LASIK: What Matters Most?

Does technology matter in LASIK and other forms of Laser Vision Correction? Of course it does. After all, the technology underlying modern vision correction using lasers is nothing short of fantastic. Every year there are evolutionary changes in how doctors perform LASIK and PRK. Unlike in the earliest days of the makers of laser equipment leapfrogged each other with every new development we are now in the phase of tiny incremental improvements. Which laser is used is not really a predictor for your success.

How about making the LASIK flap? Doesn't the technology matter there? Most flaps are now being made with a different type of laser called a Femto-Second Laser for so-called "All-Laser LASIK". In the earlier days of LASIK mechanical keratomes using ultra-sharp blades were used to create the LASIK flaps. At the same time that laser flaps were being developed these mechanical flap-makers were also undergoing continuous improvement. A landmark study was published in December 2011 comparing LASIK results using Femto-Second lasers and mechanical flap makers. There was NO DIFFERENCE in visual outcomes and NO DIFFERENCE in complication rates for either. How your flap is made is not really a predictor for you success.

So what matters when it comes to your LASIK success? If the particular laser doesn't make a difference, and whether your flap is made with a laser or a keratome doesn't affect your outcome, what is it that makes a difference?

YOUR SURGEON!

The technology for laser vision correction and the creation of the LASIK flap is now relatively uniform across platforms and between companies. The most important variable is your surgeon. Experience counts. Quality counts. The track record counts. Dr. Darrell White is the dean of laser refractive surgeons in Cleveland. He has the longest continuous track record dating back to the very first lasers in town in 1994, and he has been achieving class-leading results all along!

What matters most in LASIK is your surgeon.

No-Flap LASIK

We're always looking for the next big thing in eye care and this might be it: No-Flap LASIK surgery for myopia and astigmatism.

For several years Refractive Surgeons like our Dr. Darrell White have been using a Femto-Second laser to make the LASIK flap. This flap is then lifted up and the actual laser re-shaping of the cornea, the window of the eye, is then done with another laser called an Excimer Laser. After the prescription has been molded onto the cornea the flap is then replaced and heals.

This new development is very cool! A femto-second laser made by Zeiss creates a space in the cornea, kind of like a flap, but the opening is not completed all the way around like a true flap. A small opening is made on one side of this space. A second pass of the laser then cuts a "lenticule", a small thin layer of the internal cornea. This cut is individualized to the patient's prescription. The lenticule is then removed from the small opening on the side of the original laser incision leaving only about 4mm that needs to heal!

Voila! A no-flap LASIK!!

At the moment this procedure is only approved for use in Europe, but Zeiss has applied  for it to be used here in the U.S. You can be sure that Dr. White and Skyvision Centers will be on the cutting edge once it gets to Cleveland!