Dr. Boothe Eye Center
Presbyopia- "Presbys" is Greek for "old man" and "opia" refers to the eye. Presbyopia typically occurs in our late thirties or early forties, and it can make reading things up close difficult. Our lenses lose their ability to accomodate, or change shape. Some patients may be good candidates for Monovision as an Alternative to Bilateral LASIK. Dr. Boothe Laser Center
Dry Eyes After LASIK - Some patients may experience dry eyes after LASIK and PRK. Often it is a temporary side effect during the healing process. If a patient is prone to dry eyes, our medical teams may discuss options with the patient, or discuss non-candidacy if the patient's eyes are too dry to have laser vision correction.
What the FDA regulates
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the sale of medical devices such as the lasers used for LASIK. Before a medical device can be legally sold in the U.S., the person or company that wants to sell the device must seek approval from the FDA. To gain approval, they must present evidence that the device is reasonably safe and effective for a particular use, the "indication." Once the FDA has approved a medical device, a doctor may decide to use that device for other indications if the doctor feels it is in the best interest of a patient. The use of an approved device for other than its FDA-approved indication is called "off-label use." The FDA does not regulate off-label use or the practice of medicine.
Microkeratome- A blade that creates a flap in the cornea during LASIK Surgery.
Boothe Eye Care: Monovision- When one eye is deliberately corrected for distance vision and the other for close vision.
The FDA does not have the authority to:
Regulate a doctor's practice. In other words, FDA does not tell doctors what to do when running their business or what they can or cannot tell their patients.
Set the amount a doctor can charge for LASIK eye surgery.
"Insist" the patient information booklet from the laser manufacturer be provided to the potential patient.
Make recommendations for individual doctors, clinics, or eye centers. FDA does not maintain nor have access to any such list of doctors performing LASIK eye surgery.
Conduct or provide a rating system on any medical device it regulates.
The first refractive laser systems approved by FDA were excimer lasers for use in PRK to treat myopia and later to treat astigmatism. However, doctors began using these lasers for LASIK (not just PRK), and to treat other refractive errors (not just myopia). Over the last several years, LASIK has become the main surgery doctors use to treat myopia in the United States. More recently, some laser manufacturers have gained FDA approval for laser systems for LASIK to treat myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism and for PRK to treat hyperopia and astigmatism.
Dr. William Boothe
LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. A mechanical microkeratome (a blade device) or a laser keratome (a laser device) is used to cut a flap in the cornea. A hinge is left at one end of this flap. The flap is folded back revealing the stroma, the middlesection of the cornea. Pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma and the flap is replaced. There are other techniques and many new terms related to LASIK that you may hear about.
IOL or Intraocular Lens Implant- A lens is implanted in front of, or in place of, the eye's natural lens. IOLs may be a great option for patients with severe vision prescriptions.
Boothe Eye Center
Other types of refractive surgery
Radial Keratotomy or RK and Photorefractive Keratectomy or PRK are other refractive surgeries used to reshape the cornea. In RK, a very sharp knife is used to cut slits in the cornea changing its shape. PRK was the first surgical procedure developed to reshape the cornea, by sculpting, using a laser. Later, LASIK was developed. The same type of laser is used for LASIK and PRK. Often the exact same laser is used for the two types of surgery. The major difference between the two surgeries is the way that the stroma, the middle layer of the cornea, is exposed before it is vaporized with the laser. In PRK, the top layer of the cornea, called the epithelium, is scraped away to expose the stromal layer underneath. In LASIK, a flap is cut in the stromal layer and the flap is folded back.
Boothe Laser Center Myopia- Myopic people typically have difficulty seeing objects at a distance. Myopia can be so severe that people have difficulty seeing objects up close too.
