LASIK

Are you fed up with the hassles associated with glasses and contact lenses? Would your lifestyle, job, and personal activities benefit from not being dependent on glasses?

If you answered yes to these questions, you’re not alone; millions of people in the US suffer from visual disorders that can be treated. That’s right—clear vision with reduced or no dependence on glasses and contact lenses is an option! At OCLI Vision, we take pride in offering our patients the most advanced options for vision correction, including blade-free/all-laser LASIK. Most people who struggle with glasses and contact lenses have heard about vision correction procedures such as LASIK. LASIK laser vision correction continues to grow in popularity, and with good reason. Millions have undergone LASIK with amazing results. At OCLI Vision, our surgeons have an excellent track record of helping LASIK surgery patients greatly reduce—or completely eliminate—their need for eyeglasses and contact lenses! The first laser vision corrections in the world were performed by OCLI doctors. To date, OCLI Vision doctors have performed over 100,000 laser procedures.

There have been many advances in LASIK surgery in recent years. However, the goal has remained the same: LASIK surgery aims to permanently correct refractive error, eliminating or reducing dependency on eyeglasses as much as possible. The OCLI Vision LASIK surgeons take great pride in being one of the very few practices offering the latest advancements in LASIK technology, using both the iLASIK platform, as well as the Wavelight Laser.

During the LASIK procedure, your OCLI LASIK surgeon will begin by creating a corneal “flap” on the surface of the eye using a femtosecond laser. This exposes the outer layers of the cornea for treatment. Once the flap has been created, your surgeon will begin to make the necessary adjustments to the cornea using an excimer laser. The excimer laser reshapes the cornea to a set of desired specifications, allowing for clear vision at all distances. Once the procedure has ended, the corneal flap is replaced and acts as a self-healing bandage. There are no stitches required after LASIK surgery, and healing is generally quick. Most patients can drive to their postop appointment the next day without glasses.

One year after having bladeless LASIK,* patients in a clinical study reported these great results without glasses or contact lenses:
100% could pass a driving test
98% could see 20/20 or better
70% could see better than 20/20
*Results from FDA CustomVue trials

Find Out If You’re A Candidate for LASIK!

Femtosecond-assisted LASIK, also known as Femto LASIK, is a bladeless visual rehabilitation procedure that uses two different lasers to create a flap and change the contour of the eye to improve uncorrected vision and reduce and often eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second, which is approximately the duration of each laser application during Femto eye surgery procedures. Good candidates for Femto laser procedures are adults with relatively stable vision, good health, and no issues preventing wounds from healing properly. Potential patients who have previously undergone refractive eye surgeries or who have very thin corneas may not be the best candidates for this type of vision correction surgery. The experts at OCLI will perform tests to determine your candidacy. Femto LASIK can be used to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and some forms of presbyopia. Your surgeon will explain your options and the procedure to you in more detail if you are a good candidate for this treatment.

The Femto LASIK procedure is relatively quick and painless. You will enter the procedure room and will recline in a special chair, which will position you precisely for your procedure. Eye drops will be used to numb your eyes, which will be held open throughout the procedure with an eye speculum. Your surgeon will use a suction ring to position your eye for the laser. After the flap has been created your surgeon will employ an excimer laser to reshape your cornea and reposition your flap, and then the process is complete. You may experience some mild discomfort after your Femto eye procedure. Your surgeon will provide you with an eye shield to wear for 3-4 days after your Femto laser procedure. You will return to the office to remove the eye shield and to make sure that your eye is healing properly after your surgery.

Because of its high success rate and minimal patient recovery time, bladeless LASIK is recognized as one of the most effective corrective eye procedures available. NASA and the United States Navy both endorse bladeless LASIK as the preferred method of vision correction.

Realistic Expectations and Possible Side Effects

The decision to have LASIK is an important one that only you can make. It is important that you have realistic expectations and that your decision is based on facts.

Although we cannot guarantee a certain level of vision, we leave nothing to chance to achieve your best personal vision. Achieving visual independence in the safest manner is our goal.

Although complications are rare, any surgical procedure does carry some risk. Please make sure your questions and concerns are answered before your procedure. Let us know if you have a history of eye problems such as dry eyes, poor vision, or anything that might affect your LASIK surgery.

Potential side effects:
– Glare
– Seeing halos around images
– Difficulty driving at night
– Fluctuating vision
– Dry eye

If you’ve had a LASIK consultation in the past and were told that you’re not a candidate for LASIK due to astigmatism, corneal thickness, or any other reason, the LASIK surgeons at OCLI Vision recommend that you have another consultation. With today’s technological advancements, more people than ever before are candidates for LASIK.
There are also alternatives to LASIK that may be more suitable based on your needs. PRK, Phakic IOLs, and refractive lens exchange are also options that our expert surgeons can discuss with you at your upcoming LASIK evaluation.

LASIK candidates should:
– Be at least 18 years of age
– Have adequate corneal thickness
– Have a stable eyeglass or contact lens prescription
– Have an otherwise normal eye exam
– Exhibit normal corneal topography

LASIK is the most common and widely known form of vision correction, but based on your personal situation, another vision correction option might be better for your visual needs. Below are other vision correction options offered at OCLI Vision.

PRK is similar to LASIK as it uses the same excimer laser to correct the curvature of the cornea and provide clear vision. The difference is that, with PRK, a corneal flap is not created. This vision correction procedure is generally performed on those with thin corneas or those who have had other eye surgeries in the past. The recovery time is longer than with LASIK as the cornea needs to heal, but the visual correction results are the same as LASIK.

Implantable Lenses (Phakic IOLs)

Recently approved implantable lenses are now an option. Also known as phakic intraocular lenses, ICLs are clear lenses that work within the eye to focus vision. ICLs treat moderate to severe nearsightedness. An ICL patient is someone with a really strong prescription who has been seeking life with clear vision without heavy and expensive glasses. It isn’t unusual for patients who are well-suited for ICLs to not be good candidates for laser vision correction because of thin corneas and very high myopia. More than 1 million ICLs have been implanted worldwide, and ICLs have been in use in the U.S. since 2005. Implantable lenses offer permanent vision correction; however, implantable lenses can be surgically removed. Clinical studies of the ICL procedure show nearly 100 percent of patients achieve 20/20 or better vision within 3 months after the procedure.

For reasons of age, health history, and eye conditions, refractive lens exchange (RLE), also known as clear lens extraction (CLE), may be the preferred option for vision correction. This procedure is much like cataract surgery, where the clouded lens (the cataract) is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens. However, with RLE, a cataract has not yet developed, instead the clear lens is removed and replaced with a premium lens implant. Premium lens implants allow for clear vision at all ranges—near, far, and intermediate. There are several types of lenses and your OCLI Vision surgeon will determine the best one for your needs. This procedure will eliminate the necessity of cataract surgery, which would be needed at a later age.

At OCLI Vision, we’re pleased to provide our patients with a variety of vision correction options to suit their individual needs. Our vision correction surgeons are among the most experienced in the nation and have undergone specialized training to be experts in this field. If you’ve been considering a vision correction procedure like LASIK, PRK, Phakic IOLs , or refractive lens exchange, we encourage you to schedule a consultation today!

Reviewed by Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD