Laser Eye Surgery Articles                

    Exploring LASIK Treatments....................30th July 2009

Before you decide to undergo a Lasik laser eye treatment procedure, it is important that you explore the different forms of treatment that are available, as well as thoroughly researching the available clinics and the capabilities of eye surgeons.

Lasik plus is a procedure which utilises a highly specialised laser known as an excimer laser that treats the actual cornea beneath the corneal flap created by your specialist surgeon at the beginning of the lasik plus surgery. The cornea is the transparent front cover of the eye and it is reshaped during the procedure to treat various eye problems, reducing or completely eliminating the need for you to wear glasses or use contact lenses.

During the procedure, a highly qualified eye surgeon will create a corneal flap using a specialist piece of equipment called a microkeratome.

This flap is then carefully lifted back, allowing access to the underlying corneal tissue. Having dried any corneal moisture, the laser will then reshape the cornea into the pattern previously diagnosed by the surgeon, the details of which he or she will have programmed into the computer directing the Lasik plus laser.

The actual laser treatment to the eye generally takes no longer than a minute. Following the laser treatment the corneal flap is gently replaced without the need for stitches.

There are several varieties of laser used to perform ophthalmology procedures, each involving the use of a specific type of laser so it is feasible to say that there is a great deal of similarity between Lasik plus treatments. This equipment is made by several notable manufacturers so if you have researched equipment as well, you might prefer to go to a clinic utilising a particular laser.

Not only is there a variety of lasers in use, but the ablations they perform are also different. Conventional laser treatment is the ablation pattern which is directly based on the patient's ophthalmology prescription with individually fixed parameters. Although effective for many patients, this form of treatment can result in glare, halos and issues with night sight. Wavefront Optimised Lasik uses a Wavelight laser. This procedure is also based on the patient's glasses prescription but deals with corneal thickness and curvature as well by applying laser energy around the area of the cornea where it is required to treat identified problems.

Using a Wavefront Optimised laser reduces the risk of glare, halos and night vision.

Wavefront Guided Lasik, like conventional lasik treats the patient's basic refractive problem, however, this laser can be programmed to also treat any small irregularities identified in the patient's optical system. Prior to using this sort of laser, a process called Wavefront mapping is performed and if any irregularities are discovered they are treated during the surgery according to the Wavefront map created during the patient's consultation with the surgeon.

Of course, there are other types of laser surgery available which might be more suitable for a particular disorder of the eye, and your surgeon will advise you during your consultation which course of treatment is the best option for you.