Questions About LASIK Eye Surgery

I frequently get questions from both patients and friends about LASIK eye surgery. While LASIK surgery can be almost miraculous, it is not always perfect and is not without risks. There is a ton of information available on the internet about LASIK eye surgery, some of which is accurate and some which is not so accurate.

Essentially, LASIK is a surgical procedure intended to reduce a person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses. LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. The procedure changes the shape of the the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser.

Think of the eye as a camera. The cornea is the lens and the retina is the film. Light passes through the lens and is focused on the retina, where it is interpreted as an image. If the light is not focused properly, the image (and your vision), will not be crisp and accurate. By changing the shape of the cornea, LASIK surgery helps focus light on the retina correctly.

During the procedure, a knife called a microkeratome is used to cut a flap in the cornea. The flap is folded back and pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma, the middlesection of the cornea. The flap is then replaced.

I could go on and on about risks and benefits, more details about the procedure, the different types of lasers used, questions to ask your doctor, which patients are the best candidates for LASIK, and how to choose a good doctor for this procedure. Fortunately, the FDA has already done the work and has an excellent website dedicated to this very topic. The website can be found at http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/.

If you are considering LASIK surgery, I recommend that you read this website and understand the procedure well so that you can be a knowledgeable consumer and get the very best eye care.


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