Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, also referred to as LASIK, is a type of an eye surgery procedure that helps to resolve eye defects and improve vision, thus eliminating the need for contact lenses or glasses.

The procedure involves alteration of the eye cornea using some specialized laser. It’s mainly used to correct refractive errors of the eye, which include, astigmatism, near sightedness and far sightedness.

Refractive errors are basically focusing errors. If your eye cannot focus properly, it produces blurred images.

As a result, you are not able to see clearly. The eye uses the cornea and the lens together to focus light rays on to the surface of the retina.

If one of these two parts of the eye malfunctions, the incoming rays are not well focused on to the retina. The result is a blur.

Errors on the cornea may arise due to so much steepness, hence nearsightedness, or lack of enough steepness, hence far sightedness.

The cornea may also have an irregular surface, hence astigmatism.

To correct these errors, the LASIK procedure either works to flatten the cornea for the near sighted people, or to increase the eye cornea steepness for the far sighted people.

For those with an irregular eye cornea, the Lasik procedures are used to smoothen it.

With the correct re-shaping of the cornea, there is a much better light focusing ability, hence better vision with no need for vision aids like the contact lenses and glasses.

Lasik surgery – The procedure

Lasik surgery can be used to treat near sightedness, far sightedness and astigmatism.

Each of these three refractive errors will involve slight different in the Lasik procedures performed.

The complexity of the defect may also mean slight alterations in the procedure too. However, the basic underlying procedure for all is the same.

Before going through a Lasik procedure, you first start by choosing a Lasik surgeon.

This is the person who will perform the Lasik eye correction procedure on you.

The surgeon also has the role of conducting eye exams on you to determine if you are a good candidate for Lasik treatment procedures.

He determines whether you have eyes that are healthy enough to withstand the procedure, what kind of correction for your vision is needed, as well as how much ablation will be needed for your operation.

If you are not a good candidate, the doctor will advise you on alternative correction methods.

Your doctor also looks out for dry eye disease signs, which may inhibit a successful procedure and healing of the eye.

If present, the doctor advises you on the clearing and treatment of the disease before a Lasik procedure can be done.

To avoid the development of dry eyes after the LASIK procedure, the eye surgeon may also recommend treatment as a precaution measure.

The doctor will also ask questions about your general health, any health problems you may have, as well as whether you may be under any medications.

This is because some medical conditions may disqualify you from LASIK.

Other conditions may need you to postpone the operation to a later date.

Prior to the actual operation, a cornea topographer device, which measures the eye curvature to create a cornea “map”, is used.

This “map” is very helpful in determining how much ablation will be required.

The wavefront technology and wavefront analysis used together with this topographer helps provide a clearer picture of the aberrations that are affecting your vision.

The LASIK procedure is an ambulatory procedure, meaning that you walk in, have the procedure done, and then walk out.

Within the whole process, you are also awake, although sometimes, the surgeon may give you a mild oral sedative.

It is not a lengthy procedure, taking as little as 10 minutes.

However, this does not mean that it can be done by just any doctor.

It is a very delicate procedure, requiring the service of an expert surgeon, and with the right equipment.

The procedure is a simple one, where the surgeon places your eye under the laser, with a retainer being placed on it to keep it open.

Then the surgeon uses a computer to adjust the laser machine for your particular prescription.

Finally, laser pulses painlessly to reshape your cornea.

With LASIK surgery, you only need some little rest after the operations, and you are back to full eye functionality the very next day!