General Information

We are pleased that you are interested in the new procedures that are now available to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This material has been written to give you a brief background of the various techniques that are designed to decrease your dependency on glasses and contact lenses. Many satisfied patients have been treated successfully by the experienced team at the Palisades Laser Eye Center.

The excimer laser is a new technology for the treatment of refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism). It is a "cold" laser which is able to meticulously remove fine layers of tissue from the cornea. The laser uses a mixture of gases to produce a beam of invisible ultraviolet light energy, which when focused through a lens system, results in the removal of a small amount of corneal tissue. Under computer control, the excimer laser critically reshapes microscopic areas of the corneal surface. Layers of tissue thinner than a human hair may be removed. This is in contrast to procedures such as radial keratotomy, which are also used to correct refractive errors. By reshaping or sculpting the cornea surface, the excimer laser procedure is designed to improve natural vision without glasses or contact lenses.

In LASIK, an instrument called a microkeratome is first used to create a corneal "flap" about the size of a contact lens. The laser then removes tissue from beneath the flap. Refractive errors are corrected by reshaping the surface of the cornea to better focus incoming light.

The goal of LASIK is to reduce patients' dependency on glasses or contact lenses, enabling them to function well with their natural vision, not necessarily to eliminate their use. Most patients who have undergone the excimer laser procedure have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the results.

In brief, there are two basic types of possible side effects with LASIK. Because patients may respond and heal differently, it is possible that the entire refractive error may not be corrected or that there might be some overcorrection. If you are undercorrected, your vision will be clearer without glasses, but less powerful glasses may still be necessary to fine tune to your best vision. For some patients who are overcorrected, especially those patients who are somewhat older, up-close vision might be difficult without glasses. In addition, older patients who are corrected for distance vision will still need reading glasses. We will discuss what vision you may reasonably expect to achieve in your particular case. Other optical side effects include haloes around lights, and glare, especially at night, which might decrease night vision. Finally, rare complications may be secondary to problems with corneal healing or with the corneal flap. We will discuss these possibilities in detail.

Please feel free to inquire about more information to determine what is best for your specific needs. Our doctors and our staff will be happy to discuss the details of the procedure, fully review the risks and benefits, discuss alternatives, and answer all your questions. For more information call 845-364-9767.

Palisades Laser Eye Center