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Cataract
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Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) LASIK surgery is the newest entry into the field of surgical correction of nearsightedness. This procedure combines the advances of laser surgery with a lamellar Keratectomy. The Keratectomy is performed using a hand held keratome with an oscillating blade to make a horizontal cut through the cornea. This creates a flap of tissue that can be elevated. This portion of the procedure is somewhat like a carpenter's wood plane moving across a piece of wood with a thin shaving of wood being elevated or like splitting a layer cake into two parts. After the tissue flap is lifted, the Laser procedure is performed exactly as for the PRK procedure. The flap is then gently placed back in its original position, covering the laser treated area. The flap usually seals tight in minutes without the use of sutures! The procedure takes about 15 minutes. The advantages of this procedure are: 1) It has a faster visual recovery than PRK (usually 1 or 2 days) 2) It has significantly less pain in the first 24 -48 hours 3) It can be used for higher levels of nearsightedness, -outside the range of standard PRK The disadvantages of the procedure are: 1) It is a technically more difficult procedure for the surgeon 2) It re-introduces hand held and mechanical variables to the procedure which were eliminated with the laser only procedure 3) There is a slightly higher risk of complications , in general This, procedure is not FDA approved in the U.S., as yet, despite its strong popularity around the world. Both the FDA and CRS, a private foundation, are presently running formal study's on the Lasik procedure to determine its safety and effectiveness and most refractive surgeons in the U.S. are, in fact, performing this procedure.
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