If you have vision problems, you most likely wear glasses or contacts – or even a combination of the two – to correct your vision. Glasses and contacts can be cumbersome and even unflattering, and because of this, many people these days are opting for laser eye surgery. Before you opt for this procedure, you need to understand how laser eye surgery treatment works.
What is Laser Eye Surgery?
Laser eye surgery is officially referred to as Lasik Eye Surgery. Lasik is an acronym for Laser in Situ Keratomileusis. For this procedure, a laser is used under the corneal flap, and the cornea is reshaped to improve the vision.
While the term ‘laser’ is used, this is an actual surgery, because a very precise, small incision is made to create the flap in the cornea where the laser will be inserted. Regardless of the type of laser surgery you are having, for Lasik Eye Surgery, only one type of laser is used – the Excimer Laser.
There are, however, Excimer Lasers made by many different manufacturers, and your doctor may prefer one manufacturer over another, for very specific reasons. It is a good idea to ask your doctor which brand he will be using, and why.
What Happens During Laser Eye Surgery?
This incision is extremely thin, and the flap is pulled back to expose the tissue under it. At this point, an excimer laser is used to reshape the cornea, and once this is accomplished, the flap is put back in place, but there are no sutures.
This procedure can take place in a hospital, or in the medical office. Many people will use a Lasik Eye Surgery clinic for this procedure. Before the procedure takes place, testing should occur to see if you are a candidate for this procedure, and you should be informed concerning how the procedure is conducted, what the risks are, and what to expect after the procedure.
It is important to realize that your doctor will make sure that you do not feel pain during the procedure, by deadening the area where he or she is working, but you will not be asleep for this procedure.
Understand the Different Types of Laser Eye Surgery
While this all sounds simple enough, it can get very complex. For example, there is more than one type of laser eye surgery, and the type that is used will depend on the vision problems that you currently have. The available types of laser eye surgery include conventional LASIK, Wavefront-Optimized LASIK, Wavefront-Guided Lasik, Advanced Surface Ablation, Phakic Intraocular Lenses, Conductive Keratoplasty, and Intracorneal Ring Segments.
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