Texas Laser Eye Surgery

Flap procedures undertaken by Texas eye surgeon

The following procedures generally consists in cutting a flap in the cornea in order to access the tissue underneath. If you're intending to visit a eye surgeon in Texas, then it would be best to familiarise yourslef with some of the termanolgy beforehand.

• Automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK)
• Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is the most commonly performed refractive surgery procedure in 2005. It is performed for a wide range of nearsightedness. The surgeon uses an instrument called a microkeratome to cut a flap of corneal tissue, opens the flap like a hinged door, removes the targeted tissue in the corneal stroma beneath it with the excimer laser, and then replaces the flap. Some variations don't use a microkeratome but cut the flap with a laser (intralase).
• Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelium Keratomileusis (LASEK) is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea using an excimer laser to ablate a small amount of tissue from the front of the eye, just under the eye's skin or epithelium which is kept and replaced to act as a natural bandage.
• EPI-LASIK is a new technique similar to LASEK, that uses an epi-keratome (rather than a trephine blade and alcohol) to remove the top layer of the cornea.

Photoablation procedures

• Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is an outpatient procedure generally performed with local anesthetic eye drops. It is a type of refractive surgery which reshapes the cornea by destroying microscopic amounts of tissue from the outer surface with a cool, computer-controlled ultraviolet beam of light (an excimer laser).

Corneal incision procedures

• Radial keratotomy (RK) uses spoke-shaped incisions to alter the shape of the cornea and reduce myopia; this technique has now been largely superseded by other methods.
• Arcuate keratotomy (AK) is similar to radial keratotomy, but the incisions on the cornea are done parallel to the edge of the cornea. Arcuate keratotomy is used to correct astigmatism. Although most incisional procedures are replaced nowadays by Lasik, AK is still used in correction of residual astigmatism after a keratoplasty procedure.

Other procedures

• Thermal keratoplasty is used to correct hyperopia by putting a ring of 8 or 16 small burns surrounding the pupil, and steepen the cornea with a ring of collagen constriction. It can also be used to treat selected types of astigmatism.
• Laser thermal keratoplasty (LTK) is a no-touch thermal keratoplasty performed with a Holmium laser, while conductive keratoplasty (CK) is thermal keratoplasty performed with a high-frequency electric probe. Thermal keratoplasty can also be used to improve presbyopia or reading vision after age 40.
• Intra-Stromal corneal rings (Intacs) are approved by FDA for treatment of low degrees of myopia.
• Lens implants can also be used inside the eye to change refractive error. Currently all refractive implants are under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Expectations

• The Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance, an independent, nonprofit, patient/consumer health organization that provides information about refractive surgery and certifies LASIK surgeons, considers surgeons with results of 90% of patients achieving 20/40 or better and 50% achieving 20/20 or better with limited complication rates as meeting national norms.
• Many people with myopia are able to read comfortably without eyeglasses. Myopes considering refractive surgery are advised that this may be an advantage after the age of 40 when the eyes become presbyopic and lose their ability to accommodate or change focus.

Risks

While refractive surgery is becoming more affordable and safe, it is not for everybody. People who are slow healers or who have ongoing medical conditions such as glaucoma or diabetes, uncontrolled vascular disease, autoimmune disease, pregnant women or people with certain eye diseases involving the cornea or retina, are not good candidates for refractive surgery. Keratoconus, a progressive thinning of the cornea, is a common corneal disorder. It is believed that additional thinning of the cornea via refractive surgery may contribute to advancement of the disease [1], that may lead to the need for a corneal transplant. Furthermore, some people's eye shape may not permit effective refractive surgery without removing dangerous amounts of corneal tissue. Those considering laser eye surgery are often advised to have a full eye examination with an experienced surgeon.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Refractive_surgery".