Lasik is a surgical procedure intended to reduce or eliminate one’s dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The term LASIK stands for Laser Assisted In-situ Keratomileusis. This is just a fancy way of stating that a cool laser beam is used to gently reshape the cornea, ie the clear dome or window forming the front surface of the eye. It is the shape of the cornea that determines whether one has a refractive error. A person with pure myopia, or nearsightedness, has a rounded cornea that is too steep. A person with pure hyperopia, or farsightedness, has a rounded cornea that is too flat. A person with astigmatism has a cornea that is irregularly shaped, like a football or the back surface of a spoon. In other words, it is not perfectly round. One can have astigmatism in addition to nearsightedness or farsightedness. With lasik, an excimer laser is used to reshape the cornea. In the case of nearsightedness, the steep cornea is made flatter, in farsightedness, the flat cornea is made steeper. Perhaps an easier way to understand lasik is to think of the laser incorporating one’s glasses or contact lens prescription directly onto the surface of the eye.

There are essentially 2 major steps to the LASIK procedure. After the eye is numbed with special numbing eyedrops, an instrument called a microkeratome is used to create a thin flap of corneal tissue. The thin flap is gently lifted away from the surface of the eye. It remains attached to the eye by a small hinge however. The second step of the LASIK procedure involves the actual application of laser. The laser treatment is applied beneath this thin corneal flap to reshape the cornea to the desired contour. The flap is then gently positioned back into place. Due to the unique characteristics of the cornea, the flap heals into place without the need for stitches. The cornea is permanently reshaped into the desired contour thereby decreasing or eliminating one’s refractive error and thus their need for glasses or contacts.

Contact our LASIK Coordinator at (310) 739-6181