Laser eye surgery is one of the most popular and safe techniques of vision correction, which can help you get rid of your glasses and contact lenses. , There are several variants of LASIK, including Contoura Vision, SMILE and conventional Lasik, but the underlying principle for all of them is reshaping of the cornea, so as to ensure that the rays of light entering the eyes are focused exactly on the retina.
Why do we need glasses?
The cornea) and the crystalline lens inside the eye are responsible for focusing the light entering the eye on to the retina. Any errors in their structure, especially curvature of cornea, as well as any error in the length of eyeball (and hence, position of retina) means that your vision is blurred.
In myopia, the light rays are focused before the retina, while in hypermetropia they are focused behind the retina. In astigmatism, the light rays in different meridians are focused in different locations.
To correct this, we can wear glasses or contact lenses, or go for laser refractive surgery which changes the focusing power of the cornea.
How does Laser eye surgery work?
During the surgery for vision correction, a thin, circular corneal flap is raised using either a mechanized knife (keratome) or a special laser (femtosecond laser, in bladeless Lasik and other premium refractive surgeries). After this, the laser reshapes the underlying corneal tissue so that the refractive error is eliminated, and the light falls directly on the retina. The corneal flap is then repositioned. This results in perfect vision, without the need for glasses or contact lenses.
What happens during Laser eye surgery?
Your doctor uses anesthetic drops during surgery and you need not worry about any injections or general anesthesia. These drops make your eye numb, all you feel is a bit of pressure during the procedure. The doctor will ask you to focus on a light, any then, you will feel your vision blur as the doctor reshapes your cornea. You may be asked a wear an eye shield after the procedure. Most doctors will see you after an hour or so, before allowing you to go home, along with instructions for eye drop use, and precautions to be taken.
How can I know if Laser eye surgery is good for me?
Even though laser eye surgery is known for its efficacy and safety, the only way to know if you are eligible or not, is to visit an eye doctor. To determine if you are suited for the procedure, your doctor will perform a comprehensive eye examination including a dilated retina check, and discuss with you the options available, and which will work best for your eye health and vision needs.
In case you are not a suitable candidate for laser eye surgery, your eye doctor will be happy to suggest other treatment options for freedom from glasses like clear lens extraction or refractive lens exchange, and Implantable Collamer Lenses or ICL.
How do the various procedures for spectacle removal differ from each other?
Conventional Lasik and SBK
Conventional Lasik and SBK are the most commonly performed vision correction procedures and in both of these, the surgeon raises a thin, circular corneal flap using a mechanized knife called a keratome, and then uses a special laser to remove some of the corneal substance called stroma, in order to modify its shape.
In SBK, the corneal flap raised is thinner than in conventional LASIK, and thus offers patients greater safety and efficacy than conventional LASIK, and can be offered to patients with thinner corneas also.
These surgeries continue to remain very popular, but the below mentioned premium surgeries for laser vision correction are becoming increasingly popular because of better visual results with fewer complications.
Femtosecond LASIK or blade free LASIK
In this, the ultra-speed femtosecond laser is used to raise the corneal flap, making the surgery absolutely blade free. This means that there is better precision and a much faster recovery of vision, and less chances of side effects.
ReLEx SMILE
In SMILE, no corneal flap is raised. Instead, a small incision is made on the corneal surface, to remove a carefully sculpted corneal lenticule from the stroma, to modify the corneal shape and power. It caused less dryness of the eye than conventional laser eye surgery, with fewer side effects, but the vision after SMILE may take a few days to stabilize.
Contoura Vision
Contoura Vision is the latest technology for vision correction and uses a highly sophisticated algorithm to capture as many as 22000 data points on the surface of the cornea. femtosecond (blade less) laser then modifies them individually, to provide the excellent vision clarity and precision. In fact, as many as two-thirds of the patients undergoing Contoura Vision correction achieve super vision, that is, vision better than 6/6 or 20/20.
The ablation and reshaping of cornea in Contoura Vision is customized to your eyes, and corrects each of the 22000 points of the cornea to produce immaculate results, with a much decreased incidence of side effects like halos and glare.
How to choose from the laser eye surgery types?
Laser eye surgery in todays’ day and age is safer, and more precise than ever before. In addition, you have a very varied bouquet of surgeries to choose from, which can be best suited for your eye structure, refractive power and vision requirements.
Before you choose a surgery, you must make sure you discuss the risks and benefits of each of these surgical procedures, and also discuss your expectations from the surgery with you eye doctor. In addition, when choosing a surgeon or eye hospital, make sure you do a thorough background check to ensure that the facility offers the entire range of refractive procedures, and that your doctor is well-versed in all the premium laser eye surgeries.