Causes of Cataracts

LASIK, an acronym for Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, is a mode of refractive laser eye procedure performed by ophthalmologists and is meant for correcting eyesight problems. The procedure is usually a popular replacement for photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, considering that it needs a shorter time for complete recovery, and the patient suffers less pain in general.

The Lasik eye surgery treatment was made feasible by Dr Jose Barraquer (Colombia), who around 1960 produced the first microkeratome, which is used to cut thin flaps in the cornea and alter its shape, in a procedure referred to keratomileusis. This treatment was developed and pioneered by the world leading Barraquer Clinic, based in Bogota, Colombia.

LASIK surgery got its start in 1990 by Dr. Lucio Buratto (Italy) and Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris (Greece) as a connecting to of two earlier techniques, keratomileusis and photorefractive keratectomy. It soon became popular because of the greater precision and lower number of complications in comparison with these previous two techniques.

In 1991, Lasik eye surgery was performed for the first time in the United States by Drs. Stephen Brint and Stephen Slade. The very same year, Drs. Thomas and Tobias Neuhann successfully treated the first German LASIK patients using an automated microkeratome.

Clients making use of soft contact lenses as a rule are instructed to stop using them around 7 to 10 days before the surgical procedure. One industry body recommends that patients wearing hard contact lenses should stop using them for at least six weeks plus another six weeks for every three years the hard contacts have been worn.

Before the surgery, the surfaces of the patient’s corneas are assessed with a computer-controlled scanning device to find out their exact shape. Using low-power lasers, it produces a topographic map of the cornea.

This process also detects astigmatism and various irregularities in the shape of the cornea. From this data, the surgeon determines the exact amount and locations of corneal tissue to be removed during the surgery. The patient is typically prescribed an antibiotic to start taking before hand, to reduce the chance of infection following the procedure.

The operation is completed with the person conscious and mobile; however, the patient is typically given a mild sedative (such as Valium or diazepam) and anesthetic eye drops.

Lasik eye surgery is performed in two tips. The initial step is to make a flap of corneal tissue. This process is done with a mechanical microkeratome which has a metal blade, or maybe a femtosecond laser microkeratome that forms a series of tiny very closely arranged bubbles inside the cornea. A hinge remains on one side of this flap. The flap is folded back, revealing the stroma, the center section of the cornea. The operation of lifting and folding back the flap could be discomforting.

The next phase of the procedure is using an excimer laser (193 nm) to remodel the corneal stroma. The laser treatment vaporizes tissue in a carefully controlled procedure without damaging the adjacent stroma by releasing the molecular bonds that hold the cells together. No burning or heat or actual cutting is needed to ablate the tissue. The amounts of tissue which are removed are in the order of tens of micrometers in thickness.

In the next step, the patient’s vision gets quite blurry right after the flap is lifted. They will be able to see only white light all around the orange light of the laser beam. This certainly could be fairly confusing for the patient.

Modern manufactured excimer lasers take advantage of a computer system that keeps track of the patient’s eyeball position as much as 4,000 times per second, directing the laser pulses for highly accurate positioning. The moment the laser has reformed the cornea, the Lasik flap is folded back over the treated area by the surgeon. The flap stays in place by natural adhesion until treatment is finished.

Doing the laser ablation in the deeper corneal stroma generally provides for speedier visual recovery and less discomfort.

The risks of LASIK surgery may include the following. . . Dry eyes, over or under correction, visual acuity fluctuation, halos or starbursts around light sources after dark, light sensitivity, double vision, wrinkles in the flap, striation, decentered ablation, debris or growth below the flap, induced astigmatism. These complications are classified according to whether they arise in the preoperative procedures, the surgery itself, or following the operation either early or later.

Bookmark It