or loss of suction occurring during the creation of the flap. What this means to the patient is that iLASIK is safer (more customizable flaps, lower risk of small, misshapen, decentered or slipped flaps) and the overall results are better with iLASIK than with zLASIK. If you want the safest, most precise LASIK, choose iLASIK.

There is a Difference Between LASIK Technologies

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Patients are often confused about the different technologies available. Information available on the web and by LASIK providers can be tainted by commercial bias. The US military is in the unique position to evaluate the different LASIK technologies that are commercially available and their flight surgeons are completely free of monetary incentives. Military flight surgeons are salaried and in choosing LASIK platforms, price is no object. See why NASA and the military chose IntraLase LASIK with CustomVue as their preferred technology: the exact same technology employed by Laser Eye Center of Carolina. http://www.amo-ilasik.com/500-video-center.aspx