Common LASIK Myths

Myth: LASIK can make you go blind.
Fact: There haven’t been any cases of blindness as a direct result of LASIK has ever been reported in Singapore and United States. The actual risk of going blind from LASIK is said to be comparable to the risk of blindness from wearing glasses or contact lenses!

Myth: The more procedures a LASIK surgeon has done, the better chance of good outcomes.
Fact: Experience is important. However, once a physician has passed the learning curve (400-500 cases), what becomes of greater importance than the quantity of surgery performed is the quality of surgery. In other words, individualized, personal care by a meticulous surgeon is extremely important. Laser Vision Correction is surgery and should be looked upon as such just as you would for any other surgery.

Myth: All laser LASIK (Intralase) is the safest procedure.
Fact: Every LASIK procedure involves creating a flap in the surface of the cornea. Intralase procedures utilize a laser to create that flap instead of the microkeratome blade used in regular LASIK. Intralase is proven to have a very good safety record and good outcomes; however, Intralase carries its own risks, such as light sensitivity, that, though infrequent, does not make Intralase safer or better. Your LASIK surgeon and you will assess your needs and determine the procedure that is right for you during the initial consultation.

Myth: Laser Vision Correction is new and there is not sufficient experience in this field.
Fact: Vision correction with the use of laser is over 15 years old. There are millions of people who have had it done with a very small number of serious complications. The founding principles on which Laser Vision Correction was built are nearly 50 years old.

Myth: Laser Vision Correction is not really surgery.
Fact: Laser Vision Correction is one of the most delicate surgeries known. Surgical skills as well as excellent pre & postoperative care enhance your chance for an excellent result.

Myth: Lasik is superior to PRK (LASEK).
Fact: Lasik may be more convenient than PRK, but PRK has some significant safety benefits.

Myth: All lasers are the same.
Fact: Each laser used in Laser Vision Correction has its own strengths. Certain lasers, as well as ancillary equipment, however, offer significant advantages over others. This is one of reasons costs of treatment can vary.

Myth: Once our eyes are treated, they can never change.
Fact: Once your eyes are treated they can still change although they rarely revert back to where they started. We generally look for a stable glasses prescription prior to performing laser to ensure there will be little change in the years to come. Enhancement may be easier with PRK 2-3 years after surgery than Lasik if it may be needed. (See our comparison chart)

Myth: All lasers perform PRK with the same degree of safety.
Fact: Only flying spot lasers (the LADARVision 4000) make the chance of a bad result from surface irregularities (called central islands) unlikely (actually never reported on the LADARVision 4000!)

Myth: Laser Vision Correction removes the need for reading glasses.
Fact: A "mono-vision" treatment can reduce the dependency on reading glasses after the age of 40 if they are the appropriate candidates. However, most patients after this age use reading glasses.

Myth: If the FDA approves, it must be OK.
Fact: While the FDA approves a certain range of Laser Vision Correction, the fact is for some patients keeping in those guidelines can be deleterious. A good surgeon knows the limit of what can be done safely.

Myth: All patients have glare and haloes post operatively.
Fact: With today's laser and techniques, significant haloes and glare are uncommon if proper procedures are adhered to. Flying spot lasers such as the LADARVision 4000 offer more options to reduce these complications.

Myth: Dry eyes are temporary after Laser Vision Correction.
Fact: With Lasik, a drier eye is common after surgery and usually permanent, although mild for most patients. PRK however causes significant less dryness. (See our comparison chart).

Worldwide overview of LASIK

The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) announced that their first review of the world body of scientific literature indicated that an average of 95.4% of LASIK patients worldwide is satisfied with their new vision.

There are over 16.3 million patients had LASIK worldwide, a technique that has more than a decade of clinical study coupled with years of technical innovation, LASIK is considered among the most successful and rapidly growing elective procedures available today.

“We find that there is solid evidence in the world’s scientific literature to affirm that there is an exceptionally high level of satisfaction in patients who have had LASIK surgery. While no surgery is perfect, certainly the 19 peer-reviewed studies of 2,199 patients show extremely high satisfaction rates,” said Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D., president of the ASCRS. “While patient satisfaction is extremely high, we recognize that there are patients who have unsatisfactory outcomes. As surgeons, we have taken the Hippocratic Oath. The well being of all of our patients is central to what we do and what we are. As such, and as the history of medicine has shown, we are committed to advancing our technology, patient selection, and surgical techniques so that we can continue to enhance the quality of our patient’s lives,” Lindstrom added.

The meta-analysis, led by Kerry Solomon, M.D. at the Storm Eye Institute of the Medical Center of South Carolina, examines nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed articles published over the past 10 years in clinical journals from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The research employed the Ovid and PubMed data bases using the term “LASIK” and similar search terms. A total of 2,915 articles were identified. “We wanted every article we could find, up to and including our last search, which was done on January 8, 2008,” Dr. Solomon said.

“This survey goes back to literature published 10 years ago. In that time, there have been major technological advances, such as wavefront-guided LASIK and the introduction of special lasers to form a flap on the surface of the eye in preparation for the laser treatment. Coupled with better surgical techniques, and improved patient selection, we can say that modern LASIK is a mature procedure. It is important to note that its reliability and effectiveness have led to its adoption by the armed forces, in particular the US Navy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for improving the vision of its front-line pilots and astronauts,” Dr. Solomon said.

Key Findings from “LASIK: A Global Perspective on Patient Satisfaction”

• 95.4 percent of LASIK patients worldwide report satisfaction with the outcome of their procedure.
• Approximately the same percentage would recommend LASIK to a friend or would elect to undergo the procedure again.
• More than 95.2 percent of LASIK patients in the U.S. are satisfied with the outcome of their procedure.
• Outside the U.S., studies from France, India, Iran, Ireland, The Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and The United Kingdom, report very similar patient satisfaction rates of about 95.6 percent.
• The total range of satisfaction rates in individual studies was from 87.2 percent to 100 percent.

LASIK Technological Advancements

About Lasik Technology
Lasik is fast gaining acceptance as the popular method for improving vision. This is especially so with the stabilization of the costs involved. With new technology the surgery is now very quick, usually in less than 2 minutes for each eye and is relatively painless. Patients can walk out of the recovery room in the same day and the recovery time is short. In almost all cases patients are able to perform all of their regular activities within a week.
We can no longer deny that Lasik vision correction has and continues to improve the quality of life for people who rely on glasses and contact lenses.

Advances in technology
With new advances in lasers and instrumentation, the Lasik vision correction is being brought to a newer level of reliability to both the patient and doctor. Surgeries can now be performed in a personalized and accurate manner. Patients will receive the best possible outcome with such technological advancements.

The past
When lasik was first introduced, it was received with caution. Especially when in the past the only way Lasik was performed was by using a hand-held blade to cut open the cornea. And since it’s done manually it does not always have the desired cut and strongly relied on the doctor’s skills and experience in making the cut.
Although no Lasik procedure can promise to completely eliminate the need for contacts or glasses, the emergence of new technology in Lasik is making this a reality. Here we would like to show some new Lasik techniques that offer much more accuracy and better vision results.

The two techniques we will discuss include;

1. Wavefront™ LASIK (Custom LASIK) - higher level of safety and accuracy, personalized form of vision correction, better visual correction results
2. IntraLase® laser - bladeless form of LASIK
   
   

Wavefront™ LASIK (Custom LASIK)
The Wavefront™ LASIK is also known as Wavefront™-guided LASIK.
With custom LASIK, your eye's ability to focus light rays is measured, and a 3-D map is created that demonstrates irregularities in the way your eye processes images. Information contained in the map guides the laser in customizing the treatment to reshape your eye's corneal surface so that these irregularities can be corrected. This gives the surgeon more accurate results. This often does away with the possibility of needing a second “enhancement” surgery to remove more corneal tissue. This technique incorporates the use of microsensors and wavelight directed from a laser beam through the eye to the retina. This light is reflected back out of the eye, allowing corneal irregularities to be measured on a 3-D map, which serves as a blueprint for your eye. The recorded aberrations of your visual system are then transferred to the actual laser that is used to reshape the cornea during LASIK surgery. This procedure uses the wavefront-guided method and is set to exactly match the needs of the patient. Custom Lasik can help correct and improve vision problems such as hyperopia, myopia and astigmatism. It can also correct worse vision problems that affect a patient’s vision. These can include starbursts or seeing halos around objects at night, sensitivity, and complications from traditional Lasik surgery. Many Lasik surgeons offer this method of Lasik surgery. Often, doctors recommend this method to help patients achieve a safer, more accurate vision correction surgery.

IntraLASIK with IntraLase
During Lasik the surgeon cuts a flap in the patient’s cornea and after pulling it out of the way tiny bits of corneal tissue is removed. Often more patients fear the creation of the flap more than any other part of the Lasik procedure.
IntraLASIK refers to LASIK that creates a corneal flap with a femtosecond laser microkeratome instead of a mechanical steel blade microkeratome. IntraLASIK is also called “All Laser Lasik”. This can be performed with any excimer laser used for LASIK including the conventional wavefront-optimized or wavefront- guided ablation.
This new technique sets to offer unprecedented safety through the latest advance in LASIK technology. The IntraLase utilizes a computer-guided laser that assists in creating the hinged flap with a beam of light. This ensures the flap has exact corneal centration, thickness, and diameter, providing patients with the most precise results possible. As opposed to the old hand-held microkeratome blade, this is often the most preferred.
Even though both of the methods are proven to be both safe and effective, some doctors have found that IntraLASIK reduces the risks of complications following the procedure. This reduced risk of complications, the use of a computer-guided laser, and accurate results make the bladeless form of LASIK the preferred choice for many patients.

As we have seen above, there are many forms and variations of Lasik surgery. Each one essentially uses a laser to map out the eye, target vision problems and reshape the cornea.
Coupled with the latest technology, patients often experience a better outcome with their Lasik vision correction surgery. Your eye care professional will be able to tell you through a thorough eye exam which Lasik surgery most fits your needs. As with any medical procedure, questions regarding these new forms of Lasik technology should be directed towards your Lasik surgeon.