The LASIK Procedure – The Freedom to Be and Do More
- Imagine being able to see the alarm clock when you wake up.
- Imagine giving up the hassles of glasses and the rituals of contact lens maintenance.
- Imagine that whatever your passion (sports, travel, art, or business) - how much more skill you could bring to it, how much more fun you could have - if you didn't have to overcome the ways that glasses and contacts hamper you. The fogging, the slipping, the lack of peripheral vision. The discomfort caused by the tiniest speck of dust in your contacts. Vision by VISX® can enable you to perform better naturally in the ways that matter most to you.
What is Laser Vision Correction?Developed in 1991, LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis) combines the computer-controlled precision of the excimer laser with the rapid healing benefits associated with Lamellar Keratoplasty. This is a surgical technique in which the excimer laser is used under the surface of the cornea instead of on the surface. By adjusting the pattern of the laser beam, we are able to treat nearsightedness (myopia), with or without astigmatism, farsightedness (hyperopia), with or without astigmatism, or astigmatism alone.
Excimer laser correction is a treatment that uses the excimer laser beam to correct your eyesight. The excimer laser reshapes the underlying corneal tissue. Then the surface cells are put back in their original position, where it bonds without the need for stitches. During the treatment, the laser's cool ultraviolet light removes a small amount of tissue - typically less than the thickness of a human hair. Short pulses of laser light flatten the curvature of the cornea, allowing images to be more sharply focused on the retina.
U.S. FDA-Approved Treatment
|
Treatment |
Refractive Error |
Approved Range |
|
The VISX® STAR S4 IR™ Excimer Laser System and the WaveScan WaveFront®
System are approved by the U.S. FDA for: |
|
CustomVue
Wavefront
Guided LASIK |
Low to
Moderate
Myopia |
Up to -6.0 D MRSE with or
without astigmatism up to -3.0
DC |
|
High Myopia |
From -6.0 D to -11.0 D
MRSE , with or without
astigmatism up to -3.0 DC |
|
Hyperopia |
Up to +3.0 D MRSE with or
without astigmatism up to +2.0
DC |
|
Mixed
Astigmatism |
From 1.0 D to 5.0 DC,
cylinder > sphere and of
opposite sign |
|
The VISX STAR S4 IR™ Excimer Laser System is approved by the U.S. FDA for: |
|
LASIK |
Myopia |
Up to -14.0 DS with or
without astigmatism -0.5 to
5.0 DC |
|
Hyperopia |
+0.5 to +5.0 DS with or
without astigmatism up to +3
DC |
|
Mixed
Astigmatism |
Up to 6.0 DC, cylinder >
sphere and of opposite sign |
|
PRK |
Myopia |
0 to -12.0 DS, with or without
astigmatism -0.75 to -4.0 DC |
|
Hyperopia |
+1.0 to +6.0 DS, with or
without astigmatism +0.5 to
+4.0 DC |
|
PTK |
N/A
(Therapeutic) |
Therapeutic/non-refractive
treatments. Contact VISX for
details. |
|
Custom-CAP |
N/A
(Therapeutic) |
Topography-driven therapeutic
treatments. Contact VISX for
more information. |
Like all refractive surgeries, LASIK attempts to restore normal function of the eye, but does not change the appearance of the eye. It is considered to be elective surgery. This means you are choosing to have the surgery because you want it, not because you have to have it.
For more information on the FDA standards, please visit
www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik.
The Choice of More DoctorsVISX invented the technology for laser vision correction more than 15 years ago. Today, VISX is the choice of more eye doctors for their patients. Plus, thousands of eye doctors and their staffs have had laser vision correction themselves, and have trusted their eyes to VISX. The VISX laser has FDA approval to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. And to use the VISX laser, a doctor must become VISX certified, which requires a thorough certification process. That's why more people in the United States have been treated with the "gold-standard" VISX laser than all others combined. Bottom line: VISX is the most trusted laser vision correction company.
Many people all over the world have undergone LASIK surgery since its inception, and the vast majority of patients have found the results to be highly satisfying, but only you can decide whether the potential benefits of LASIK outweigh the potential risks involved.
For more information about the Eye Institute, please call 603.663.2020 or e-mail
eyeinstitute@cmc-nh.org or visit the VISX web site at
www.VISX.com.
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