Excimer Laser

The use of Excimer Laser in eye surgery introduced a new era of Laser vision correction in the refractive surgery industry. The surgical treatment known as the Photorefractive Keratotomy or PRK was first performed in the mid eighties with the help of this sophisticated technology. In later years, two more Laser surgical treatments -the Laser in situ keratomilieusis (LASIK) and the Laser epithelial keratomilieusis(LASEK) were introduced followed by other advanced methods- the Custom LASIK and the Epi-LASIK. With the advancement of the latter techniques, Excimer laser vision correction procedures took a new leap in the refractive surgery market worldwide.

Excimer laser in eye surgery is applied on corneal surface of the eye to reshape or re model it. In Short-sightedness (Myopia): the centre has to be made flatter by removing more tissues from the centre of the eye than the edge. In Long-sightedness (Hyperopia), the centre has to be more curved by removing more tissue from the edge than the centre as in a ring. For Astigmatism, the curve has to be evened out in round shape that resembles a football. There is another Excimer Laser vision correcting technique, known as the Photo-Therapeutic Keratectomy or the non-refractive PTK, which intends to remove corneal scars and smooth out the corneal surface.

The benefit of using Excimer Laser in corneal Laser Surgery is that the instruments do not need to enter the eye itself, so damage or infection inside the eye is very rare. Just the firing of laser rays for a few seconds does it all. Then, the eye surgeons replace of the surface epithelium (LASEK) and a contact lens is placed on the eye (for PRK and LASEK). For LASIK, the corneal flap is repositioned. Excimer LASER in eye surgeries is preferred to other surgical procedures since the vision correction treatments using such are reasonably painless and comfortable for patients. They need minimum time for healing and usually less risky for individuals. People, who are bored with wearing glasses or need to lessen dependence of contact lenses, find these fuss-free surgical procedures worth their prices.

With further developments in the Excimer Laser technology, the surgical procedures and the cutting devises have also come a long way from the former microkeratomes to the recent epikeratomes and the Wavefront analysers.

Excimer Laser in eye surgeries results in consistent and predictable outcomes. Usually it can correct short-sightedness up to -14D and long-sightedness up to +6D. Though it can lead to minor complications and contraindications like halos, haze, clouding of vision, or visual distortions, but in most cases it is observed that these visual problems are temporary and do not have serious health risks.

Today, ophthalmic researches and clinical data show that an impressive number of people have experienced stable vision by using Excimer laser in Eye Surgeries that mainly include PRK, LASIK, LASEK and also the Custom LASIK and epi-LASIK techniques.