(LAY-sik). LAser in SItu Keratomileusis. Or to us humans, a refractive surgery in which the cornea is reshaped to change its optical power. Think of your eye as a camera, and the cornea being a lens that can be enhanced.
Pre procedure – The evaluation
Patients wearing soft contact lenses typically are instructed to stop wearing them approximately 10 to 15 days before surgery. Hard contact lens users should wait much longer as their cornea shape is effected even more.
At the clinic, the patient's corneas are examined with a pachymeter to determine their thickness, and with a topographer to measure their surface contour. Using low-power lasers, a topographer creates a topographic map of the cornea. This is that colorful diagram that is printed out.
This process also detects astigmatism and other irregularities in the shape of the cornea. Using this information, the surgeon calculates the amount and locations of corneal tissue to be removed during the operation.
The Procedure
In simple terms…. A thin layer of the cornea is raised as a flap, then an excimer laser is used to reshape the intrastromal bed, producing surgical flattening of the cornea.
The diagram above is the least scary one I could find but this is what corrects myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism but more importantly, aids the patient in looking less geeky.
Persons with hyperopia or farsightedness, have difficulty seeing near objects as clearly as distant objects. Persons with myopia, or nearsightedness, have more difficulty seeing distant objects as clearly as near objects. Astigmatism is a distortion of the image on the retina caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens of the eye.
Combinations of myopia and astigmatism or hyperopia and astigmatism are common. Geeky is when a person “appears” intellectually inclined and is disliked or unpopular. People with contact lenses are worse off. They have to pretend they’re not geeks. Sadly, I have experience in this field.
The goal of Lasik is should be to remove these vision and popularity problems although some doctors prescribe glasses even after the surgery for reading, for the computer or for driving. What is important is that your doctor delivers the vision he promises and that you can start making fun of other people who still wear glasses. Nerds. Four eyes. Harry Potters. Gandhis. George. Etc.
Post Procedure
Patients are given a course of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops to prevent infection. These are discontinued in two-several weeks post surgery depending on the climate, doctor and country. Patients are also given a darkened pair of goggles to protect their eyes from bright lights and protective shields to prevent rubbing of the eyes when asleep for the first week.
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