Lasik surgery has been around for decades and has helped millions of people improve their vision. Patients in the early days often experienced issues with glare, starbursts, halos, and high amounts of discomfort when healing. Then along came custom Lasik. This procedure uses additional information from pre-op testing to deliver better final results. Custom Lasik also treats a larger part of the cornea providing higher quality vision for patients.
Recently, Lasik technology has yet again improved. A greater understanding of our eyes, along with more precise tools, has given rise to the next big thing in Lasik: Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Lasik.
Lasik: The Basics
Lasik (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) is a procedure that uses a precise laser to reshape a patient’s cornea in order to improve their vision. First, a thin corneal flap is created using a sharp blade. A hinge is left at one end of the flap as the rest of the cornea is peeled back to reveal the stroma, the middle section of the cornea. Then the Lasik laser goes to work, reshaping this section of the cornea. The flap is folded back into place, and voilà, you have better vision.
What Is Conventional Lasik?
Conventional Lasik has been around for a long time, but many laser eye surgery clinics, like BoydVision, don’t offer this option anymore. Final patient outcomes are successful, but patient satisfaction is lower compared to other Lasik procedures. The operation covers a small area of the cornea and only corrects refractive errors. There might be other visual aberrations in your cornea, but conventional Lasik won’t help with these.
Since the procedure only covers a small section of the cornea, many patients have issues with night vision as the pupils become more dilated during this time. Common Lasik side effects like halos, starbursts, and glare are common with conventional Lasik procedures.
Improving Conventional Lasik with Custom Lasik
Custom Lasik uses additional information from pre-op testing, allowing surgeons to be more precise with the excimer laser. Before your Lasik operation at BoydVision, we’ll perform topographical and wavefront mapping of your cornea to get a highly detailed map of your eye.
We’ll then use this information to treat a larger part of the cornea with more precision. Overall, this gives patients a higher quality vision when compared to standard treatment. Custom Lasik helps improve night vision and offers patients a clearer and sharper final visual outcome.
Introducing the Most Advanced Lasik: Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Lasik
Since the 1990s the technology used for Lasik has drastically improved. A greater understanding of our eyes, along with the development of more precise lasers, means better results, clearer vision, faster healing, and an increase in patient satisfaction. Right now at BoydVision, we’ve just introduced the next big thing in Lasik: the Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Laser.
The main difference offered by this type of procedure is that rather than using a blade to corneal flap, a precise laser is the tool of choice. For this reason, Femtosecond is also known as “bladeless Lasik.” Patients unnerved by the idea of a sharp instrument cutting their eye can be put at ease with this type of Lasik surgery.
Benefits of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Lasik
There are many benefits to this type of Lasik surgery, some of which are:
- Precise laser minimizes collateral tissue damage.
- A more predictable and consistently shaped corneal flap is possible.
- Corneal flap shapes can be customized to fit each patient’s unique corneal shape.
- Increased precision works for people with thinner corneal flaps.
- Fewer ocular aberrations.
- Fewer variations in intraocular pressure.
- Fewer chances of developing dry eyes after surgery.
- Corneal flap fits more securely when folded back in place, decreasing the risk of flap dislocation.
- Dryer eye bed is created, eliminating the need to swab the stroma after the flap is folded back.
Book Your Free Lasik Surgery Consultation
BoydVision is the only laser eye surgery clinic in Vancouver where you get to meet your surgeon, Dr. Boyd, during your initial consultation. During this time, you’ll be able to talk about our recommendations, learn the pros and cons of each operation, and get comfortable with the doctor who will perform your surgery. So what are you waiting for? Book your free Lasik surgery consultation with us today!