LASIK
LASIK surgery is performed on an out patient basis.
That means there is no hospital stay. The surgeon creates
a flap in the cornea using a microkeratome.
This flap is still attached to the cornea. The flap
is lifted and laid back. Using a state of art excimer
laser, the surgeon removes a pre-determined amount
of corneal tissue from the exposed corneal bed. The
amount of tissue removed is based upon the power of
your eye found during the pre-examination
with the surgeon. This measurement is usually in agreement
with your recent prescriptions for eyeglasses and/or
contact
lenses. Once the correct amount of tissue has been
removed the flap is replaced. Natural forces hold the
flap in place on the cornea. Within a few hours the
surface epithelium of the cornea begins to grow over
the cut edge of the flap to seal it into position. The
LASIK procedure can be used to correct myopia
(near sightedness), hyperopia
(farsightedness) and astigmatism.
For the LASIK procedure it is important to leave behind
enough corneal tissue for the strength of the cornea
to be maintained. The minimum amount of corneal tissue
required post-operatively is 250 microns or ¼
mm. This does not include the flap of 160 microns.
For those patients where the residual cornea is going
to be less than 250 microns, PRK
is indicated. Even very high corrections can be treated
with LASIK if there is enough corneal thickness to begin
with. In some cases even very small corrections may
need to be treated with PRK
if the cornea is too thin. Ultimately, the results of
LASIK and PRK
are similar. The difference being that PRK
can be more uncomfortable for the patient for the first
3 to 4 days post-operatively.
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