New Methods: LASEK

Most people have heard of LASIK eye surgery. It has been the talk of the scientific world for years. It is hard not to open a newspaper and come across at least one advertisement for a LASIK eye clinic. But did you know that there is an even newer form of corrective laser eye surgery. The original, LASIK, stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis. Now, there is a new kind with a very similar name, called LASEK. LASEK stands for laser epithelial keratomileusis. If you have very thin corneas that laser surgeons said they couldn't operate on, you may have more success with the new LASEK surgery.

Corrective laser eye surgery is a great opportunity for people who have really bad eyesight. Wearing glasses is fine if you don't have to wear them all the time. when it gets to the point where you can't see anything without your glasses or contacts, it can be awfully hard to deal with. For people with these problems, eye surgery seems like a good choice. Unfortunately, not everyone can get the surgery. While there are a lot of rules to this, one of the big ones is people with corneas that are too thin.

The cornea is the clear part of the eye. It's may goal is to act as a sort of lens. It is similar to the lens of a camera in this way. This is the part of the eye that focuses the images that you see. If the cornea is not formed right, you will have imperfect vision. Through laser eye surgery, this problem gets corrected. Unfortunately with traditional LASIK surgery, if your cornea was too thin, they couldn't perform the surgery. This is because there is a lot of activity done on that part of the eye and they need it to be thick. If it isn't, performing surgery could result in terrible side effects, including loss of vision.

Luckily, doctors and scientists have found a new procedure that can help people who have thin corneas, LASEK. It goes by several different names, including epithelial LASIK and E-LASIK. Although it plays off of the name of LASIK eye surgery, it is actually a different and improved form of PRK eye surgery. The difference here is not with the equipment. PRK and LASIK use the same lasers. Instead, it is how the cornea is cut open. In traditional LASIK, it is cut open to expose the stroma, creating a flap. That isn't good for people with thin corneas, so PRK and LASEK affect the top layer of the cornea instead of cutting into it.

This new procedure is great because it lets a completely new group of people experience perfect sight. Just like other forms of laser eye surgery, this form has not been completely studied yet. Although there have been a lot of successful surgeries, there is little known about the longterm affects of the surgeries. If you want to consider doing this for yourself, make sure that you are okay with this risk. You don't know how your eyes will react in the long run. Still, having perfect vision without the use of glasses and contact lenses is a good reason to take the risk.

So, if you have thin corneas, you should definitely try the new LASEK eye surgery. Keep in mind that since this is relatively new, you will have a harder time finding laser eye surgeons who have experience in this method. You may need to do a bit more shopping around. Also, because of this, you may have to pay more than you would if you used standard LASIK surgery.