What is laser eye surgery?
Laser eye surgery is a term that describes different types of eye surgeries that are used to correct refractive errors in your eyes. The most common types of laser eye surgeries are LASIK, PRK, LASEK, and EpiLASIK. All the different types of laser eye surgeries listed before all are used to reshape the cornea, which then corrects vision.
Types of laser eye surgeries:
LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratomileusis)
This is the most common type of laser eye surgery. It is when the ophthalmologist creates a thin flap in the cornea using a blade or laser and then reshapes the cornea using the laser. (I will be discussing about this type of laser in the "Role in Physics" tab.)
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
This is the second most-popular type of laser eye surgery. The procedure is the same but instead of creating a thin flap in the cornea, the ophthalmologist removes a portion of the surface of the cornea or epithelial tissue.
LASEK (Laser Epithelial Kerathomileusis)
This procedure is similar to the two listed above, but the ophthalmologist starts off with applying alcohol to the corneal epithelium. (This allows the surgeon to move the corneal cells out of the way without removing them for the laser surgery.)
Epi-LASIK (Epithelial Laser in Situ Keratomileusis)
This procedure is like a mixture of LASIK and LASEK. This starts off like LASIK and a flap from the cornea is made, except the flap is thinner and made only of epithelial tissue. After, the flap is created, it is moved aside and the surgeon reshapes the stroma underneath with the laser.
*All these procedures use the same type of laser.
Glossary:
Refractive error: Vision problems that happen when the shape of the eye prevents you from focusing properly.
Cornea: the dome-like transparent layer, forming the front of the eye.
Ophthalmologist: A specialist in medical and surgical eye problems. They're also the ones that perform the operations on the eyes.
Epithelial tissue: A thin sheet of tightly packed cells that covers body surfaces and lines internal organs and body cavities.
Corneal epithelium: Outermost layer of cornea.
Stroma: The main layer of the cornea.
Excimer Laser: an ultraviolet laser
Laser eye surgery is a term that describes different types of eye surgeries that are used to correct refractive errors in your eyes. The most common types of laser eye surgeries are LASIK, PRK, LASEK, and EpiLASIK. All the different types of laser eye surgeries listed before all are used to reshape the cornea, which then corrects vision.
Types of laser eye surgeries:
LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratomileusis)
This is the most common type of laser eye surgery. It is when the ophthalmologist creates a thin flap in the cornea using a blade or laser and then reshapes the cornea using the laser. (I will be discussing about this type of laser in the "Role in Physics" tab.)
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
This is the second most-popular type of laser eye surgery. The procedure is the same but instead of creating a thin flap in the cornea, the ophthalmologist removes a portion of the surface of the cornea or epithelial tissue.
LASEK (Laser Epithelial Kerathomileusis)
This procedure is similar to the two listed above, but the ophthalmologist starts off with applying alcohol to the corneal epithelium. (This allows the surgeon to move the corneal cells out of the way without removing them for the laser surgery.)
Epi-LASIK (Epithelial Laser in Situ Keratomileusis)
This procedure is like a mixture of LASIK and LASEK. This starts off like LASIK and a flap from the cornea is made, except the flap is thinner and made only of epithelial tissue. After, the flap is created, it is moved aside and the surgeon reshapes the stroma underneath with the laser.
*All these procedures use the same type of laser.
Glossary:
Refractive error: Vision problems that happen when the shape of the eye prevents you from focusing properly.
Cornea: the dome-like transparent layer, forming the front of the eye.
Ophthalmologist: A specialist in medical and surgical eye problems. They're also the ones that perform the operations on the eyes.
Epithelial tissue: A thin sheet of tightly packed cells that covers body surfaces and lines internal organs and body cavities.
Corneal epithelium: Outermost layer of cornea.
Stroma: The main layer of the cornea.
Excimer Laser: an ultraviolet laser