Laser Eye Surgery Featured Article
Two Types of Laser Eye Treatment
Imagine having worn glasses or contact lenses for 10, 15 or 20 years. Now imagine not having to wear any corrective lenses at all. Imagine the freedom of having near-perfect vision. Laser eye treatment gives you just that. Firstly when assessing laser eye treatment the patient must have healthly eyes before doctors would consider recommending laser eye surgery in order to cure eye problems. I may be in the minority but I wonder about the necessity of corrective laser eye surgery when yours eyes are healthy.
Laser eye treatment is a surgical procedure that corrects many vision disorders. Some of these common vision maladies are nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. There are two types of corrective laser eye surgery procedures that can be performed on individuals. Those procedures are PRK or photorefractive keratectomy and Lasik surgery or keratomileusis.
PRK as a laser eye treatment
The laser eye treatment known as PRK is a laser eye treatment that is performed in an outpatient laser eye treatment clinic. To numb the area eye drops are applied that contain a local anesthetic. Once the anesthetic has taken effect the cornea of the eye is reshaped. This reshaping is accomplished by laser eye surgery to remove miniscule amounts of tissue. This removal of tissue is accomplished through the use of an ultraviolet light beam. The success of this laser eye treatment is based upon the preciseness of the process and its ability to remove tissue down to billionths of an inch.
In addition, the reshaping of the cornea is not accomplished arbitrarily. The scientific and precise method of determining how much tissue is removed off of the cornea is determined through various measurements taken during the initial laser eye treatment assessment. These measurements are then imputed into the laser’s computer which results in the precise extraction of the cornea’s tissue. Generally, this entire corrective laser eye surgery procedure allows the patients to return to their daily activities in a few days.
Lasik eye surgery
The second laser eye treatment procedure is known as the Lasik procedure. The lasik eye surgery process requires the use of a surgical knife and as such defines lasik eye surgery as a more complicated method of laser eye treatment.
In this laser eye treatment the procedure begins with the surgeon who is performing the lasik eye surgery cutting the cornea in a circular form. The flap is then pulled back and the exposed cornea is treated with a low powered laser during this type of lasik surgery. The laser then is utilized to remove a portion of the tissue. This lasik eye surgery restructures the cornea and allows for the light captured by the eye to be more succinctly refocused onto the retina. This laser eye treatment allows for the patient’s eyesight to improve significantly. When laser eye treatment indicates that the vision requires a more difficult refractive corrections then lasik surgery is recommended. There are laser eye surgery risks of complications after larising which may lead to corneal ectasia in which fluid pressure mounts in the eye and patients may require a corneal transplant to rectify the situation. This is a serious laser eye surgery risk which must be explored thoroughly during laser eye treatment appointments.
The patient should have realistic expectations before the laser eye surgery or lasik eye surgery is performed. Those who are above 40 should know that it may still be necessary for them to use reading glasses, even after the laser eye surgery.
To obtain a full insight into what sorts of laser eye treatments are available, whether to have laser eye surgery or lasik eye surgery, use your browser to search and collect all available information. Take this info with you when you go for your initial laser eye treatment appointment so you can discuss it with the optician. There are hundreds of people who have very successful lasik eye surgery so don’t be over worried - just be aware.
