LASIK Technology
LASIK technology got approval from the FDA just 14 years ago. But even though it is a relatively new technique for vision correction, millions of people from all over the world have benefited from this surgery. In fact, it is claimed that LASIK is one of the fastest developing techniques in the field of surgery. There have been various significant advances in LASIK technology that have been made within a very short span of time that has led to enhancing the success, outcomes and comfort of the technique.
The success of the LASIK surgeries can be appreciated from the fact that far less than 1 percent of all LASIK surgeries lead to complications. There is no doubt that the impressive statistics is the result of the advancements that have been made in the field of the LASIK technology and skill and expertise of the surgeons.
LASIK has gone through several significant changes even since its inception. But there are three major advancements that have made LASIK surgeries more successful than others.
Eye Trackers- In the beginning, the LASIK procedures needed the patients to direct their eyes towards a light so that the treatment could be centered. At present, though, most of the lasers that are being used have inbuilt eye tracking systems. These are highly sophisticated systems that are equipped to keep track of the movement of eyes continuously when the procedure is going on so that the laser beam can be adjusted accordingly. Eye trackers have been helpful in minimizing the complications due to LASIK surgery.
Bladeless incision- The cornea is reshaped using a LASIK surgery. For doing so, the surgeon must first create a flap inside the patient’s cornea. In the earlier versions of a LASIK surgery, it was created by a surgeon using a metal blade. There could be variations in the thickness and the size of the flap that led to undesired complications.
Today, the LASIK technique has made tremendous advancements as flaps can now be created using a laser. The predictability, as well as, the accuracy of bladeless LASIK have significantly improved by using the new techniques.
Wavefront technology-It is a highly advanced technique used in LASIK wherein a surgeon is able to create a three-dimensional map of how the processing of images is done by the eyes. This information can be used for shaping a cornea perfectly based on a patient’s specific degree of refractive error.
From the above discussion, it is clear that LASIK as a procedure has had several significant advancements that the patients can look forward to. At present, it is one of the most popular and sought after surgical procedures as millions of patients have had improved vision after undergoing this surgery.
