Laser Eye Surgery, Do You Know What It is?

We have all heard about someone that has had a "laser eye surgery" performed with success and sometimes we think if we should have one too as an alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses. But, what is a "laser eye surgery"?

When we talk about it we are referring to the name the ophthalmologists use: Lasik eye surgery, which is actually a procedure that merges two previous eye surgery techniques, with better results in terms of vision improvement as well as minor incidents of infection and reduced recovery time.

The term Lasik is an acronym for Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis. Succesfull refractive eye surgery can help to reduce common vision disorders like miopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. In most cases you will not need to use glasses or contact lenses anymore.

Lasik eye surgery was developed as a synthesis of keratomileusis (improving the refractive state of the cornea) and photorefractive keratectomy (changing the shape of the cornea). Lasik quickly became accepted for its greater accuracy, with very few complications when compared to either of the prior procedure types and shortened recovery time for patients.

Laser eye surgery is performed with a mild sedative and patients remain awake and aware, though relaxed from the sedative. Additionally, the use of anesthetic eye drops help to decrease movement and responsiveness of eye muscles so that the procedure can be more safely carried out.

The surgery procedure is as follows, a very fine blade is used to make a series of tiny flaps in the surface of the cornea. These flaps are then folded back to reveal the stroma, which is the middle section of the cornea. The lifting and folding back of these flaps is the part of this procedure that tends to be somewhat uncomfortable for the patient.

After that, an excimer laser is used to reshape the corneal stroma. What happens is that, the extra ?bumps? of the cornea are vaporized. The process is very gentle because the laser is able to release the molecular bonds that hold the cells of the corneal surface together, thus leaving the adjacent stroma undamaged.

In this second step, when the flap is lifted, the patient?s vision will become blurry and filled with white light that surrounds the orange laser light. This can be somewhat disorienting to the patient, but knowledge of the procedure alleviates much of the ?feeling of encountering the unknown?. Since the procedure is very short in duration, this period passes relatively quickly.

Once the procedure is complete, the flaps are held in place with a natural adhesive until healing takes place. Patients should use a darkened pair of goggles to protect their eyes from bright lights and protective shields to prevent rubbing of the eyes when asleep, they are advised to avoid sunlight and other known irritants over the few days following the procedure. Recovery is very rapid and most patients feel great after only a day or two.

Jorge Sanchez is an accomplished Webmaster and publisher of http://www.Laser-Eye-Surgery-Advise.com where he provides more advise on eye surgery solutions, corrective eye laser surgery and details on how does laser eye surgery works.

The Risks Associated With LASIK Eye Surgery

Every surgical procedure poses inherent risks and in this respect LASIK is no different. It just so happens that when a patient's body is opened up and different tools are used that bacteria of some sort can enter the body. Not only that, the patient may have a reaction caused by the medication. There are risks to LASIK surgery too, but they are fewer and far in between.

The risks associated with LASIK continue to drop as the medical establishment perfect the equipment and refine their processes. The risks involved in LASIK further drop as patients become better informed and therefore choose the best doctors for their surgery.

Doctors too improved their screening methods to ensure that only the right candidates are admitted to have LASIK surgery. The latest research now shows that with the right pre-testing and surgical care in place, the risk of complications occurring in LASIK surgery is less than 1%.

The risk most common in LASIK surgery is a complication relating to the flap created by the surgeon to cover the cornea. In traditional LASIK surgery the flap is created when the surgeon cuts tissue with a surgical tool called a microkeratome. Since this tool, which is basically a metal blade is handled by a human being there is the risk of human error occurring.

When this type of traditional LASIK is performed, the risk is that when the flap is used as the natural bandage after the surgery it may not be the right size. Hence, the complication is an irregular bandage which irritates the eye and causes what is called an irregular astigmatism. This specific LASIK risk is greatly decreased by a newer "bladeless" LASIK procedure.

In bladeless LASIK the blade or microkeratome is no longer used and the risk of complication is hence decreased. It is replaced by another type of laser called IntraLase, which eliminates the potential human error.
Ask your doctor as part of your original process how they deal with a similar situation.

When evaluating these LASIK risks it is recommended that you ask you LASIK surgeon how he/she would correct such problems. Some complications that result from LASIK surgery can be made even worse by over or under correction. Ask your doctor as part of your original process how they deal with this specific situation.

For more info on Lasik laser eye surgery and how it can help you, please visit LASIK EYE ADVICE now.

What to Expect After Laser Eye Surgery

Just as each person is different in many ways, the symptoms after laser eye surgery can be different for each person. Many people are now opting for this procedure as a way to see clearly without the aid of glasses or contact lenses, but some expect to walk out of the office with perfect vision and no complications or symptoms. The one thing that you must remember is this is a surgery procedure and all surgeries have risks.

The most common symptoms following laser eye surgery include the fluctuation of vision. During the first few hours after surgery, your vision will not be clear. It can fluctuate from clear to blurry for at least the first couple of hours and in some cases a bit longer.

Dry eyes are another complaint of some patients. The eyes will not have the natural tear producing characteristics for a few hours. This is the most common problem and can last for several days.

Many individuals see an indifference to light as well. When exposed to bright lights indoors or outdoors the eyes can feel aggravated. Your eye doctor will normally recommend that you wear an eye shield the first few hours after surgery to aid in helping the cornea to heal and to shield the eye from bright lighting.

Some individuals notice a glare or halo effect after surgery. In some cases, a second procedure must be done to correct this problem. However, in most cases, this symptom will also disappear over time.

If the eyes are not protected after surgery with an eye shield, dust and other objects can cause an eye infection, which will cause the eye to burn and itch.

Right after laser eye surgery, most individuals with farsightedness see a major improvement within 24 hours. Objects that are far away may still seem a bit blurry but over the next few days, this will improve. Persons with nearsightedness have noted improvement in their vision within one hour after surgery. However, some have had a few problems in reading shortly after surgery until their eyes have had time to heal. In some cases, reading glasses are prescribed until the eyes have had sufficient time to heal.

Bring someone along with you the day of your laser eye surgery. You will not be able to drive for a few hours after surgery. A flap is created in your cornea so surgery can be accomplished and this flap needs time to heal properly before you can take off the protective eye shield.

Remember, to keep all your appointments with your eye doctor to ensure that your vision is better.

For more information about Laser Eye Surgery and the risks involved you can check out lasereye.org.uk

What Is Laser Eye Surgery And How Can It Help You?

Laser eye surgery is the most prevalent corrective eye surgery. Scads of people have undergone laser eye surgery with a high success rate, often resulting in a significant improvement in vision. Laser eye surgery wields superlative technology and provides excellent results more often than not. Peruse this article to have a clear understanding of how this fabulous technology could help you.

The corneal tissue plays a major role in providing you crystal clear vision. Basically, light rays are refracted (bent) by the cornea so that they fall on the retina (a layer of light-sensing cells). In a patient with a refractive error, these light rays don?t exactly converge on the retina, and hence the patient?s view is rather blurry. Depending on how the rays are refracted, a person may suffer from nearsightedness or farsightedness.

Now, laser eye surgery aims to correct this error by carving the corneal tissue with the aid of a high-precision laser, the Excimer. After reshaping the cornea, the light rays fall on the retina and the patient can again experience crystal clear vision.

Laser eye surgery is the preferred choice for correcting several types of vision impairments. Since the surgery has gained popularity, you could easily find an experienced laser eye surgeon in your vicinity.

Laser eye surgery, like any other surgical procedure, does have its complications. However, unlike other surgeries, laser eye surgery has a minimal complication rate ? a mere 5%. Therefore, laser eye surgery is a relatively safe and technologically advanced procedure.

Laser eye surgery does have a few side effects, such as eye irritation, under-correction, over-correction, and other minor complications. These normally wear off within a few weeks, and crystal clear vision is restored. Although rare, a few patients might require enhancement surgeries to accomplish accurate vision. All in all, laser eye surgery presents itself as a safe procedure, and is the choice of many.

After all, who wouldn?t want to throw away those awkward looking spectacles?

Nicola Kennedy publishes articles and reports and provides news, views and information about laser eye surgery at Your Lasik Information http://www.Your-LASIK.info. The LASIK Surgeons Directory http://www.find-lasik-surgeon.com is a useful resource. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included.

Wavefront - Better Than Conventional LASIK Eye Surgery?

Traditional LASIK surgery achieves a simple correction of focusing power by reshaping the cornea with the aid of a laser. Wavefront LASIK is a variation of that conventional procedure and accomplishes a spatially varying correction based on readings from a wavefront sensor. In essence, a wavefront sensor measures the eye itself. It detects any aberrations by directing a weak laser source into the eye, and by sampling and processing the reflection off the retina.

Wavefront measurements reveal the irregularities of the lens, which cause optical aberrations (any deviation from a desired perfect planar wavefront). Wavefront custom sculpts the cornea to accomplish corrected vision. In many ways, Wavefront offers better results than traditional LASIK. The procedure is carried out by an ophthalmologist, with the aid of sophisticated computer-controlled equipment.

LASIK has certain potential side effects including halos or glare, which are caused due to induced spherical aberration. Wavefront has helped reduce instances of such cases where patients complain of post-operative halos or glares. A drop in such complaints is owing to the precise measurements provided by the wavefront sensor.

Thus Wavefront can help achieve a more optically perfect eye, since the corneal tissue area to be carved is measured more precisely using advanced technology and tools. But, wavefront aberrations are not the sole cause for all types of vision impairments. Therefore, Wavefront LASIK should not be treated as a panacea for all kinds of vision defects. However, eye surgeons claim that a great deal of success has been accomplished in patient satisfaction, relative to earlier refractive surgery procedures.

Though wavefront technology has been used for years by astronomers who require adjusting their telescope optics, its application to human vision has been discovered only recently. It's true that Wavefront is a superior procedure, but it's certainly not required by or suitable for everyone. It is imperative that you go through an elaborate wavefront diagnostic to determine if you are a potential candidate for it.

Nicola Kennedy publishes articles and reports and provides news, views and information about custom wavefront LASIK at Your Lasik Information. The LASIK Surgeons Directory will help you find a LASIK doctor.

Cosmetic Laser Eye Surgery - Is It For You?

You're tired of losing your glasses or cleaning and inserting contacts every morning. Perhaps you want to improve your appearance without the hassle of contacts or getting new glasses for different occasions. You may even participate in sports or have a job that makes wearing glasses or contacts a problem and feel you have a real need for improved natural vision.

Whatever your reasons you have no doubt heard about the popularity of cosmetic laser eye surgery. Is it a safe procedure? What are the risks? How much will it help your vision? Getting these answers will help you decide if cosmetic laser eye surgery is for you.

WHAT IS LASER EYE SURGERY?

Laser eye surgery reshapes the cornea by sculpting it with the laser. There are two common types of laser eye surgery; LASIK and PRK. While both use the same type of laser and shape the eye for correction in the same manner they differ in their approach.

In the PRK procedure the top layer of cornea is scraped away while the LASIK procedure cuts a flap to remove the top layer of cornea during surgery. There are minor differences in the resulting post-operative symptoms.

IS LASER EYE SURGERY SAFE?

While the surgery is considered low risk and can be done quickly there are always possible complications when having any surgery performed. Your eyes are very delicate and your dependance on them is critical. It is important to understand all of the potential risks - including loss of vision - that are possible.

Most patients will deal with some amount of pain or discomfort for a few days. Blurred vision and sensitivity to light are also common and usually clears in the days following surgery although some may find continued symptoms for months and even fewer may find the symptoms are permanent. Other complications due to scarring can potentially cause permanent damage to vision, although additional surgery can sometimes correct this.

As with all surgeries there is a potential risk of infection. It is generally advised to have each eye operated on separately instead of at the same time to reduce the chance of infection in both eyes. Most infections can be cleared with medication, especially if treated right away.

Another possible risk with laser eye surgery is that the vision may be over or under corrected. Under corrected vision may be fixed with further surgery but over corrected vision is irreparable. Unfortunately each individual will respond differently to the surgery and results cannot be guaranteed. It is possible for a person to continue to require corrective lenses even after surgery, although their dependance on them should be lessened.

Whenever an individual is contemplating surgery it is important that a realistic understanding of the risks and benefits be clearly presented by the surgeon. Research your procedure as well as the doctor performing the operation before agreeing to any surgery.

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For more information regarding cosmetic laser eye surgery visit lasersurgeryinformation.com

I maintain a website devoted to laser surgery, including articles and links to related websites.