Laser Vision Correction (LASIK)

LASIK is now turning dreams into reality for people all over the world. Using the light of the excimer laser, this procedure can eliminate a lifetime dependence on glasses and contact lenses and takes only a few minutes to perform. The significant advantage of LASIK, as compared to Photorefractive Keratectomy (or PRK), is the possibility to perform operations on the other eye on the same or the following day.

LASIK is an acronym for Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis, which simply means to shape the cornea (outer window of the eye), so that light rays focus more precisely on the retina, thereby reducing or eliminating refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.

	Using an instrument known as a microkeratome, a thin flap of corneal tissue is folded back
	The Excimer laser then removes a predetermined amount of tissue from the inner cornea to correct the individual's refractive error. The cornea is made flatter to treat nearsightedness (myopia), convex to treat farsightedness (hypermetropia) and/or more spherical to correct astigmatism.
	The corneal flap is then placed back in its original position where it bonds without the need of stitches. LASIK can treat from slight to very severe refractive errors.

After the operation, most patients do not feel any significant discomfort. The acuity of vision is regained on the same day or the day after. In 2-4 weeks after the operation, the complete effect of vision recovery is achieved.