Saturday, November 10, 2007

Lasik Vision Surgery: New Technology Prevents Side Effects

By Marc Menninger

If you're like me, you've probably heard about some of the side effects associated with getting lasik vision correction surgery. For instance, after getting lasik surgery some people complain about symptoms of glare, halos and decreased night vision.

In fact, I remember attending a business briefing where the speaker started by mentioning he just had lasik surgery the day before. He told the audience, "The good news is I think you're all going to heaven because everyone has halos around their heads!"

If you've considered getting lasik surgery but were concerned about some of the less-than-desirable side effects, you'll be glad to hear that new technology is reducing those dreaded halos and glare. Known as "custom" or wavefront-guided lasik, this relatively recent improvement in eye surgery technology produces better vision quality when compared to traditional lasik vision surgery.

"Most significant," says US Navy Captain Steve Schallhorn, MD, the Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery at the Navy Medical Center, San Diego, "is the improved quality of vision with the wavefront-guided procedure, fewer problems with halos and glare, better night vision, and higher patient satisfaction."

Traditional lasik reshapes the patient's cornea with a laser to correct visual problems like nearsightedness or farsightedness. With conventional lasik, the laser is guided based on formulas similar to the ones used to determine your eyeglass prescription. Conventional lasik is effective at treating "lower-order" aberrations like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism (also called "refractive errors").

Wavefront-guided lasik, on the other hand, measures how light is distorted as it passes into the eye and then is reflected back. This creates a 3-D optical map of the eye, highlighting the imperfections and disorders that lead to visual errors. Wavefront technology then creates a custom treatment plan for each eye and guides the laser during the surgery.

Wavefront-guided lasik can effectively treat the same lower-order aberrations that conventional lasik can treat as well as treating "higher-order" aberrations such as decreased contrast sensitivity, night vision, glare, shadows and halos. In fact, there are a growing number of patients turning to wavefront-guided lasik to correct side effects from previous laser eye surgeries.

"With this technology breakthrough, we can now measure these disorders, show the patient what's going on in their eye, link that information to the laser, and actually correct higher-order aberrations," says Roger Steinert, M.D., associate clinical professor of ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. "Wavefront technology enables the surgeon to improve overall vision quality better than in the past."

Of course, this advanced technology comes with a higher price tag than traditional lasik surgery. And just like conventional lasik, wavefront-guided lasik is a surgical procedure and has risks associated with it. Be sure to consult with a qualified lasik surgeon to discuss potential complications and ensure you're a good candidate for this type of surgery.

But if the choice is between crystal clear vision with no side effects and going through life seeing all the people going to heaven, I think I'll go with the first option, please!

Marc Menninger is an online researcher seriously considering lasik vision correction surgery. For more information on lasik vision surgery, take a look at his research on his Lasik Information blog: http://www.lasikvisionblog.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Menninger

Lasik Institute - The Best Place For Vision Correction

By Arvind Singh

People generally associate the word "LASIK" with one and only one vision correction methodology. There are several choices that are available with the vision correction technology. Lasik price differs for and there are noteworthy price ranges depending on the quality of what the patient receives. There are differences in outcomes depending on the procedures. One of the latest Lasik surgeries includes Epi-LASIK. It is a refractive technique of treating the eye. It is an automatic Lasik surgery which does not make use of alcohol and gives good vision correction results.

The Lasik Institutes choose the latest technology so as to have the most advanced systems in the world in order to be capable of producing the best results for the patients. Lasik eye surgery, which was first performed in 1991, is now undergone by hundreds of millions of people in the world and its procedure is one that has transformed several lives. For numerous people, one successful result has freed them from depending on inconvenient glasses as well as contact lenses.

Lasik institute happens to be a facility that is focused on performance of the Lasik surgical technology. It is to be seen that the Lasik Institute chosen is nearer to the residence so as to make things convenient. But, that is not the prime requirement. The primary need is that the institute should have a good reputation, the advance technology, convenient procedures, good doctors and an appreciable success rate.

While searching for a Lasik institute, it is very essential to have a thorough research. One needs to investigate properly about the reputation that the institute is carrying amongst people. It is required to have a talk with people who have already undergone a surgery from that institute, to get first hand information about it. It is necessary to be doubly sure about care of the patient, cleanliness of the institute, friendliness and comfort level with doctors. Moreover, it is better to know if the Lasik Institute gives any payment options to the patients since the price for the surgery is high.

A highly graded Lasik institute generally begins with one or two pre-surgical visits. At this time, the patient gets to meet the surgeon where all the queries and doubts can be addressed. While talking to the doctor, it is always advisable to know about his experience and qualification as well as the success rate.

LasikAide is an online information hub for those who have minor defect in vision and want liberty from lenses and glasses. See for yourself how a Lasik Institute can make a difference the way you view the world. It correct the defect and gives you a clear vision. Make yourself aware about Lasik Surgery and Lasik Institute.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arvind_Singh

Lasik Vision Correction - An Affordable Innovation

By Arvind Singh

Many people think and dream of getting their glasses off. Earlier the only way of getting rid of glasses was to wear contact lenses. However, with technological improvement, it has now become possible to correct vision defect itself. Lasik vision correction is a new technology which has made it possible for anyone to cure vision defect in a short time period and in a cost effective manner. This Lasik vision correction technique is very safe and a person undergoing this surgery can resume his or her work within a few weeks time. In Lasik centre, the ophthalmologist use laser beam to modify the shape of cornea and the operation can be done with a few minutes.

Laser is basically a beam and is an acronym for light amplification which is a result of stimulation emission of radiation. It is a light beam and the beam is created purposely. This laser can be ultraviolet or infrared laser beam or it can even be within the range of our vision. The laser beams are named according to the way it is created like solid-state laser, semi conductor or can even be gas laser. All beams created are of same colour, and it is even directional which means the light particles present in the beam are in the state of lockstep. This results in beam to be highly focused and concentrated.

In Lasik vision correction, ultraviolet beams used, are referred as excimer laser. Any person desiring to go for this Lasik operation is instructed to discontinue wearing contact lenses approximately 10-15 day prior to the surgery date. Before conducting the surgery, the patient's corneas are examined with a help of a pachymeter to ascertain its thickness and with a topographer to measure surface contour. This also enables the surgeon to detect astigmatism and any other irregularities in the cornea. After the surgery, patients have to undergo a course of antibiotics and apply anti-inflammatory eye drops for some time. Patients are advised to wear a dark pair of eyeglasses to protect it from light after Lasik vision correction surgery.

With the passage of time, there has been a marked improvement in the Lasik vision correction surgery, but surgeons are still waiting to for conclusive evidence to see it is absolutely safe in the long run. There are a chances of a patient suffering from complications like slipped flap, corneal infection, glare or halo and some of these complications are irreversible as this process of Lasik surgery is irreversible. With time this cornea surgery has become affordable and safe for people and Lasik surgery cost has gone down tremendously. The effects of undergoing this surgery and its consequences in the long run will be known at later stage.

LasikAide is an online information hub for those who have minor defect in vision and want liberty from lenses and glasses. Lasik Vision Correction gives some unbelievable results. So what are you waiting for, visit a Lasik Vision Institute and get back lost vision.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arvind_Singh