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August 12, 2019 | Author: Admin
LASIK and LASEK are important surgical options for the treatment of refractive errors such as near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism. Both surgeries have their advantages and disadvantages. The third important surgery used for a similar purpose is PRK. All the three procedures operate on the cornea and alter the shape of the cornea for improving the focus of light on the cornea. The doctor will comprehensively evaluate the health of the cornea and suggest the patient the best surgical option which can be performed with minimum side effects along with the desired outcome.
LASIK surgery is one of the best and most common surgeries conducted for refractive errors. This surgery is used to treat near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism. Full form of LASIK is laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis. The best advantage of this surgery is the speed of improving vision. Most of the improvement is obtained just after the surgery while the remaining vision gets stabilized within a few days after surgery.
LASIK surgery is virtually painless surgery. The time required to perform the surgery is just 20-25 minutes. The patient can see clearly without any eyeglasses or contact lens just after the surgery.
All patients may not be the right candidate for LASIK surgery. Comprehensive analysis of the eye is done to determine whether LASIK surgery is the correct option to correct refractive error. If the person failed to fulfill the criteria required to undergo LASIK surgery, the doctor may discuss other options available such as LASEK, PRK or Phakic IOL surgery. If the patient suffers from refractive errors, he should search for the best LASIK treatment in Mumbai.
With a femtosecond laser or surgical tools such as microkeratome, the surgeon forms a flap on the corneal surface. The surgeon then folds the flap to get access to the stroma of the cornea. With the excimer laser, the surgeon ablates a small number of corneal tissues to reshape the cornea. As the surgery involve the eye, which is a vital organ, the patient should undergo surgery from the best LASIK specialist in Mumbai.
Reshaping of cornea helps in focusing the light right on the retina. This will help in clear vision which was not possible without eyeglasses or contact lenses before surgery.
LASIK is one of the most preferred and old treatments for correcting refractive error. It is because of various advantages which are offered by LASIK surgery. Following are some of those advantages:
Pain-free: LASIK surgery is done through LASER and thus does not cause any pain. Mild irritation can be experienced in some patients.
Cost-effective: LASIK is a cost-effective surgery keeping in view the benefits it provides. The patient does not have to spend money on eyeglasses and contact lenses after LASIK surgery.
Life-long: The effects of the surgery are life-long and revision surgery is required only in few cases. However, the enhancement surgery can be done once the patient suffers from age-related long-sightedness.
No stitches required: As there is no incision done through instruments and the whole process is done under guided LASER, there is no need for stitches and bandages.
Rapid results: LASIK surgery provides rapid results. The patient can see immediately within a few hours after surgery.
The LASEK treatment was first done in 1996 when the first LASEK surgery was done by Azar, however, it was Massimo Camellin who coined the term LASEK and helps popularize this surgical process.
LASEK(Laser-Assisted Subepithelial Keratectomy) surgery combines the advantages of LASIK (Laser in-situ keratomileusis) and PRK (Photorefractive keratectomy) while avoids their complications and disadvantages.
Like with other surgeries for correcting the refractive error through corneal reshaping, LASEK also uses excimer laser for corneal correction. During LASEK surgery, a partial incision is done on the edges of the cornea with the help of the trephine blade. Sterile ethanol solution is used to detach the epithelium from one side. Ablation with the excimer laser is then done. The corneal flap is repositioned to its original position.
For healing of the epithelium, a bandage contact lens is placed which remains for the time till cornea heals. Various pre-operative ocular evaluation tests are done to confirm the candidature of the patient to undergo LASEK surgery. These tests include Uncorrected visual acuity, tonometry, cycloplegic refraction, dilated fundus examination, slit-lamp examination, and ultrasound corneal pachymetry. Schirmer’s test is also done to evaluate the extent and severity of dry eyes, which is one of the factors to be considered while performing LASEK surgery.
LASEK treatment is more advanced treatment in the field of refractive correction surgery. It offers various advantages to the patients. It imbibes the advantages of LASIK and PRK while minimizing the complications of LASIK and PRK. Following are some of the advantages of LASEK:
Thin corneal flap: The risk of complications associated with LASEK surgery is less as compared to LASIK an PRK as only a very thin epithelial layer is removed for performing surgery.
Minimum dry eyes: The chances of dry eyes are less in LASEK surgery as compared to in LASIK surgery. Patients undergoing LASEK surgery have to administer artificial tears less frequently.
No Flap to heal: As only the thin layer is removed in LASEK surgery and there is no removal of internal layers, people with LASEK surgery can resume sporting activities early as compared to LASIK surgery. The bandage contact lens is effective in healing the epithelial layer.
Proven results:Results of LASEK are comparable to LASIK surgery with fewer complications.
Various surgical options are available for correcting refractive errors. The refractive errors corrected most commonly are myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Common surgical options include LASIK, LASEK, and PRK.
Following are some of the differences between LASIK and LASEK:
Evaluating the thickness of cornea:It is possible that all the options are not available for a particular patient. This may be due to the corneal thickness. The doctor will evaluate your cornea and advise the best possible surgery. If the patient is not eligible for LASIK, he may undergo LASEK surgery.
Recovery time: The recovery time for LASIK is less as compared to LASEK surgery. In LASIK surgery the patient began to see immediately or a few hours after surgery while LASEK surgery starts showing its impact after three days.
Disadvantages: Although the recovery time in LASEK is more but the risk involved is less due to a different process for surgery. LASEK causes less severe dry eyes as compared to LASIK surgery.
Process of surgery: LASEK and LASIK surgery have different processes. While LASEK only cut the uppermost layer of the cornea, LASIK generally involves a deep incision.
