Guide to eye surgery

We all desire to have a perfect vision. However with growing age or any unfortunate mis-happening an individual’s vision may get distorted. But today science has blessed mankind with several wonderful techniques to rectify the faulty vision.

1. Flap Procedure treatments - are those where the surgeon removes the flap in the cornea to have an access to the tissue underneath. Some of the well known Flap treatments are as follows-

· LASIK refractive eye surgery is quite a commendable eye surgery these days. The term LASIK stands for ‘laser in situ keratomileusis’ surgery. This treatment is basically meant to treat nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism (misshapen cornea). LASIK provides a correct vision through the use of a laser by reshaping the cornea and changing its focusing power. LASIK usually takes less than one minute per eye. In USA LASIK surgeries have been performed since 1993.

· Contemporary technique of LASEK or Laser Epithelial Keratoileusis surgery is also widely in use nowadays. LASEK is akin to LASIK refractive eye surgery. But unlike LASIK, in LASEK the surgeon cuts a flap in the epithelium only instead of through the epithelium and part of the stroma. After this the surgeon loosens the edges of the flap with the help of alcohol. The cases that are too sensitive to be treated by LASIK i. e. where people have thin or flat corneas are operated under the LASEK. Though LASEK is quite beneficial it has few shortcomings over LASIK. For instance the after LASEK surgery the patient feels uncomfortable for a long time and in comparison to LASIK, LASEK takes more time to heal.

· Epi-LASIK surgery is also a form of LASEK where the flap is removed only at the epithelium without the use of any blade or alcohol. In Epi-LASIK the surgeon makes use of a separator, epikeratome that creates an epithelial sheet. Since there is no alcohol used in this entire process, the patient feels less pain in this surgery and heals relatively faster.

· ALK or the Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty surgery is meant to treat the problem of nearsightedness and mild farsightedness. In ALK firstly the surgeon cuts a flap in the stroma. Then with the use of a microkeratome he removes the material under the flap. This removal is not done in case ALK is taken up to treat far-sightedness. Usually it takes less than an hour to do the ALK eye surgery.

2. Photoablation Technique - this requires the use of ultraviolet radiation to remove the eye tissues. Photoablation is basically the step that follows LASIK and LASEK surgeries.

· PRK or Photorefractive Keratectomy is a surgery that mainly treats nearsightedness, mild farsightedness and astigmatism. Here the surgeon makes the use of an excimer laser to remove the tissue from the surface of the cornea. The tissue ablation is taken up to give a new shape and minimize the vision problem. PRK is not a lengthy procedure. It usually takes less than one minute per eye.