What Is Lasik Surgery?

LASIK eye surgery is the best known and most commonly performed laser refractive surgery to correct vision problems. Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) can be an alternative to glasses or contact lenses. During LASIK surgery, a special type of cutting laser is used to precisely change the shape of the dome-shaped clear tissue at the front of your eye (cornea) to improve vision. In eyes with normal vision, the cornea bends (refracts) light precisely onto the retina at the back of the eye. But with nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) or astigmatism, the light is bent incorrectly, resulting in blurred vision. Glasses or contact lenses can correct vision, but reshaping the cornea itself also will provide the necessary refraction.

Why you should do Lasik Surgery?

LASIK surgery may be an option for the correction of one of these vision problems:

• Nearsightedness (myopia). When your eyeball is slightly longer than normal or when the cornea curves too sharply, light rays focus in front of the retina and blur distant vision. You can see objects that are close fairly clearly, but not those that are far away.
• Farsightedness (hyperopia). When you have a shorter than average eyeball or a cornea that is too flat, light focuses behind the retina instead of on it. This makes near vision, and sometimes distant vision, blurry.
• Astigmatism. When the cornea curves or flattens unevenly, the result is astigmatism, which disrupts focus of near and distant vision

If you are planning LASIK surgery, you will probably be wearing glasses or contact lenses beforehand. Your ophthalmologist will talk to you about whether LASIK surgery or other similar refractive procedures work for you.

What conditions get treated with LASIK eye surgery?

LASIK helps with refractive errors. The most common refractive error conditions include:

• Astigmatism: Astigmatism is a very common eye condition that causes blurred vision.
• Nearsightedness (myopia): Myopia is a vision disorder where you can see objects clearly that are nearby, but not those that are far away.
• Farsightedness (hyperopia): Hyperopia is the opposite of myopia. You’re able to see objects far away, but struggle with those up close.

What happens during LASIK eye surgery?

The process of LASIK eye surgery can be divided into five steps:

• After you lie down flat, your ophthalmologist will use eye drops to numb your eyes. Although you won’t be in pain, you might feel pressure during the procedure. Patients have reported that the pressure is like a finger pressing against your eyelid.
• Your surgeon will place an eyelid holder and suction ring on your eye. The holder will keep you from blinking and the ring will keep your eye from moving. Your vision will dim, or possibly go completely black.
• Using a laser programmed with your eye measurements, your surgeon will make a flap as thin as a piece of paper in your cornea. They’ll then lift and fold that flap back, like turning the page of a book.
• Next, your surgeon will ask you to stare at a light shining in your eye. Staring at it keeps your eyes from moving. The laser is used again, this time to reshape your cornea so that it refracts light better. The laser might make a clicking/ticking sound. You might smell the scent of burned hair.
• Finally, your ophthalmologist will fold the flap of tissue back down. It will start to heal quickly — settling into place within two to three minutes.

It’s understandable if the process of LASIK surgery makes you feel uncomfortable. No one likes to think about a laser touching their eye. You might find it reassuring to know that LASIK is proven to be a safe procedure and very few people have any long-term side effects.

What is LASIK Femto?

Femtosecond-assisted (Femto) laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is a type of laser eye surgery. This method, along with other refractory surgeries, is used to reshape the cornea of the eye in an effort to resolve vision problems. Keratomileusis, or the sculpting of the cornea as a way to correct refractive errors, was first developed in 1948Trusted Source using a small surgical tool with an oscillating blade called the microkeratome. This first method, using a mechanical tool, was known as anterior lamellar keratoplasty (ALK). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, technology for this procedure improved. The Femto laser, developed in the early 1990s, allowed surgeons to create the corneal flap used in LASIK with a laser rather than a mechanical cutting tool. After surgery, the flap can be replaced without sutures, allowing for quicker healing.