Lasik Eye Surgery - A Refractive Eye Surgical Procedure

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Lasik eye surgery is a refractive surgical procedure that works wonders on the eyes of people suffering from nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. It reduces a person's complete dependency on glasses and contact lenses. The full form of Lasik is Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that involves permanently changing the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye using an excimer laser.

How is Lasik surgery done?

The surgery should be done with great skill as it involves the most delicate part of human body. It is done with a knife called microkeratome and is used to cut a flap in the cornea. A hinge is done at one end of this flap and then the flap is folded back revealing the stroma, which is the middle section of the cornea. Instant pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma and the flap can be easily replac.

How is Lasik advantageous over other surgical procedures?

Lasik eye surgery is quite advantageous over other surgery procedures because they often involve much less pain as an aftermath. Lasik unlike other eye surgeries also promise extremely good vision that can be achieved almost immediately or at least by the next day.

What to do in Lasik eye surgery?

But before you go for the Lasik surgery, you should have a proper test done by your physician. The optician will examine your eyes to determine their health, analyze the kind of visual correction needed and determine how much Lasik ablation is required. Risks like losing vision, developing debilitating visual symptoms, severe dry eye and large refractive errors are often associated with Lasik eye surgeries. So you consult a proper eye surgeon for the best results.

Once you are confident about undergoing the Lasik eye surgery you should follow certain rules to get quick results from the surgery.
Following is a brief history of what should be done before, during and after Lasik:

Before surgery

§ Stop wearing soft contact lenses rigid gas permeable lenses and hard lenses.
§ Do not feel pressurized by your doctor, friends and family
§ Stop using creams, lotions, perfumes and make-ups.
§ Keep removing all debris and residues from the eye surfaces.

During surgery

§ Apply a numbing drop to your eye that will clean the area around your eye and create a numb feeling near your eyes.
§ Wear the shield that holds the flaps in places. Wear it to prevent any sudden accidents or getting hit in your eyes.

After surgery

§ Consult your doctor immediately in case of any itching, eye irritation, mild pain or sudden discomfort.
§ Use eye drops given by the doctor to prevent infections or inflammations.
§ Never wear contact lenses at least for next fortnight.

Lasik eye surgery is hassle-free but you should take proper care for your eyes. In spite of such care, if you face any worsening symptoms you should immediately contact your doctor to prevent any further eye-related problems.

About the Author:
Author Barney Garcia is a proud contributing author and enjoys writing about many different topics. Please visit my web sites @ lasik-surgery-tips.info and inforesearcher.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Lasik Eye Surgery - A Refractive Eye Surgical Procedure

Lasik Eye Surgery Procedure

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

There are several necessary preparations in the preoperative period. The operation itself involves creating a thin flap on the eye, folding it to enable remodeling of the tissue beneath with a laser. The flap is repositioned and the eye is left to heal in the postoperative period.

Preoperative - Lasik Eye Surgery Procedure

Patients wearing soft contact lenses are usually instructed to stop wearing them 5 to 21 days before surgery. One industry body recommends that patients wearing hard contact lenses should stop wearing them for a minimum of six weeks plus another six weeks for every three years the hard contacts have been worn. Before the surgery, the patient's corneas are examined with a pachymeter to determine their thickness, and with a topographer to measure their surface contour. Using low-power lasers, a topographer creates a topographic map of the cornea. This process also detects astigmatism and other irregularities in the shape of the cornea. Using this information, the surgeon calculates the amount and the locations of corneal tissue to be removed during the operation. The patient typically is prescribed and self-administers an antibiotic beforehand to minimize the risk of infection after the procedure.

Lasik Eye Surgery Operation

The operation is performed with the patient awake and mobile; however, the patient is sometimes given a mild sedative (such as Valium) and anesthetic eye drops.

LASIK is performed in three steps. The first step is to create a flap of corneal tissue. The second step is remodeling of the cornea underneath the flap with the laser. Finally, the flap is repositioned.

Lasik Eye Surgery Flap creation

A corneal suction ring is applied to the eye, holding the eye in place. This step in the procedure can sometimes cause small blood vessels to burst, resulting in bleeding or subconjunctival hemorrhage into the white (sclera) of the eye, a harmless side effect that resolves within several weeks. Increased suction typically causes a transient dimming of vision in the treated eye. Once the eye is immobilized, the flap is created. This process is achieved with a mechanical microkeratome using a metal blade, or a femtosecond laser microkeratome (procedure known as IntraLASIK) that creates a series of tiny closely arranged bubbles within the cornea. A hinge is left at one end of this flap. The flap is folded back, revealing the stroma, the middle section of the cornea. The process of lifting and folding back the flap can sometimes be uncomfortable.

Laser remodeling

The second step of the procedure is to use an Excimer laser (193 nm) to remodel the corneal stroma. The laser vaporizes tissue in a finely controlled manner without damaging the adjacent stroma. No burning with heat or actual cutting is required to ablate the tissue. The layers of tissue removed are tens of micrometres thick. Performing the laser ablation in the deeper corneal stroma typically provides for more rapid visual recovery and less pain than the earlier technique, photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).

During the second step, the patient's vision will become very blurry once the flap is lifted. They will be able to see only white light surrounding the orange light of the laser, which can lead to mild disorientation.

Currently, manufactured Excimer lasers use an eye tracking system that follows the patient's eye position up to 4,000 times per second, redirecting laser pulses for precise placement within the treatment zone. Typical pulses are around 1 millijoule (mJ) of pulse energy in 10 to 20 nanoseconds.

Lasik Eye Repositioning of flap

After the laser has reshaped the stromal layer, the LASIK flap is carefully repositioned over the treatment area by the surgeon and checked for the presence of air bubbles, debris, and proper fit on the eye. The flap remains in position by natural adhesion until healing is completed.

Lasik Eye Surgery - Postoperative care

Patients are usually given a course of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops. These are continued in the weeks following surgery. Patients are usually told to sleep much more and are also given a darkened pair of shields to protect their eyes from bright lights and protective goggles to prevent rubbing of the eyes when asleep and to reduce dry eyes. They also are required to moisturize the eyes with preservative-free tears and follow directions for prescription drops. Patients should be adequately informed by their surgeons of the importance of proper post-operative care to minimize the risk of complications.

Source: Lasik Eye Surgery Procedure, Lasik Preoperative at wikipedia.org