Commonly Asked Questions About Refractive Surgery

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Excimer Laser
Doctors have been routinely treating nearsightedness and astigmatism with incisions for over 25 years. By the early 1980s, they began looking at lasers to improve the precision and predictability of altering the shape of the cornea. Researchers found that IBM's new Excimer laser, used initially for etching computer chips, had medical applications as well. Now in its second decade of use, the technologically-advanced amount of precision, control and safety to treating nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism is in a new era.

Its ability to remove corneal tissue with accuracy up to 0.25 microns (0.00004 of an inch) with each pulse makes the Excimer laser well suited for correcting vision. Often, only 50 microns of tissue (about the thickness of a human hair) are removed to achieve the proper amount of correction.

The Excimer laser produces a "cool" or non-thermal light beam as most of its heat is dissipated into the air. This makes it ideal for corneal surgery because it eliminates the possibility of thermal damage to surrounding tissue.

How It Works
LASIK is an acronym for LASer In-situ Keratomileusis, which simply means "to shape the cornea using a laser." It corrects vision by reshaping the cornea (outer window of the eye) so that light rays focus more precisely on the retina, thereby reducing or eliminating refractive errors.

Using an instrument known as a microkeratome, a thin flap of corneal tissue is folded back.
The Excimer laser removes a predetermined amount of tissue from the inner cornea. The cornea can be made flatter to treat nearsightedness, steeper to treat farsightedness and/or more spherical to correct astigmatism.
The corneal flap is placed back in its original position where it bonds without the need for stitches.

LASIK: Step by Step

After your eye has been numbed with "eye drop" anesthesia, an eyelid speculum will be positioned to hold your eyelids open. You will remain awake and comfortable throughout the procedure.

A small suction ring will be placed around the cornea and serves as a platform for the microkeratome.

You will be asked to look at a target light while the Excimer laser reshapes the corneal tissue. A clicking sound can be heard as each microscopic layer of tissue is vaporized. This process will last from seconds to minutes, depending on the amount of correction necessary.

The corneal flap is then placed back into its original position and allowed to dry for a few minutes.

You will be given additional eye drops, and your eye may be shielded for protection. your vision will probably be a little blurry at first so have someone drive you home and relax for the rest of the day.

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