LASIK has it’s roots in a procedure first performed over 50 years ago. A Columbian ophthalmologist described performing a procedure termed “keratomileusis” or corneal reshaping procedure to correct extreme amounts of nearsightedness using a bladed microkeratome and a lathe. Others began performing the procedure and refined it with better instrumentation and techniques to yield better results and improved safety. Eventually the excimer laser was introduced to replace the lathe in the reshaping part of the procedure and the term LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomilieusis) was applied to the “new” procedure. With the improved precision brought about by the excimer laser came wider acceptance of the procedure and eventual FDA approval.
As with most things in medicine, continued improvements and refinements have taken place. Two of the bigger refinements were the addition of wavefront technology to improve the final optics of the reshaped cornea and the introduction of a second laser: the femtosecond laser (IntraLase). Today’s LASIK procedure is far advanced from earlier generation procedures. Outcomes are improved with higher levels of 20/20 vision, lower levels of side-effects such as night vision difficulties and a safety profile that surpasses that of contact lens wear.
If you are contemplating LASIK or any other vision correction procedure, you should not presume that you will automatically benefit from all the refinements that have taken place. Upgrading and replacing equipment is an expensive proposition and some doctors and LASIK centers may not be willing to invest in new technology. That puts the responsibility on you, the patient, to investigate and determine if you are comfortable with the technology to be used in your procedure. If you have made the decision that improvements in the LASIK procedure have now made it a viable option for you, it is up to you to determine whether you, in fact, will be receiving this better procedure.
Posts Tagged ‘wavefront’
LASIK: A Good Procedure Gets Better
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011Night Vision and LASIK
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
CustomVue technology actually increases patient night vision satisfaction.
- Night glare and starbursts are a potential side-effect of any eye surgery.
Many people who have never had eye surgery, if they are careful observers, can notice some starburst, halo, glare, or shadows in their vision under low light conditions, especially if they need to wear glasses or contact lenses. It is common to notice one or more of these after LASIK eye surgery, especially during the early postoperative period. These side effects generally diminish with time but some patients will notice one or more of these even with excellent correction, sometimes for a long time or even indefinitely. Of those patients who do notice these side effects, most will find them annoying and it is possible that some patients may feel they cause mild to serious visual impediments.
The LASIK procedure creates a change in curvature in the central part of the cornea. If changing the corneal curvature also results in distortion of the cornea then aberrations in vision quality may result. These aberrations in vision may be most noticeable at night, when the pupil opens wide. This can result in seeing a halo type effect or perhaps just a decreased contrast or sharpness of vision. Regardless of how it is described, there are some patients who feel that their night or reduced light vision is poor even when their uncorrected vision is good or excellent in normal lighting. This may be a significant issue for some patient for night driving, playing tennis or baseball at night or other similar activities, even before refractive surgery is performed. A technology developed by AMO/VISX termed CustomVue and utilized in the iLASIK procedure was developed in an effort to improve night vision. The CustomVue technique makes use of a wavefront analyzer to measure and correct visual aberrations. Clinical studies show that more patients are actually satisfied with their night vision after LASIK when this technique is used. The wavefont guided CustomVue technique should not be confused with the wavefront optimized technique utilized by the Wavelight/Allegretto laser. Only the CustomVue technology associated with iLASIK results in better night vision.
The Evolution of LASIK
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011Like many medical procedures, LASIK eye surgery has evolved and improved with time. Many patients are surprised to find out just how long LASIK has been around.
In 1949 a Columbian ophthalmologist by the name Barraquer performed a corneal procedure to correct refractive error termed automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK). ALK involved the use of a microkeratome to create a flap and remove a disc of corneal tissue in order to decrease nearsightedness.
With the introduction of the excimer laser to the ALK procedure the name of the procedure was changed to LASIK. The excimer laser made the procedure more precise and resulted in more widespread acceptance but this was, by no means, the only important advance in vision correction technology. Over the years, a number of innovations such as eyetrackers, iris registration, wavefront technology and introduction of the IntraLase laser have improved safety and outcomes.
Today, the safety of LASIK exceeds that of contact lens wear and the risk of such side-effects as night halos is reduced to such a low level that most patients will actually experience an improvement in night vision.
Of course, patients should be aware that there are different technologies available all with different safety profiles and success rates. Some of the more important innovations: IntraLase and CustomVue are associated with increased costs but if you’ve been holding off on LASIK waiting for the procedure to get better, the increased costs may well be worth it.
You Can Get a Cheaper LASIK, but You Can’t Get a Better LASIK than iLASIK
Sunday, July 18th, 2010Over 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 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?
So to book you free LASIK Raleigh consultation call today at (919) 467-9955, spots are filling up quickly..