An Overview of Laser Eye Surgery

by    Charles Moore

In past generations, as soon as an eyesight specialist discovered that you had bad eyesight there was no way of getting rid of it - in modern times this is no longer true. Looking for a way to get rid of glasses, eye doctors searched for a way to fix poor eyesight - and eventually created LASIK.

LASIK stands for Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, which is a form of refractive eye surgery. While contact lenses can be used, LASIK solves the hassle completely.

In the past, metal blades were used to make the corneal flap, nowadays a laser is used- speeding up the process. In modern times, the excimer laser is used; invented by Dr. Bhaumik in May, 1973. As soon as the ultraviolet excimer laser was discovered capable of remodeling tissue while leaving no heat damage to the surrounding area, scientific discoveries in the use of the excimer laser for eye surgeries were made, meaning today's procedures are a lot less complicated than those of the past. While problems existed in the past, these have since been solved and minimal problems today are had with LASIK eye surgery.

Even though LASIK is a procedure that fixes poor eyesight by altering the cornea, it is not as difficult as other forms of surgery. LASIK is done in two parts; and as it does not hurt much it can be performed while the patient is awake (although a sedative is often used). In the first part, a corneal flap of tissue is made using a special laser, and for the second part, the cornea is altered in order to fix poor eyesight. Due to a laser being used, the cornea is "deceived"; it does not know it has been operated upon and thus many of the mishaps of old eye surgery (such as corneal haze) are removed.

The total procedure takes less than 30 minutes. The laser system includes a large machine with a microscope and an attached computer screen. The laser is used to remove corneal tissue based on measurements taken at your initial evaluation. After the procedure your vision may be hazy or blurry. This will improve considerably within the first few days. Plan on taking a few days from work until symptoms are gone. A follow up visit is scheduled within the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery to test your vision and examine your eyes and regular scheduled interval check ups for at least six months.

After Lasik laser or refractive surgery your vision will stabilize within one or two weeks. But it may take a several months to continue to improve. You may experience glare and night blindness may during this time. Risks with Lasik laser eye surgery are visual aberrations especially in low light, over or under-corrected and additional surgery enhancement may be needed, regressive in the treatment this is uncommon, dry eye symptom which may require medication for tear production, in rare cases vision may worsen that cannot be corrected. You should contact your eye doctor immediately if any of these conditions occur or worsen.