LASIK – Get Illuminated!

LASIK is becoming very popular in the ocular world today. For people who are not aware of what LASIK stands for, it is Laser Assisted in-SItu Keratomileusis. It is a surgical method of correcting various defects of the human eye. The following are some of the eye defects that can be remedied by LASIK surgeries:

-Myopia (nearsightedness) -Hyperopia (farsightedness) -Astigmatism

The popularity of LASIK over other surgical processes for eye correction is due to the fact that this surgery can be done within a very short period of time. It does not require the patient to be hospitalized for long either, since postoperative care is less. Also, LASIK is much more painless than other surgical methods. In fact, many patients with eye anomalies are opting for LASIK over methods such as corrective lenses.

The main task for the LASIK surgeon is to make the cornea free of its irregularities. This is the cause of the eye defects mentioned above. The cornea is made up of flaps, which are totally transparent in a normal healthy eye. But in people with anomalous eyesight, there could be tissue abnormalities in this region of the cornea. If the tissue is too thick, it causes myopia; if it is too flattened, it causes hyperopia, and if it is bundled up, it could cause astigmatism. Hence, the surgeon has to correct the outlay of the tissues in this region.

The surgeon will carefully lift up the outermost one or two flaps of the cornea, till the tissue region is exposed. Generally the anomalies are within these regions. Once this region is exposed, the surgeon will work at correcting the structure of the tissues and hence of the cornea itself. After that is done, the flaps of the cornea are carefully replaced.

This is the basic idea of a LASIK operation. The very manner in which it is conducted suggests that it does not require much time for a skilled surgeon. Each eye can be worked at in under one minute, provided everything is in order. Even postoperative care is less, since there is any major invasion into the eye. At the same time, the LASIK is a very effective method of correcting eye defects. In most cases, people who get their eyes corrected by this technique will never need much eye care or develop further eye problems for as long as they live.

Today, there is innovation and improvement going on in LASIK surgeries, which are mostly to do with the improvement of laser technology itself. These kind of surgeries have always been expensive, and with better technology coming in, the price is also increasing proportionately.

However, the price may not be such a big issue when the effectiveness of the method is considered. People with LASIK do not need to use glasses or any corrective lenses, even if they have been doing so before their operation. This expensive but effective surgical technique is really giving better sight to hundreds of people each day all over the world.