Lions Laser Vision Centre WA

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The procedure steps

There are two steps in the LASIK procedure. First, the surgeon creates a micro-thin corneal flap, which is lifted to expose the inner cornea for step two, tissue ablation by an excimer laser. The IntraLase FS laser introduced the concept of blade-free LASIK in 2001, representing the first improvement to the procedure's first step.

Surgeons have found statistically and clinically significant differences in the vision patients achieve - better than 20/20 to 20/15 and even 20/12.5 - when the laser is used to make the corneal flap.

With its excellent safety profile, patient comfort and superior visual outcomes, LASIK with the IntraLase Method" is among the fastest-growing refractive surgical techniques in the country today. As of the third quarter of 2006, the 518 IntraLase FS lasers in use worldwide have performed approximately one million Laser LASIK procedures. In the U.S., more than 25 percent of all LASIK procedures incorporate the advanced IntraLase Method.

How it works

Total time: 15-30 seconds

The ultra-fast laser uses an infrared light beam, generating up to 60,000 pulses per second, to prepare an optimal corneal architecture below the flap.

Using an "inside-out" process, the IntraLase laser is precisely focused to a point within the cornea, where thousands of microscopic bubbles are formed to define the architecture of the intracorneal surface and the resulting flap.

The surgeon controls flap diameter, depth, hinge location and width, and side-cut architecture - factors that can be varied per patient. Bubbles are then stacked along the edge up to the corneal surface to complete step one.

The physician then exposes the prepared corneal bed for excimer laser treatment by lifting the flap. The LASIK procedure is complete when the flap is securely repositioned on its beveled edge.

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