Dr. Boothe Laser Center
LASIK
LASIK is a more complex procedure than PRK. It is performed for all degrees of nearsightedness. The surgeon uses a knife called a microkeratome to cut a flap of corneal tissue, removes the targeted tissue beneath it with the laser, and then replaces the flap.
"With LASIK, the skill of the surgeon is important because he'll be making an incision," says Stephen Crawford, O.D., an optometrist practicing in Virginia, "compared to the PRK method where the machine does more of the work." Crawford urges people to find qualified, experienced doctors to perform this surgery. "You'll want someone who's done a number of LASIK procedures since this is a surgeon-dependent operation," he said.
According to Ken Taylor, O.D., vice president of Arthur D. Little, Inc., a technology and management consultant firm in Cambridge, Mass., "Last year, across the country, 40 to 45 percent of refractive surgeries performed by physicians were LASIK, which equates to approximately 80,000 procedures." Doctors not participating in clinical trials may choose to use the approved laser to perform LASIK procedures at their discretion, says Morris Waxler, Ph.D., chief of FDA's diagnostic and surgical devices section. But most uses are considered "off label" and are not regulated by FDA.
Dr. Boothe
Another type of refractive surgery is thermokeratoplasty in which heat is used to reshape the cornea. The source of the heat can be a laser, but it is a different kind of laser than is used for LASIK and PRK. Other refractive devices include corneal ring segments that are inserted into the stroma and special contact lenses that temporarily reshape the cornea (orthokeratology).
Farsightedness- Farsightedness is another name for Hyperopia or Hypermetropia. Many Farsighted patients have difficulty seeing things up close, and often have crisp-acute distance vision.
Nearsighted, Myopia:
People can typically see things up close, but things far away may appear blurred. People who are nearsighted may find a negative number in the sphere column of their prescription.
Boothe Laser Center: Lens- The lens of the eye is the body between the iris and the vitreous humor that focuses light rays entering through the pupil to form an image on the retina. You may also want to research presbyopia.
Conductive Keratoplasty- CK is performed using a probe about the size of a human strand of hair, which release radiofrequency (RF) energy, shrinking the tissue to increase the curvature of the cornea. LasikPlus will not perform CK.
Boothe Eye Care
What is LASIK?
The eye and vision errors
The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina. It works in much the same way that the lens of a camera focuses light to create an image on film. The bending and focusing of light is also known as refraction. Usually the shape of the cornea and the eye are not perfect and the image on the retina is out-of-focus (blurred) or distorted. These imperfections in the focusing power of the eye are called refractive errors. There are three primary types of refractive errors: myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Persons with myopia, or nearsightedness, have more difficulty seeing distant objects as clearly as near objects. Persons with hyperopia, or farsightedness, have more difficulty seeing near objects as clearly as distant objects. Astigmatism is a distortion of the image on the retina caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens of the eye. Combinations of myopia and astigmatism or hyperopia and astigmatism are common. Glasses or contact lenses are designed to compensate for the eye's imperfections. Surgical procedures aimed at improving the focusing power of the eye are called refractive surgery. In LASIK surgery, precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power.
For the past 20 years Laser Eye Center has been a leader in the Refractive Surgery Industry. As one of the largest refractive-surgery centers in California, our team of highly experienced Ophthalmologists has performed over 200,000 refractive surgeries. At Laser Eye Center we believe that in addition to experience, high quality of vision correction is the essence to a successful practice. Going beyond 20/20 is our goal. At the Laser eye center we offer the latest most advanced FDA approved technology to our patients so they can attain the best quality of vision available today. Dr. Boothe Eye Center
Keratotomy- Keratos is the greek word for cornea, and otomy means to create an incision. Together they mean to create an incision in the cornea.
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.
