By Robert Moongrave
One of the great things about the age in which we live is that
we do not have to put up with a lot of the problems our
forebears did. Every day, new surgeries are being developed
that help to enhance our day to day lives and one of those
developments is Lasik surgery.
Lasik is an acronym, which stands for Laser-assisted In Situ
Keratomileusis. It is a procedure in which a patient has their
eye sight corrected- no more glasses, no more hassle with
contact lenses. Many people find that Lasik is a great
alternative and it is a permanent solution- once you undergo
the operation you will not have to do it again.
Lasik surgery was developed in 1990, and the first Lasik
operation in the United States occurred in 1991. There are
three stages to the procedure, the pre-operative, the operation
itself, and the post-operative. This article is concerned with
what actually happens during the procedure, and how the
operation corrects vision.
One of the strange parts about this operation is that it is
performed while the patient is still awake, usually under the
influence of a mild sedative as well as anesthetic eye drops.
First of all, a flap of corneal tissue is created by using a
mechanical microkeratome, which uses a metal blade. A
femtosecond laser microkeratome can also be used. The latter
device creates a series of tiny, closely arranged bubbles
within the cornea. One end of the flap has a hinge attached to
it, which folds back to reveal the stroma of the cornea.
Next, an excimer laser is used to remodel the corneal stroma.
The laser vaporizes some of the corneal tissue while allowing
precision control. This control means that adjacent parts of
the stroma are not damaged by releasing the molecular bonds
that hold cells together. The layers of tissue that are removed
are mere micrometers thick, another advantage of laser
precision.
After the cornea has been reshaped by the tissue removal de to
the laser, the surgeon performing the operation places the
Lasik flap back over the treatment area. This flap remains in
place, protecting the eye until the tissue has healed. The
advantages of this surgery, aside for sight correction, include
the fact that the cornea has been “tricked”, and does not send
the message to the brain that would set off pain receptors. A
patient who has undergone the surgery can expect a rapid
recovery time with very little pain involved.
Lasik surgery has undergone a vast transformation in terms of
accessibility and advancements in the last decade and a half.
With more and more surgeons seeing the monetary opportunities
inherent in the procedure, more have been trained and the
result has been a decrease in cost- Lasik procedures today are
half the price they were just five years ago! Lasik cannot be
performed on everyone, so consult your optometrist to see if
you might qualify.
About the Author: Robert Moongrave operates a website dedicated
to helping people make Lasik decisions. Visit the site at:
http://lasikproject.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
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