How Laser Eye Surgery Works

Laser eye surgery is a refractive surgery procedure that corrects the refractive errors in the eyes. People who suffer from:

Myopia – a condition where people can see things near to them clearly, but not objects far away.
Hyperopia – a condition where people can see things far away clearly, but not objects nearer to them and
Astigmatism – a condition that distorts the image on the retina, caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens,

can have their refractive errors corrected through laser eye surgery. Allowing the highest degree of precision, laser eye surgery is the most technologically advanced procedure from among the several different surgical techniques that are available to correct refractive errors.

Laser Eye Surgery – The Types and How They Work

Laser eye surgeries have been performed on millions of people all over the world since its introduction in the last decade. The main types of laser eye surgeries are:

LASIK Eye Surgery: Laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis, or LASIK is the most common of all the laser vision correction procedures. A precise instrument is used to create a flap of tissue on the surface of the cornea. The laser smooths the inner surface. Each laser pulse removes corneal tissue about 1/500th of the thickness of the human hair. Although the procedure on both the eyes may take only between 5 to 15 minutes, it normally takes around 3 to 6 months for the vision to stabilize.
Custom LASIK Eye Surgery (Wavefront): A technology used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in high powered telescopes, the wavefront analyzer is now used for medical purposes. Otherwise, the traditional LASIK surgery and the Custom LASIK surgery is the same. The wavefront analyzer maps your vision 25 times more precise than any other available instrument. This premium procedure uses the most sophisticated technology in laser eye surgery.
Photo Refractive Keratectomy (PRK): This procedure, just like LASIK, corrects myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Because of certain procedures involved, PRK patients require more time to heal, and need to take medication to avoid pain for a few days.
Laser Epithetal Keratomileusis (LASEK): This procedure is done on people whose cornea is too thin. The surgeon creates the flap in the outermost layer of the cornea, the epithelium. The LASEK procedure has the combined advantages of both, the LASIK and the PRK procedures.

There can be vision problems that are a combination of Myopia and Astigmatism, as well as a combination of Hyperopia and Astigmatism.