LASIK
Today LASIK is the most popular eye surgery that helps people to get rid of spectacles and contact lenses. LASIK makes 90% of all refractive operations in progressive countries.
LASIK technology is developed for myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism correction. This type of correction is considered to be the most high technological and comfortable to the patient since it allows to get maximum of result in a short time.
98 % of people who have used this technique are completely satisfied with results.
LASIK is remarkable for a high level of comfort and safety achieved by the most expensive machinery, high quality of anesthetic and ophthalmologic surgeon’s high qualification. High qualification of the surgeon plays the significant part in LASIK correction.
The Meaning of LASIK and How It Is Done
The cornea of an eye is protected by a thin layer of epithelium (a tissue very close to the cells of our skin by its functions and structure) and a special membrane. To use laser on the optical centre of cornea it is necessary to remove these protective layers from the area which is supposed to be affected by laser. These layers are not just useless extras, they are necessary for quick recovery of the eye and its normal functioning. LASIK technology is perfect for solving this problem.
Firstly patient is given anesthetic eye drops. Then a thin flap of cornea epithelium is cut with a special microkeratome device (Pic. 1).
This flap stays connected to the rest surface epithelium by a thin “stem”. The flap is folded back (Pic. 2).
Special computer programme directs the laser and makes “cold vaporization” of the corneal stroma, remodeling its visual acuity (Pic. 3).
When laser procedure stops, the flap is returned on its place. The flap remains in position by natural adhesion (Pic. 4).
During the operation the eye is fixed with a special device, and it doesn’t feel or see anything “frightful”. Patient will feel a little pressure from laser, and will be able to see only rainbow coloured light, which many patients find beautiful.
Eyes of the patient see the world in first seconds after he leaves the operation room. There are no bandages. Visual recovery happens very quickly. In 1-2 hours the visual acuity can be high enough to do usual everyday things.
LASIK is absolutely painless. There is no “operational wound” – the epithelium flap naturally covers the part of the cornea that was affected by laser. First day eyes may water after operation, patients should use special eye drops. Svyatoslav Fyodorov’s Clinic is the only one in St. Petersburg that offers its patients a comfortable hotel to stay in a sterile environment after operation, with medical stuff taking care of. The patient will not have to use the eye drops himself. The most important is that you avoid the risk of getting some infection, which is undesirable in this situation.
Strong sides of LASIK operation
Thus, LASIK has many advantages:
- The absence of haziness in the central part of cornea.
- The absence of the operational wound.
- Rapid visual recovery.
- Only two weeks time of using eye drops in post operational period.
- No pain during all operation stages and in post operational period. After LASIK patients feel more comfortable in comparison with other refractive surgery.
- Allows correcting more severe refractive anomalies than methods of photorefractive keratectomy or radial keratotomy.
- Stable results are given in a distant period.
