There are three vision corrective surgeries called Lasik, Lasek and PRK(Photorefractive Keratectomy) and all the three procedures attempt to reshape the cornea, though there are variations in the methods and approaches. So, an analysis is needed to find the best surgery of Lasik.
What is Laser Corrective Surgery for Eye?
According to the Centre for Excellence for Medical Multimedia, refractive surgery for correction of vision was started in ancient Greece and considering the modern refractive laser eye surgery, named PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) was performed in the year 1987. In these three decades, the eye procedure has been transformed completely to a bladeless procedure and is turned to be viable and customizable procedure. The procedure is developed to assure long-lastign and accurate correction of vision.
What Procedure for What Surgery…
- Laser Correction
- Surface Surgery
- LASEK
- PRK
- Epi-Lasik
- Flap Surgery
- Intralase Lasik
- Sub-Bowman’s Lasik
- Microkeratome Lasik
- Intralase Lasik
- Surface Surgery
All these procedures are technically possible to be performed with wavefront-guided or non-wavefront-guided procedure.
Risks and Complications
Though laser eye surgery is designed to be performed safe, no surgery can be assured to be totally risk-less. Before considering the laser surgeries, it is important to explore the possible risks and complications associated with these surgeries.
- Astigmatism
- The affected tissue has to be removed from the eye in order to change the shape of the cornea to correct refractive errors, like astigmatism, myopia. Astigmatism is possible in case the tissue is not evenly removed from the eye. This condition can be corrected with another surgery, glasses or contact lenses, further.
- Overcorrection
- When the tissue of the eye is removed in excess to revolve one refractive error, another refractive error can be created. This condition is difficult to resolve and fix.
- Undercorrection
- In case the procedure fails to remove all the affected tissue that caused the refractive error, the procedure is not complete. This condition further needs another surgery to complete correction.
- Flap Complications
- Flap complication is a condition of incorrect growth of the corneal tissues, under the flap that cause scare, for instance and there are many other complications related to the flap. It may possibility cause excess production of tear or potential infection. These flap complications can be arise both with the Lasek and Lasik procedures.
- Light Halos and Glare
- The condition of light halos and glare is possible, in which rings or glare are seen around the lights, post laser surgery. Most of the patients experience it in the conditions of low light, such as in night driving that gets affected from the brightness of the opposite vehicles or glare of street lights.
- Temporary Dry Eye
- Sometimes the regulation of production of the tears may be interrupted. It affects the overall vision and it demands frequent and regular usage of eye drops or artificial tears.
LASIK
In the US, laser eye surgery is the most commonly performed surgery. Unlike the PRK, the procedure of Lasik is not painful or gives any kind of discomfort both after and during the surgical procedure.
In the Lasik procedure, a small flap is created in the cornea, by folding it back for exposing through underlying tissue of cornea. Tissue reshaping is performed through excimer laser, followed by replacing of the corneal flap, after the respective and right amount of corneal tissue. The total procedure is completed in total 10 minutes of duration.
Side Effects
Post Lasik surgery, patients tend to experience the symptom of dry eye, since the production of tears is hindered temporarily. This condition can be bettered through eye drops, prescribed by your doctor. Apart from that any hazy or blurry vision has to be cleared in one day after the surgery. Anyhow some itching is possible and rubbing the eyes should be avoided to prevent any possible dislodging of the flap that may result in further and serious problems.
Results
Most of the patients after the Lasik procedure achieve the vision of 20/20 and some of them have small variations that may reach till 20/40 possibly.
LASEK
Lasik works better for most of the patients, except for the patients, who have thin corneas. Such thin corneas can be operated through Lasek surgery, assuring to yield the similar results, with less exposure of these thin corneas to damage, compared to the Lasik.
In the Lasek procedure, instead of cutting the eye’s flap, alcohol solution is used by the ophthalmologists to lift the tissue’s top layer, farer from the site of the eye. The underlying corneal tissue will be exposed for reshaping, by folding this tissue back, using an excimer laser. Finally, outer tissue layer will be replaced.
Side Effects
Lasek procedure leaves different symptoms of side effects, compared to the Lasik procedure. Compared to Lasik procedure, the flap created after the procedure of Lasek tends to heal much slower. So, till a satisfied level of healing, the patient needs to wear a bandage in the form of special contact lens. The total healing takes about a week or more.
Results
After Lasek, patients can experience the vision of 20/20, with small tolerance in this vision that may reach to 20/40, in a very few cases.
PRK
PRK is preferred by the ophthalmologists for some patients, instead of Lasik procedure. It became less popular after Lasik has been developed. However, PRK experiences a good resurgence in these years recently.
The procedure is performed by reshaping the underneath corneal tissue, instead of creation of flap on the eye’s surface. The cornea is reshaped directly externally, in this procedure. PRK has been third preference for many of the patients, because of increased discomfort level and demand more time for recovery. Usually, PRK is the preference as another option for the patients having thinner corneas, since any flap-related complications can be eliminated with it.
Side Effects
PRK has potential side effect of infection. Temporary dry eye and sensitivity to increased glare and light in conditions of low light are other side effects to expect occasionally.
Results
Like the other two procedures, patient can experience 20/20 vision after PRK with some possible tolerance and variation that can possibly reach the vision of 20/40.
Results after Surgery
After the laser surgical procedure, patients may have 20/20 vision and it is not uncommon that some degree of correction is also required through contact lenses or glasses after the surgery and yes far lesser prescription than before the surgery. And however, American Academy of Ophthalmology report that usually people after their forties need glasses for reading, irrespective of corrective surgery undergone, because of the age-related condition, called presbyopia. And presbyopia cannot be corrected with any surgical procedure, unfortunately.
Recovery
Recovery is an important factor and this period is proportional to the complication and intensity of the surgery performed. Recovery Time: Usually compared to the other two procedures, the recovery time is more for the PRK procedure. Post PRK, the eyesight is decreased a bit and starts recoverying and improving the vision, after a week or two. On the other hand, both Lasek and Lasik procedures heal the surgical site comparatively quickly and the eyesight gets improved from the very next day.
After exploring all the three, it is easier to understand the best surgical procedure suitable and needless to mention, your doctor is the right person to recommend the suitable laser surgical procedure, based on your unique eyesight condition.