Lasik is a type of Laser eye surgery and accounts for about 90% of all laser procedures currently being carried out. The other main type of laser eye surgery is Lasek and this is generally the treatment people have if they are unsuitable for Lasik eye surgery.
If you wear glasses or contact lenses then this means that the light entering your eye is not focused precisely on to your retina which is what is required for perfect vision. If you are long sighted the light entering your eye is focused behind your retina, whereas if you are short sighted the light is focused in front of your retina. Astigmatism is slightly different in that it refers to the problem where light is focused at different points on your retina. So the aim of laser eye surgery is to effectively change the focus of the light entering your eye, so that it is falls perfectly onto your retina and hence you see clearly.
This actual lasering of the eye is the same whichever type of laser eye surgery you have, it is only the way in which eye is accessed that is different. During Lasik eye surgery it is the inner layers of your cornea that are to be lasered and these need to be accessed before the procedure can take place. The cornea is the outer part of your eye and its main function is to focus the light (image) entering your eye. During the Lasik procedure a flap (thin layer of cornea) must be created and this is the main difference with Lasek eye surgery where no flap is created. You can think of creating the flap as being similar to taking the lid off a jar. You remove the lid, apply the laser and then replace the lid back afterwards in exactly the same place that it was before. There are 2 main methods that can be used to create the flap during Lasik and they are Intralase or Microkeratome:
Intralase: During Intralase Lasik the flap is created using a laser rather than surgical blade (microkeratome) and this is considered by many to be the gold standard in Lasik eye surgery. There are certainly some advantages of Intralase but you will have to weigh these up against the additional costs that you will have to incur.
Standard Lasik: Standard Lasik uses a microkeratome (surgical blade) to create the flap and for most people produces excellent results. Some people feel more comfortable with the idea of a ‘bladeless’ procedure and therefore chose to have Intralase. It is worth mentioning here however that you would not even know that a blade was being used if you hadn’t been told, as it is all integrated into the operating machine.
The vast majority of people will be suitable for Lasik eye surgery and the only real factor that limits people having the procedure is corneal thickness. You need more corneal thickness to have Lasik compared with Lasek as there is no flap created during Lasek. In order for your eyes to be safely lasered, your surgeon needs to ensure that there is enough corneal tissue remaining after the flap is created to safely carry out the procedure. Leaving a sufficient amount of corneal tissue will mean that the strength and integrity of your cornea is fully intact. If you already have a thin cornea you may be required to have Lasek eye surgery. People performing contact sports such as martial arts may also be better advised to have Lasek as the cornea will be slightly stronger after the procedure when compared with Lasik.
Unless you are advised by your surgeon to have Lasek, most people choose to have Lasik eye surgery as compared with Lasek it has a quicker and more comfortable recovery period. The quick Lasik recovery means most people can return to work and drive within 48 hours of having the procedure. In summary Lasik is the first choice for laser eye surgery and it continues to grow in popularity.
For more information on laser eye surgery you can visit TreatmentSaver
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