Posts Tagged ‘myopia’

Lasik Surgery: From Past to Present

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

LASIK surgery itself was definitely not invented overnight. It has taken over 50 years of technological advancement to get to where we are today. In modern day lasik, it is so precise of a surgery that every micron of corneal tissue is accounted for in correcting both high and low order aberrations.

The idea of lasik began back in the 1950s in Columbia. Spanish Ophthalmologist Jose Barraquer developed a blade that could precisely cut thin corneal flaps in an attempt to reshape the surface of the eye. This was later named the microkeratome. The procedure in which he reshaped the cornea by cutting a thin flap was termed keratomileusis, which is actually what the “k” in the LASIK acronym stands for.

The development of the excimer laser really is what led to modern day lasik. The excimer laser was originally first discovered in the 1960s. It initially was developed to manufacture microelectronic devices and semiconductor circuits. The discovery that the excimer laser could reshape the cornea without any surrounding thermal injury was made by an IBM researcher named Rangaswamy Srinivasan. He made this discovery in 1980. From there, lasik truly began to evolve to what it is today.

Dr. Marguerite McDonald performed the first excimer laser surgery for near sightedness in 1987 and far sightedness in 1993. Eye Excellence’s Dr. Mary Green trained directly under Dr. Marguerite McDonald when she did her Corneal & Anterior Segment Surgery Fellowship at the LSU Eye Center in New Orleans in the late 1980’s.

Lasik became more widespread across America in 1999 when Summit Technology received FDA approval to mass produce and distribute the excimer laser. From that point onwards Lasik has become widespread. It has continued to evolve over the past ten years. Initially, microkeratomes were used to create the corneal flap. Now the femtosecond laser is used more commonly. Custom wavefront lasik treatments are now more popular taking into consideration both low and high order aberrations.

Want to find out more about custom lasik houston, then visit Timmy A. Kovoor, MD’s site on how to choose the best lasik surgery houston cataract surgery houston for your needs.

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From The Blade to The Laser:The Lasik Revolution

Friday, February 25th, 2011

In lasik surgery, the cornea is reconfigured in a precise fashion to treat refractive error effectively. In a near sighted patient, the eye has too much power. Lasik is used to flatten the cornea and reduce the overall power of the eye. In a far sighted patient, the eye does not have enough power. In this case, lasik is used to steepened the cornea and give the eye more power.

Prior to lasik surgery, carefully placed partial thickness corneal incisions were used to alter the corneal shape. Such procedures originated back to the late 1800s. The first reported limbal relaxing incision was reported in 1885 by a Norwegian physician named Shiotz. This was performed to treat astigmatism. These relaxing inicisions are still performed today for astigmatism with cataract surgery or after a corneal transplant.

In the 1930’s, Japanese Ophthalmologist Tsutomu Soto performed radial cuts on military pilots to help treat myopia. He also suggested posterior corneal incisions to correct refractive error in patients with keratoconus. These incisional surgeries led to the breakthrough of radial keratotomy.

Radial Keratotomy is a method in which a strategic number of partial thickness radial incisions were placed to help treat myopia. It’s discovery is credited to a Russian ophthalmologist Svyatoslav Federov. A young male patient presented to him after his eyeglasses shattered into his cornea after falling off his bicycle. Dr. Federov made radial cuts to remove the glass. He astutely realized the boy’s vision and refractive error improved as a result of the incisions. He perfected the technique on Russian citizens. American ophthalmologist flew to Moscow to learn the technique.

By the early 1980s, radial keratotomy was being performed here in the United States. Initial studies out of UCLA showed that 52% of people were 20/40 or better. However, further studies indicated refractive instability, glare, and hyperopic shifts. Fortunately, LASIK technology evolved and eventually overtook RK in the 1990s.

Though radial keratotomy is no longer being performed, incisional procedures like LRIs and AKs are still being widely performed. Custom LASIK, i lasik, epi lasik, PRK, & LASEK have now taken over the refractive market. RK is for the most part a think of the past and is often times quoted as being “RKaic.”

Want to find out more about custom lasik houston, then visit Timmy A. Kovoor, MD’s site on how to choose the best lasik surgery houston cataract surgery houston for your needs.

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What to Expect with Vision Correction Options and Myopia

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Have you been told you may have myopia? Myopia is a condition where you can see things close to you, but when trying to look at things in the distance, you may find that your vision is foggy. This can be bothersome if you are driving and attempting to read the road signs. You also may not being able to correctly decide how far away other cars are away from you. If you travel by bus or train then you could have difficulty in seeing the stops or even the digits so you end up to late to get on, or find that you’re the last one on due to your confusion in trying to read the signs. You might even end up without a seat even though you were the first one there. A way to finally fix this is through myopia correction.

Almost all people will be excited to find out that there is a permanent solution that takes very little time. The myopia vision correction is done with a special laser and you can be completely finished before the day is over, and you’ll require very little resting time. You can be back at work without bothering with putting in or disposing of pricey contact lenses or having to remember to take your eye glasses with you.

Another alternative to an actual surgical procedure is corneal reflective therapy. The way this works is by wearing a progression of different contact lenses over a set period of time. These kinds of contact lenses are harder than the regular type, and the way they work is by correcting the shape of the actual eyeball and cornea. This will enhance your ability to see.

As we talked about before, not everyone will be suited this vision correction treatment so the other option would be to get surgery. This works when a laser takes away a very little bit of tissue from within the eye. You end up with a reshaped cornea which will allow you to see more clearly at far distances. The whole thing will take less than a day, so you can be back in your own home or back to work before you can say “myopia”.

It does not matter which method you feel is best for you. The results could change your way of life completely. In the long run, the money that you usually have to spend replacing glasses and contact lenses will no longer be an issue.

If you are worried about the cost there are many payment options as well as those that will give you interest free credit and you can pay for your vision correction over a set time period.

The cost of lasik eye surgery can be more than worth it, but just make sure you’re aware of lasik eye complications that could be possible.

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