Laser Eye Surgery

When a person decides to undergo vision correction to minimize or eliminate nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, it is to laser vision surgery that they look.

The procedure involves using a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye. Vision correction is needed when light entering the eye does not travel properly to the retina located at the back of the eye. Because of slight distortions in the cornea, the light skews so that the retina picks up blurred images. The person may see well up close, but not at a distance. This is called nearsightedness and is the one condition most easily corrected by laser surgery. Laser eye surgery is also successful in treating astigmatism, the condition of seeing images that are twisted. Farsightedness can be successfully treated in patients who are under 40. With older people who typically become farsighted as a result of aging, correction is often only partial.

The most common laser vision correction procedure currently in use by millions is called LASIK. That is short for Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. In this procedure a thin slice of tissue is peeled back from the surface of the eye to form a flap. This flap is folded back so that the remainder of the cornea is exposed to the laser. Using short bursts of energy from the laser, the cornea is reshaped. A tiny layer of tissue is removed in the areas shown to need it, (by extensive mapping) to correct the vision. The flap is then put back in place and seals itself there. No stitches are required at all. The entire procedure takes about 15 minutes per eye. The only anesthesia needed is eye drops. After care consists of eye drops for moisture as the surgery typically caused the eye to be dry for a few weeks. Antibiotic eye drops are also used to prevent any infection.

There are other laser vision correction procedures available. Some people are not a candidate for the LASIK method due to a thin cornea or less flexible cornea. All hope is not lost for vision correction for them however, with the other procedures available.

Laser vision correction was first tried by a New York City Ophthalmologist in 1987. It was not approved by the FDA at that time. That approval did not come until 1996, even though laser vision correction had been in use in other countries for some time. Physicians routinely traveled to Germany to obtain the training necessary to be ready to assist their patients when the approval was granted. Laser vision correction is now offered in every state.