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Laser Vision Correction
 Tired of wearing glasses or contact lenses?
Now you can reduce or eliminate your dependence on eyewear with the help of laser vision correction. Procedures such as LASIK and PRK have allowed millions of people worldwide to shed their glasses or contact lenses and enjoy the freedom of clear vision.
These procedures improve vision safely and precisely by reshaping the cornea to correct nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism and in some cases, higher-order aberrations such as haze as well. Most patients enjoy 20/20 vision or better after treatment.
Wavefont technology makes it possible to perform customized LASIK using information gathered from the patient's own eyes. This allows us to correct the very specific refractive errors that obscure each patient's vision so they can enjoy the best post-operative vision quality possible.
LASIK
LASIK is an exciting surgical procedure that improves vision in mere minutes. LASIK improves vision safely and precisely by reshaping the cornea to correct nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism. Most patients enjoy 20/20 vision or better after treatment.
With the recent introduction of Custom/Wavefront LASIK, it is now possible to fully customize your LASIK procedure to correct the precise imperfections in your eyes so you can enjoy post-operative vision of a quality unrivaled by any other technology.
The most commonly performed elective surgery in America, LASIK combines the advantages of two sophisticated technologies: the accuracy of the excimer laser and the benefits of lamellar keratoplasty. It is safe, precise and highly successful. Thanks to LASIK, millions of people worldwide have experienced the wonder of clear vision without glasses or contact lenses.
LASIK offers many improvements over other refractive surgery procedures. These include little or no post-operative discomfort, immediate vision improvement, and the ability to drive or return to work quickly—sometimes as soon as the next day. Most patients require no corrective eyewear after surgery (although patients over 45 often need reading glasses).
Call today to schedule your consultation and find out you are a candidate for LASIK. Soon you could be tossing away your glasses or contact lenses and enjoying the freedom of clear vision.
Am I a candidate?
Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK. When you come in for an evaluation, your eyes will be examined to determine whether LASIK or another refractive procedure is appropriate for you, and whether you are at risk for any complications.
The ideal LASIK candidate:
- Is over 18 years old;
- Has had stable vision for at least six months;
- Has a healthy cornea thick enough for the laser to cut a flap;
- Has refractive error(s) that fall within the treatable range;
- Does not have a disease or condition that could impair the procedure or healing process;
- Has been educated about the procedure including its risks and benefits.
- Understands that the goal of surgery is to improve vision and reduce dependence on glasses and contact lenses.
As with traditional LASIK, not everyone is a candidate for Custom/Wavefront LASIK. Sometimes patients have to wait until the particular correction they need is approved by the FDA. If you are not a candidate now, you might decide to undergo LASIK without the Wavefront feature. Or you might choose to wear glasses or contact lenses and wait until the technology is available to treat your specific condition.
During your consultation, we will review your eyesight and discuss whether LASIK is right for you.
The Procedure
During the LASIK procedure, a device called a microkeratome cuts a thin flap in the surface of the cornea. The flap is then lifted and an excimer laser beam reshapes the cornea's curvature to improve vision. Then the flap is closed and covered with a protective contact lens. The procedure takes only 10-15 minutes per eye, with the laser actually firing for a minute or less.
The flap heals on its own within a few days with no need for stitches. A common complaint after surgery is sensitivity to light, but this will subside. Antibiotic eye drops will be prescribed for a few days, along with any other post-operative instructions. Full recovery takes a few weeks.
The results of laser vision correction last for a lifetime. However, most patients will eventually need reading glasses as they age and develop presbyopia, a vision condition that makes nearby objects seem out-of-focus.
Custom Wavefront LASIK
 Custom Wavefront LASIK allows us to offer our patients the most advanced laser vision correction available. This technology allows us to create completely customized LASIK procedures by gathering precise data so the laser can make the exact corrections your eyes need.
Wavefront LASIK is the first technology able to detect and treat higher-order aberrations, the irregularities inside your eye that are responsible for visual disturbances such as halos, glare and shadows. (Lower-order aberrations include nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.) Neglecting higher-order aberrations during laser vision correction can leave you with blurry, poor-quality vision even if you technically see 20/20 or better. Wavefront LASIK ensures that your vision after LASIK will be crisp and clear.
If you qualify for the Custom LASIK procedure, your eyes will be measured in superb detail with a special machine called an aberrometer (an instrument that measures aberrations). The aberrometer takes extremely detailed measurements of your corneas, producing a 3-D map that is as unique and personal as a fingerprint. Your results will then be fed into the laser on the day of your LASIK appointment, so you can enjoy an even more accurate treatment and better post-operative vision than is possible with traditional LASIK.
Monovision LASIK
Monovision LASIK offers presbyopic and pre-presbyopic patients the ability to retain near and distance vision after LASIK surgery with little or no reliance on glasses or contact lenses. If you are over 40, wear bifocals or need reading glasses, you may want to discuss monovision with your LASIK surgeon.
As we age, we lose the ability to focus our eyes on objects at different distances. This ability, called accommodation, becomes impaired as the lenses of our eyes lose their flexibility and begin to harden in a natural aging process called presbyopia. People with presbyopia symptoms often need bifocals or two pairs of glasses for distance and near vision. Even patients who undergo conventional LASIK still need glasses to correct for presbyopia after surgery, because LASIK cannot treat presbyopia -- it reshapes the cornea, not the lens.
With conventional LASIK, both eyes are corrected for distance vision, leaving some patients in need of glasses for reading and other daily activities that require looking at objects close-up. Monovision LASIK preserves good near and distance vision without this need for corrective eyewear. The procedure optimizes one eye for distance sight and the other eye for near sight. With a little practice, patients learn to adjust their vision to accommodate between different distances.
Alternatives to monovision LASIK include reading glasses and lens replacement surgery.
PRK
PRK or photorefractive keratectomy is one of the safest and most time-tested laser vision correction procedures available. Like LASIK, it reshapes the cornea to improve vision.
Instead of cutting a flap in the cornea with a blade, in PRK the surgeon uses an excimer laser to burn away a small amount (5%-30%) from the top of the cornea. LASIK, by contrast, cuts a deep flap in the cornea using a sharp microkeratome
blade. This weakens the cornea, makes it difficult to replace the flap in
precisely the right place, and can cause other complications including flap
irregularity, epithelial ingrowth and corneal ectasia. PRK avoids these risks.
Studies have shown that 90-95% of patients with a correction of up to -6.00 diopters achieve vision of 20/40 after PRK, and up to 70% achieve 20/20. Patients needing less correction generally achieve better results. The risks of PRK include infection, haze, slow healing, scarring, over- or under-correction of the visual condition, and development of astigmatism.
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