The LASIK Difference

For over 25 years, doctors placed incisions in the cornea to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. In the early 1980s, they began looking at lasers to improve the precision and predictability of altering the shape of the cornea. Researchers found that the Excimer laser could remove tissue with up to 0.25 microns of accuracy. Now, in its second decade of use, the technologically-advanced Excimer laser has added a tremendous amount of precision, control, and safety to the surgical correction of vision errors. Using this remarkable technology, the cornea is reshaped to conform to your glasses or contact lens prescription, thereby reducing or even eliminating a lifetime of dependence on corrective lenses for hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.

LASIK, or Laser in-Situ Keratomileusis, offers a number of benefits over other forms of laser vision correction because it is performed under a protective layer of corneal tissue. As a result, there is less surface area to heal, less risk of scarring, less risk of corneal haze, less postoperative discomfort, postoperative need for medications, and vision returns more rapidly, often within a day or so. LASIK can also treat a higher range of vision errors. Although postoperative results vary, most patients are able to pass a drivers’ license test without their glasses or contact lenses.