Understanding Laser Eye Surgery
Considered one of the most advanced types of medical procedure available to patients, laser eye surgery (commonly referred to as LASIK) is a treatment that addresses sight impairment. Although a high strength beam is the main resource utilised throughout the duration of the process, other tools are required in order to make tiny incisions and cuts within the external layers of the eye itself.
What is LASIK for?
In most instances, this treatment is best suited to correct issues with vision as a result of irregularities within the cornea. It can be used to enhance the vision of those that suffer with farsightedness (typically known within the medical industry as hyperopia). It is also ideal to correct a range of minor focus problems that can occur within the eye.
For those suffering with hyperopia, their condition will usually result in a lack of focus when viewing items and objects that are close to them. This means that reading can be all but impossible, as can any intricate handling of items. This is typically due to the fact that an individual eyeball with long-distance vision will be shorter in diameter, as well as possessing a much flatter cornea; resulting in objects at a particular distance being hard to focus on.
How is the surgery undertaken?
The procedure itself is incredibly intricate, requiring the use of some of the smallest and most precise tools available to surgeons. The surgery can address one eye or both simultaneously, with the aim being to correct the shape and positioning of a single layer of the cornea. To perform this task, a very thin surgical blade (known as a microkeratome scalpel) is used to make a very thin incision in a straight line directly into the cornea.
This layer isn’t removed entirely; a hinge-like fold is made instead, which can then be peeled back and forth as required. Once this flap has been made an excimer laser will be prepared electronically, before being used to heat and reshape the tissue within the cornea itself. In most instances this tissue will be smoothed and shaped in a manner that creates a gentle curve, to reflect the usual shape of the cornea of a healthy eyeball.
This new layer can then be laid back over the eye and the new curvature will act to re-align the nerves that are responsible for vision. This correction will result in the treated eye (or eyes) being able to focus on a particular object at close range due to the new shape, as it allows the cornea to better-view whatever is being looked at. This works in much the same way as glasses or contact lenses may do.
Although some patients do complain of slight irritation during the procedure, every effort is made to ensure that the eye(s) being treated are completely numb, including the surrounding area. Vision is known to blur throughout the duration of the treatment, but the results are majorly successful (with well over 95% success rates to date).