LASER IN EYE SURGERY- By Audrey Man
Define Laser
The word laser stands for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
A laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of
optical amplification based on stimulated emission of radiation. It produces a nearly
parallel, nearly monochromatic, and coherent beam of light by exciting atoms to a
higher energy level and causing them to radiate their energy in phase.
The Ziemer's FEMTO LDV Bladeless Laser- first compact, mobile femtosecond surgical
laser used in LASIK eye surgery.
How lasers are used/how it works
There are two main types of laser eye surgery: PRK and LASIK. Amongst these two
categories, there are also many other different types and modifications depending on
what your problem is. The patient participating in laser eye surgery is always awake
and their eyes are numbed by drops. Types of laser surgery in the category of PRK
consist of a technique used to remove the corneas outer layer, the epithelium. PRK is
different to LASIK procedures in the sense that they don’t create a flap by using a
cutting technique. The first step of laser eye surgery is to remove the epithelium, and
then reshape the cornea by using a certain type of laser called the excimer laser. A few
things vary according to the different patient’s needs. Better results are achieved when
more precise mapping and reshaping is taken place. There are many different lasers
used which consist of: Argon laser, Erbium laser, CO2 laser, Holmium laser, YAG laser
and the Excimer laser.
Why lasers are used
The cornea is one of the most important parts of your eye; however it is not always
perfectly shaped. This causes problems as the cornea bends and focuses light to make a
clear image. When the cornea is misshaped or also known as a refractive error, your
vision can appear blurry or out-of-focus. There are three types of refractive errors:
Myopia, Hyperopia and Astigmatism. It is also common to have more than one, for
example a combination of hyperopia and astigmatism or myopia and astigmatism.
This is explained further in the diagram below.
3 types of refractive errors.
Ultimately laser eye surgery can help fix these problems by using a laser to reshape the
cornea, correct any refractive imperfections, and improve the passing of light rays
therefore improving your vision.
Advantages and disadvantages of Laser
There are many advantages for using laser in eye surgery. It is known to have excellent
outcomes by fully improving vision or even having clarity of eyesight. LASIK has a high
level of accuracy in which it can correct most levels of myopia, hyperopia and
astigmatism as the laser is guided by a computer, it is very precise. It can stop the
inconvenience of having to wear contact lenses and glasses all the time. It can open up
career paths for those who are interested in participating in jobs that require very
sharp and excellent eye sight. It also provides rapid healing and visual recovery. The
surgery is also very convenient as it doesn’t involve much pain, it is a very short and
non- time consuming process and patients can have the opportunity to undergo their
surgery all in one place without having to move around from different places. It is also
guaranteed that future enhancements are possible if needed even many years after the
surgery.
However laser eye surgery can be very beneficial there are still disadvantages present.
It cannot be guaranteed that the surgery will work on everyone and results may vary
from patient to patient. The healing process is also hard to confirm as each patient will
heal and respond to the surgery differently. There is also a slight chance that LASIK
could make some aspects of your vision worse and on very rare occasions it may not
be correctable with contact lenses or glasses. To certain individuals the surgery could
make dry-eye symptoms even worse. Even with most successful procedures when
using a blade you can leave tiny imperfections or scars in the corneal tissues which can
cause blurred vision. This procedure also isn’t cheap and considering it is not
guaranteed to improve your vision, the price may vary according to the different
problems and procedures. Because this procedure hasn’t been perfected there are
bound to have faults. Many things could go wrong in a surgery including a surgeon
making a small mistake that could easily affect the outcome of your vision.
Laser eye surgery can only be performed by a licensed ophthalmologist, a medical
doctor who is specialized in eye and vision care. Ophthalmologists are involved in eye
research and are trained to provide the full range of eye care. This can consist from
prescribing glasses and contact lenses to as complex and delicate as eye surgery.
Ophthalmologists must go to medical school for 4 years and a year of internship and
spends a minimum of 3 years of hospital-based training. During this training a medical
doctor also learns about all aspects of eye care including prevention, diagnosis and
medical and surgical treatment of eye conditions and diseases. An ophthalmologist
may spend one or two last years in training in a subspecialty.
Before the development of laser used in eye surgery, scalpels were very commonly
used as a surgical tool to make incisions in the skin during procedures. Scalpel s
requires more extreme surgical precision in order to minimize risks and complications.
They also have a much larger risk of scarring and getting an infection. But as
technology has improved over the years, lasers were invented to fix the problems the
scalpels had and to offer more than the scalpels ever did. There probably will be future
use of lasers in eye surgery as it has proved to be a very common and affective way to
improve someone’s eye sight. Technology will only be getting better and better and if
the lasers are not replaced it will just continue to become more advanced and
eventually perfected.
Bibliography
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<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/laser>
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<http://www.medicinenet.com/lasik_eye_surgery/page9.htm#advantages>
Science Daily, 2001,Laser Scalpel improves Popular eye surgery, date accessed 1/6/11
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010629063835.htm>