LASIK / PRK

We are Proud to Offer LASIK/PRK at our Port Orange office!

What Happens During the LASIK procedure?

LASIK is an acronym that stands for Laser in-situ keratomileusis, which is the most commonly performed type of laser eye surgery. This eye surgery procedure is generally safe, effective, and has very few side effects. LASIK is a great option for many individuals considering laser vision correction for a variety of personal and professional reasons. LASIK may not promise perfect vision; however, it is a highly successful procedure that can at the very least reduce a person’s dependence on glasses or contact lenses. The lifestyle benefits can be tremendous for active and social people. These benefits can bring great value and ease in life. If you are an active person please feel free to consult our LASIK coordinators if you have questions about “life after LASIK.” They will be happy to answer any questions that may affect your lifestyle or any questions about the LASIK eye surgery procedure itself.

LASIK is appropriate for:

• People who are over the age of 21 and are tired of wearing glasses and contact lenses all the time.
• People that have no existing eye diseases
• People that have had relatively stable prescriptions for the last year.

PRK (photorefractive keratectomy)

PRK was the first laser refractive surgery approved by the FDA receiving final approval in 1995. PRK is a refractive eye surgery procedure that utilizes the excimer laser to reshape the cornea and improve nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism much like LASIK eye surgery. PRK differs from LASIK in that no flap of tissue is created prior to resculpting the cornea with the excimer laser.

PRK Facts

Here are a few other PRK surgery facts to consider:

• PRK has been performed longer than LASIK. It gained FDA approval for use in the United States for the correction of nearsightedness in 1995 and for the treatment of farsightedness in 1998.
• Studies show the visual results of PRK and LASIK six months after surgery are comparable. (But vision returns to normal faster after LASIK, with less post-operative discomfort.)
• PRK typically is used to correct up to -7.00 diopters (D) of nearsightedness and up to +4.00 D of farsightedness, with or without astigmatism.
• Just like LASIK, PRK can be used as a type of laser surgery for treatment of age-related nearsightedness (presbyopia).
• During PRK, the excimer laser can be programmed to deliver a standard laser treatment (or ablation) or a customized, wavefront-guided ablation, like that used for wavefront LASIK.

What are the Refractive Errors That Laser Vision Correction Fixes?

Myopia (nearsightedness)

Nearsighted individuals typically have problems seeing well at a distance and are forced to wear glasses or contact lenses. The nearsighted eye is usually longer than a normal eye, and its cornea may also be steeper. Therefore, when light passes through the cornea and lens, it is focused in front of the retina. This will make distant images appear blurred. There are several refractive surgery solutions available to correct nearly all levels of nearsightedness.

Hyperopia (farsightedness)

Farsighted individuals typically develop problems reading up close before the age of 40. The farsighted eye is usually slightly shorter than a normal eye and may have a flatter cornea. Thus, the light of distant objects focuses behind the retina unless the natural lens can compensate fully. Near objects require even greater focusing power to be seen clearly and therefore, blur more easily. LASIK, Refractive Lens Exchange, and contact lenses are a few of the options available to correct farsightedness.

Astigmatism

Asymmetric steepening of the cornea or natural lens causes light to be focused unevenly, which is the main optical problem in astigmatism. To individuals with uncorrected astigmatism, images may look blurry or shadowed. Astigmatism can accompany any form of refractive error and is very common. Astigmatism can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, corneal relaxing incisions, laser vision correction, and special implant lenses.