A type of refractive eye surgery, LASIK stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis. The procedure can correct refractive errors — nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. As the surgery has a good track record, it is often chosen by many patients. The procedure is safe and quickly restores the vision.
Requirements for a good LASIK surgery candidate:
1. Candidate’s eyes should be healthy: The eyes should be healthy. If there’s any active eye infection or abrasions, they must be treated before the surgery.
2. The eye condition is within range: LASIK eye procedures treat a wide range of eye conditions, including hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism. An eye doctor is the best person to tell whether LASIK is the best treatment for a particular eye condition or not.
3. The vision should be stable: Stable vision reduces the risk of regression and the need for a touch-up procedure.
4. The candidate should be an adult: The patient has to be at least 18 years old to undergo LASIK surgery.
What is the procedure for LASIK?
Before a LASIK procedure, the eye surgeon will/may:
- Assess the overall health of the eye.
- Prescribe mild medication a few days before the procedure.
- Put numbing drops in the eyes before the operation starts.
LASIK treatment:
LASIK surgery can be performed with Excimer Laser as well as Femtosecond laser. While the former uses a blade during the procedure, the latter is a bladeless procedure.
The laser physically corrects the glass prescription by reshaping the cornea during the surgery. Thus, correcting myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism using this technology.
The LASIK surgery usually requires less than 30 minutes of operating room time. The laser is for less than a minute on each eye. However, preoperative preparation and post-operative observation may take hours.
LASIK with Excimer Laser
The procedure involves two steps:
- Creation of thin-film or flap on the surface of the cornea by a precision flap-making instrument
- Reshaping the cornea with excimer laser by removing tissue from the middle layer of the cornea
The procedure in detail:
- After numbing the eyes, the patient is asked to relax on the treatment bed. The eyelids of the patient are held open with a precision flap making instrument, microkeratome. It is an extremely fine instrument with precise delicate gears.
- The patient is then asked to focus on a special fixation light. The eye surgeon uses a precision instrument. The instrument folds away a corneal flap within seconds, revealing the middle layer of the cornea.
- During the creation of the flap, the pressure in the patient’s eye rises and their vision may grey out.
- The cornea is reshaped using an excimer laser.
- After this, the flap is returned to cover the exposed area. And the treatment is completed.
- Eye drops are put in the eye and a shield will be placed to keep the eye protected.
LASIK with Femtosecond Laser
The following steps are followed on the day of surgery:
- The patient is brought to a procedure room and is asked to lie on their back under the laser system and a computer screen.
- Numbing drops are put into the patient’s eyes.
- The patient’s eyelids are kept open during the procedure using a machine called eye speculum.
- A suction ring is centered over the pupil and suction is applied. A glass lens holds the globe of the eye steady and flattens the cornea.
- The laser is used to create a flap in the surface of the cornea and suction is released.
- The cornea is reshaped as required.
- The flap is replaced once reshaping is complete.
- The flap will heal without stitches.
Note: If you are looking for the best eye hospital in Kolkata for bladeless, femtosecond LASIK surgery, you can visit us. We, at Disha Eye Hospitals, are committed to providing our patients with the highest possible standard of ophthalmic care in an affordable manner. Along with LASIK surgery, a few of our other services include cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment, diagnostic and imaging services.
Although each of the LASIK procedures has its own features and benefits, there are a few advantages of femtosecond laser LASIK:
- Puts patients at greater ease as no blade is used during the process
- The decreased potential risk of corneal abrasion
- Helps surgeons to customize LASIK procedure
- Creates corneal flap with edges, enabling it to fit securely in place after the LASIK procedure, decreasing the risk of dislocation of flap post-surgery
What to do after LASIK surgery?
After LASIK surgery:
- The patient should avoid rubbing or squeezing their eyes for the first week.
- They should take care of the eye to ensure that they do not displace the flap.