Eyes.com Blog

When eye surgeons cut a thin corneal flap during the LASIK procedure, they can accomplish that feat in two ways: with a blade or an IntraLase femtosecond laser. When given the choice, 80-85% of patients choose bladeless LASIK over traditional laser surgery. In fact, doctors prefer it, as well, because clinical studies indicate that the procedure is both safer and offers better vision.

By contacting an eye surgeon in your area that uses the IntraLase laser, you ensure that the first step in your laser eye surgery is highly accurate; it also remains the best choice for reducing LASIK complications.

A Closer Look at IntraLase

Before IntraLase, eye surgeons performed the first critical step in LASIK surgery manually with a hand-held device. Microkeratome was performed with this tool's oscillating metal razor blade. IntraLase is the first bladeless laser technology for achieving that first critical step.

LASIK improvements with IntraLase

Patients considering LASIK surgery have an even more confidence in the surgery with IntraLase because it offers considerable improvement in these areas:

• Eliminates the severe sight threatening complications that existed with microkeratome
• Improves eye safety
• Enhances precision
• Provides predictably better visual results for surgery patients

Patients who Benefit from Intralase

Virtually any LASIK patient benefits from using IntraLase during the first of the two-step LASIK procedure. However, some patients find that the advantages of IntraLase are even more so in their particular eye situations, which include:

• Those with extra-thin corneas
• Those individuals with severe myopia

If you are considering LASIK eye surgery, please contact an eye surgeon in your area that uses the IntraLase laser in step one of LASIK eye surgery. You'll know that the eye surgeon has used the best possible surgical tool on your eyes, to increase your chances of the best possible vision.

Femtosecond is a measurement. In fact, one femtosecond (FS) is equal to one billionth of one millionth of a second. When a high repetition laser rate is used, eye surgeons can create smoother corneal flaps during LASIK surgery, making femtosecond lasers the preferred choice of ophthalmologists in your area. These higher pulse lasers are one of the most exciting technologies made available to ophthalmologists in many years. Eye surgeons have only scratched the surface with the possible uses of femtosecond lasers.

Using the Femtosecond Laser

With this particular laser, ophthalmologists can precisely cut tissue with virtually no heat development. By emitting ultra-short laser pulses with a diameter of 0.001mm at one-billionth of a second (10-15 sec), the femtosecond laser produces laser pulses that create a small gas bubble that separates the tissue. Ophthalmologists use the femtosecond laser in three types of eye surgeries:

• Incisions in the interior of the cornea
• Flap preparation in LASIK surgeries
• Preparation of corneal tunnels for intra-corneal ring segment (ICRS) implantation
  

Advantages of the Femtosecond Laser

The femtosecond laser has many advantages over mechanical techniques, but most notably the laser does the following:

• Improves patient comfort
• Produces better visual outcomes
• Reduces certain LASIK risks of infection and healing problems

Choosing an Eye Surgeon that Uses the Femtosecond Laser

Using a metal blade for cutting the corneal flap during LASIK surgery versus using bladeless techniques gives ophthalmologists a way to offer a much safer and more predictable outcome for patients. However, not all eye surgeons use the femtosecond laser, due to cost. So if you want to have the best in eye care as you consider LASIK, please choose a LASIK surgeon in your area that offers the femtosecond laser technology.

The cornea is more than just a clear casing for the rest of you eyeball. It is responsible for about 60% of the focusing your eye must do in order to see clearly. A misshapen cornea is the cause of nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.

As you may have guessed from the above, the cornea is the clear front surface of your eye. It covers the entire front of your eye and is attached to the white of your eye and the iris. It is fixed in its curvature, meaning it does not change shape while performing its focusing duties.

The cornea has three layers:

• The epithelium is the outer layer. It is very thin and the cells are constantly being replaced. It heals quickly. The epithelium contains nerve endings. This is why the eye is so easily irritated when something touches it, but serves as a protective measure to make you instinctively avoid doing things that could scratch your cornea and damage your vision.
• The stroma makes up about 90% of the thickness of the cornea. It gives the cornea its strength and maintains its shape. The stroma is the part of the cornea that is reshaped during LASIK surgery.
• The endothelium is a layer of cells that pump excess water out of the cornea. It is the inner lining of the cornea.

Laser vision correction reshapes the cornea to correct refractive errors.

Please contact a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area to learn more about the cornea, refractive errors, and their solutions today.

Whether you are nearsighted, farsighted, or have always had perfect vision, you may notice that as you get older your vision is giving you some trouble. Presbyopia begins to affect most people as they approach middle age. It is the gradual loss of near vision, and the reason why people develop the need for reading glasses or bifocals later in life.

Recognizing Presbyopia
Presbyopia is subtle at first, and you may not even realize you are having a vision problem. Typically it starts with having to hold books and magazines a little farther away from your face to see the words clearly. You may not even notice doing it.

For some, eyestrain and headaches are the first noticeable symptoms. If you sew, you may be having more difficulty threading your needles. When you look around everything seems fine, so you may think you just need to adjust the lighting a bit. For a while, that even seems to work.

What is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a problem with accommodation. When light passes into your eye it is bent, or refracted, first by the cornea. Then the focus is fine tuned by the lens. The lens changes shape, making the small adjustments needed to see fine details clearly. This is called accommodation.

With age, the lens begins to lose its ability to perform accommodation, making close objects and fine details blurry.

Treating Presbyopia
The most common way of dealing with presbyopia is to wear reading glasses, bifocals, or trifocals. Since it is progressive, stronger magnification will be needed over the years to see clearly.

Monovision LASIK surgery can be used to correct one eye for near vision while the other eye is corrected for far vision, or left alone if distance vision is not a problem for you.

The lens of your eye can be replaced with an artificial lens, called an Intraocular Lens (IOL). This is also how cataracts are treated, and both problems can be corrected in one surgery.

Presbyopia is the most common of age-related vision problems, and there are solutions. Please talk to an ophthalmologist in your area today to find out how your near vision can be restored.

There are many conditions of the eye that range in seriousness from merely annoying to potentially blinding. Some affect your candidacy for LASIK and other refractive procedures.

Computer Vision Syndrome
Computer vision syndrome is a common problem, but it is avoidable. It is not generally dangerous, but it can cause headaches, eyestrain, and may cause your vision to deteriorate.

Floaters and Flashes
Floaters and flashes are very common. Most of the time, they do not significantly affect your vision and do not require treatment. However, in some cases they are a symptom of a retinal tear or detachment, both of which are medical emergencies and can rob you of your sight if left untreated.

Ocular Herpes
Ocular herpes is caused by Type 1 Herpes Simplex Virus, the same type of herpes that causes cold sores. You can get ocular herpes from close contact with someone with the virus or if you already have the virus in your body.

When herpes infects the eye it can cause corneal scarring. In some cases the scarring can damage vision to the point that a corneal transplant is required.

Eye infections
Eye infections can be caused by bacteria, a virus, or fungus. There are many types of eye infections. Most eye infections do not pose a threat to your vision if treated quickly. Ignoring an eye infection, however, can lead to vision loss.

Of course, you should not undergo eye surgery with an active eye infection.

These are just a few eye conditions and diseases that may affect you and your family. Many minor and dangerous eye conditions can share the same symptoms. You should never assume that your symptoms are not important.

If you have experienced any changes in your vision or other symptoms of an eye condition, please contact an ophthalmologist in your area and schedule an appointment today.

For some patients LASIK surgery will pay for itself in a few years in money saved on corrective lenses and their accompanying expenses. It can also pay for itself in time saved on looking for lost glasses, caring for contact lenses, and other activities and hassles associated with corrective lenses, not to mention the improvement in quality of life. For some, it can open up career opportunities or simply the ability to legally drive a vehicle and live independently. Evaluating LASIK costs vs. LASIK value is highly individual and complex.

Understanding LASIK Pricing
First and foremost, you must ask questions. Different doctors quote LASIK costs in different ways, but nearly all will refer to the cost per eye.

The quoted cost per eye may not include all fees and you can wind up with a bill that is as much as three times higher than you expected. By asking your ophthalmologist what is included in the price and, more importantly, what is not included you will get a much better idea of what to expect.

Do not be afraid to be direct with your questions. Tell them you need to know about every possible related expense.

Discounts
Discounts have to be considered on a case-by-case basis, but, in general, you should be very leery of low-cost offers for LASIK surgery. Some LASIK centers cut costs by cutting corners on safety and quality.

Others may pull a bait-and-switch, luring patients in with a low-priced offer, but leaving most of the fees out of the price they quote you (see above) or failing to explain that your unique circumstances will be more expensive. LASIK costs can vary by thousands of dollars depending on your personal needs. Your eye doctor cannot give you a close estimate before examining your eyes, period.

Please contact a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area today to find out if laser vision correction is a cost-effective choice for you.