Varieties Of Lasik Eye Surgery
Generally Lasik Eye Surgery is a term used for all types of LASIK procedures, performed using a excimer laser which is, again, a specific type of laser. The variety comes from the different manufacturers. These manufacturers designed specific excimer lasers, and there are many different names to it. Among the more common manufacturers include popular players for eye care such as Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, Wavelight, Visx and Nidek.
Of course there must be more than just this one difference to cover a wide range of eye problems that can be corrected through Lasik Eye Surgery. There are also different types of laser ablations that can be performed. Among them are the conventional LASIK, wavefront-optimized treatments, wavefront-guided treatments and a sophisticated different type of laser, which is the femtosecond laser, which is used to create the LASIK corneal flap. The femtosecond laser can be used as an alternative to the mechanical microkeratome for the corneal creation function.
Conventional LASIK
Most LASIK treatments that are based on the patients’ glasses prescription uses the conventional LASIK method, wehre the ablation pattern is already available on most lasers. There will be fixed treatment parameters for each patient. The conventional treatment is the most common and most effective method for most patients, but it is also the one that could result in more visual side-effects after treatment, such as glare, halos and night vision issues compared to other forms of laser treatment.
Wavefront-optimized LASIK
Wavefront-optimized LASIK is available on Wavelight laser. Similar to conventional LASIK, wavefront-optimized LASIK is based on the patient’s glasses prescription, The additional things which makes this technology more sophisticated is that it also takes into account corneal curvature and thickness, something very personal to the patient. It uses the laser energy in a very special way in the periphery of the cornea. Patients using this laser technology reported lesser complications compared to those using the conventional LASIK, such as the glare, halos and night vision issues.
Wavefront-guided LASIK
The other names for this wavefront-guided LASIK are custom LASIK or wavefront LASIK. Again, it also uses patient’s glasses prescriptions, except that it also treats specific, high order aberrations in a patient’s eye. In this LASIK method, special mapping is performed prior to the surgery, which is crucial to identify any irregularities in the patient’s optical system, even if it is small. When these irregularities are severe, the vision quality, contrast sensitivity and night vision can be affected. Any significant irregularities found will utilize the wavefront-guided LASIK, with the treatment based on the wavefront-map generated earlier.
Besides these three main LASIK treatment, there are also other alternatives of refractive surgery. Among them are:
a. Advanced surface ablation. This technique uses the excimer laser to reshape the cornea, almost similar to LASIK but without creating a corneal flap.
b. Phakic intraocular lenses. The phakic intradocular lens is usually used on patients with extreme myopia when LASIK and advanced surface ablation are not the best options. The lens is implanted inside the eye and may treat nearsightedness up to -20 diopters.
c. Conductive keratoplasty (CK) may be used temporarily to correct hyperopia or presbyopia, using radio frequency waves in the peripheral cornea. The peripheral cornea shrinks and steepens at the centre, and it is a safe procedure. However, the effect is not permanent, and regression follows after a few years of treatment.
d. Intracorneal ring secments, or known as Intacts by Addition Technology, Inc, are approved by the US government for the correction of low myopia or patients with keratoconus. Intacs are implanted into the peripheral cornea, flattening the cornea centrally. These micro-thin plastic segments can be removed and their effects completely reversible, and results are generally less predictable and slower than LASIK treatment.
With the many options for Lasik Eye Surgery and its alternatives, it is no wonder that patients may be in a dilemma to the choices of treatment which may be best for them. The only way to determine which method is mostly based on the doctor, or in most cases the optometrist, knowledge and mostly the stability of the patient’s glasses prescriptions and weighing the pros and cons and the desired result.
Source: LondonVision TV
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