What is LASIK?

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, or more commonly known as Traditional LASIK, is a surgical procedure that reshapes the front of the eye (cornea) to improve your vision. Its safety and success rate is remarkable. Over 96% of patients walk away from the surgery with 20/20 vision or better.

In Traditional LASIK, your surgeon first anaesthetizes your eyes with drops (no needles required). Then operating a supremely precise, surgical instrument called a microkeratome, your skilled doctor creates a thin flap of tissue at the center of the cornea. Once this is complete, the surgeon operates a computer-guided excimer laser. This laser produces a cool beam of ultraviolet light that gently and precisely reshapes the front of your eye. Each pulse of the laser accurately removes an infinitesimal small amount of tissue (39-millionths of an inch, to be exact) in this sculpting process.

The surgeon uses this laser for less than a minute and then replaces the flap. This corneal tissue adheres naturally and securely to the eye (no stitches required). In total, this outpatient procedure takes fifteen minutes. Vision recovery occurs rapidly. Most patients enjoy remarkable improvement in their sight immediately and can usually drive the very next day.

Custom LASIK

Custom LASIK, also known as wavefront LASIK or wavefront-guided LASIK, uses 3-dimensional measurements of how your eye processes images to guide the laser in re-shaping the front part of the eye (cornea).

Originally used for NASA’S Hubble Telescope, the wavefront analyzer has been transitioned for medical use, allowing for a three-dimensional map of your cornea to be produced that is 25 times more precise than traditional measurements. The data from the wavefront analyzer is then electronically transferred to the laser, enabling your surgeon to customize the LASIK procedure to your unique visual requirements. Wavefront LASIK improves your chances to achieve better than 20/20 vision, and also allows for the correction of “high order aberrations”, or in layperson’s terms, minute imperfections in the eye, that glasses, contact lessons, or standard LASIK could never treat. These imperfections, now correctable with the analyzer, usually reveal themselves in visual glares and halos as well as difficulties with night vision.

With this technology, laser vision correction reaches a groundbreaking new level. Now you can improve not only how much you see (measured with a standard 20/20 eye chart), but also how well you can see in terms of contrast sensitivity and fine detail.

Dr. Joseph Dello Russo announced the results of a study that indicates for the first time that LASIK is safer than contact lenses. According to a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, October 2006 edition, researchers have confirmed that LASIK surgery as performed this year is safer than contact lens use. Sight threatening infections from contact lens use occur in 1 in 2,000 contact lens wearers, whereas the study confirms that only one in 10,000 patients risk significant vision loss due to complications from LASIK, making LASIK the safest elective procedure being performed today.