If you wear glasses or contact lenses, you will have undoubtedly heard about the benefits of Lasik. But what exactly is Lasik and how does it work? This article will provide an answer to both of these questions.
Lasik stands for Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. Since this will most likely not mean very much to you, let’s discuss how the procedure actually works.
Most people who undergo a Lasik consultation do so because they are looking to fix a refractive vision problem. Hence, the whole premise behind Lasik eye surgery is the surgery will change the way the patient’s eye refracts light, which improves the patient’s vision.
Now that we know how the procedure works in theory, let’s describe the Lasik procedure.
During the actual surgery, an eye surgeon will administer eye drops containing a local anesthetic (as opposed to a general anesthetic which puts you into an unconscious state). In case you are wondering why the surgeon doesn’t use general anesthesia, it is because when you are put under, you can enter REM sleep. As a result of REM sleep, the eye surgeon is unable to safely operate on your eye.
After the eye drops have been applied, the eye surgeon will use a small device (called a microkeratome) to create a small incision in the patient’s cornea. Once the incision is made, the flap is folded back, which gives the laser access to the stoma. At this point, the eye surgeon uses the laser to vaporize portions of the stoma, which causes the eye to change the way it refracts light. Once the surgeon is done with the laser, he resituates the flap back into place. Since the cornea is self healing, the eye surgeon does not have to use any adhesive or stitches.
As we have shown above, the Lasik medical procedure is relatively straightforward. Therefore, if you are still wearing glasses or contact lenses, we highly recommend you visit an eye surgeon to find out if the procedure is right for you.
For further information about Lasik, we recommend you visit the Dallas Lasik Guide.