The term LASIK stands for Laser Assisted in
situ Keratomileusis. That simply means that a laser is used to reshape the
cornea (clear front part of the eye) to increase clarity of vision.
Since LASIK was first approved by the Federal Drug
Administration (FDA) in the mid-1990s, it has continually improved. The
candidate pool has vastly increased, so that many more people can now have some
type of LASIK procedure who could not safely have it years ago.
The original LASIK procedure is now considered Traditional
LASIK, and has been supplanted in popularity by the more sophisticated and
accurate Wavefront-Guided LASIK.
What Does LASIK Treat?
LASIK and its variant procedures treat three types of refractive error:
- Farsightedness (hyperopia)
They do it by changing the cornea’s curvature. Refractive error is a wrong way of bending light and by increasing or decreasing how much the cornea refracts incoming light, a LASIK surgeon improves clarity of vision.
The LASIK Procedure
Briefly, it is a three-step process:
- A thin round piece of corneal surface tissue (a “flap”) is detached and folded back out of the way
- The laser quickly and precisely vaporizes small pieces of the layer thus exposed (the stroma)
- The flap is replaced and smoothed into position and left to heal by itself
For more detail, please see our LASIK
Procedure page.
Why is a Flap Necessary?
If no flap was folded back and the laser simply treated the
top surface of the cornea, your improved vision would not remain improved. The
corneal top layer (epithelium) is continually changing its cells – discarding
and replacing itself, much the way our top layer of skin does. But the next
layer down, the stroma, does not do that. It is stable. So by changing the
corneal curvature on the stroma, LASIK makes your vision correction permanent.
The surface flap rests on the new stromal surface and acts like a bandage
during the short (one or two days) recovery period.
Resources for More LASIK Information
If you would like to learn more about who is a good
candidate for LASIK, please see our page on LASIK
candidacy. You can read more also on our LASIK
Questions page.
All of our highly-trained and experienced LASIK surgeons
have many happy patients, and you can read some of their letters on our patient testimonials page.
Our LASIK
surgeons are:
Paul G. Galentine, MD
Lewis
R. Gaskin, MD
John
F. Gillis, MD
Joseph H. Krug, Jr., MD
Mark L. Malton, MD
James P. Pressly, MD
Gerald B. Rosen, MD
Royce
R. Syracuse, MD
David N. Ugland, MD
We will be very willing to work with you on making your
vision correction affordable, fitting into your budget with comfort. Please see
our Financing
page for more details.
Discover
Horizon Eye Care
Why
Horizon Eye Care?
To learn more about LASIK, how it is done, and whether you
would be a good candidate, please feel free to call
or
email, lasik@horizoneye.com, our Charlotte, North Caroline office. We will be glad to arrange a
personal consultation for you with one of our eye surgeons.
| To learn more now: Read the comprehensive LASIK information here on our website or please call our Refractive Surgery Coordinator at 704-367-8133 or 1-888-71-LASIK to see how you can find out if you're a candidate. |
