Share & Enjoy:

|

Author:
Nicola Kennedy

Patients considering LASIK eye surgery may come across medical jargon, such as "blade" and "bladeless" LASIK. To a layman, such terms might appear overwhelming. However, as a patient you must know the difference between the two surgery types, and the rewards and risks associated with each.

Traditional LASIK makes use of a microkeratome to cut a thin hinged flap in the cornea. The flap is then folded back to reveal the stroma – the middle layer of the cornea. A high precision laser, called the excimer laser, is used to reshape the corneal surface so as to correct any refractive error. The flap is then repositioned to act as a natural bandage. Since the microkeratome used to create a flap is in fact a surgical blade, the procedure is also known as blade LASIK.

A more recent innovation, introduced in 1999, makes use of a high energy laser (IntraLase or femtosecond laser) to create a flap during surgery. As opposed to traditional LASIK, IntraLase does not employ a surgical blade, and hence the procedure is often marketed as "bladeless" or "all laser" LASIK. The term itself has raged a debate among eye surgeons, as to whether it should be used in IntraLase advertisements or not. Several surgeons assert that the term "bladeless" implies that traditional LASIK, which makes use of a surgical blade (microkeratome), is a scarier proposition, when in fact it’s not.

The creation of the flap is an important part of the laser eye surgery procedure. It’s true that flap predictability is better with a laser flap, that is, with bladeless LASIK. Moreover, there is a reduced possibility of flap complications, such as partial flaps, flap dislocation, free flaps etc. However, an expert surgeon wielding a contemporary microkeratome can very well match the finesse of bladeless LASIK. Although the chances are rare, there is an issue of transient light sensitivity as well – a unique risk associated with bladeless LASIK. Moreover, the bladeless LASIK procedure costs an extra $300 per eye, when compared with traditional LASIK.

All said and done, LASIK itself is one of the safest refractive surgery procedure. Whether it’s blade or bladeless, it largely depends on the eye surgeon of your choice. If the surgeon has loads of experience carrying out microkeratome procedures, it’s better to have it that way. If otherwise, you may go in for the relatively new bladeless LASIK surgery.

Finding a LASIK surgery that you are confident about will be able to give you more information about blade and bladeless LASIK.

About the Author :

Nicola publishes articles, reports, news, views and information about LASIK surgery problems at http://www.Your-LASIK.info. LASIK Surgeons Directory http://www.find-lasik-surgeon.com is a useful resource. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright http://Your-LASIK.info


This article is distributed by: www.iSnare.com

Share & Enjoy: |     Article Keywords: Lasik

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Lasik... A Complete Guide To Understanding Epi-LASIK Laser Eye Surgery Epi-LASIK is a relatively new form of laser eye surgery, and it's certainly the most advanced. It combines the best elements of LASIK, LASEK and PRK laser procedures. Basically, the newest addition to the laser eye surgery arena involves separating the epithelial from the top of the cornea. An epikeratome is used, rather than slicing into the cornea to produce a hinged flap, as is done in LASIK surgery. Epi-LASIK is an acronym, where Epi stands for Epithelial, and LASIK for Laser in situ Keratomileusis. Epi-LASIK is similar to other laser eye surgery techniques, as it also uses a laser beam to reshape the cornea. It's most effective for people with mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. It can also be very effective for people with a thin cornea. As the latest technique, Epi-LASIK does offer a couple of advantages over the older forms of laser eye surgery. The main advantage over LASIK, is that the cornea itself does not need to be cut, and so the...