What is Lasik Eye Surgery?

Individuals with imperfect vision now have an option available to them that will correct their vision while reducing the need for glasses or contacts. This procedure is called Lasik eye surgery and it corrects vision problems for patients.

The way Lasik eye surgery works is relatively simple, fast and with minimal pain. And fortunately, the price of lasik eye surgery is becoming more affordable.

LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that reshapes the cornea. The process that is used for this sounds a bit dangerous, but is being performed with huge success rates all over the world.

First, the eye is numbed a bit with a solution and the ophthalmologist takes a special knife and cuts a small flap in the cornea of the patient's eye. The flap is left connected to the eye so there are only three sides cut. Then, the ophthalmologist pulls the flap back exposing the second layer of the cornea known as the stroma.

Then, the ophthalmologist uses a specialized laser that sends pulses to the stroma that reshape the cornea. Then, the flap is replaced and the procedure is completed.

While this procedure does not seem to be very complicated and certainly does not take a lot of time, it is not a perfected science. The reason for this is each eye is shaped differently and the amount of slope on the cornea affects the level of vision problems. The ophthalmologist must gauge how much cornea needs to be removed/ reshaped in order to correct the patient's vision to 20/20. This is difficult because there is no way to know how the cornea will react to the laser and how close to perfect vision the patient will have.

As a result, lasik eye surgery works very well for patients who want to improve their vision. However, it is not guaranteed to return your vision to 20/20. It may, however, be successful or the eye might not react the way the ophthalmologist imagines and leave the patient with less than perfect sight and still necessitating the use of glasses or contacts. Fortunately, lasik surgery is successful and patients are pleased the majority of the time.

Maria Gonzalez is webmaster of the Contact Lenses site, Contact Vision. This site is dedicted to bringing you up to date information on vision related topics. For more great articles on contact lenses, LASIK eye surgery and vision problems, visit our Contact lens articles page.