Refractive surgery is a general term referring to the collection
of many different surgical procedures, all with the key intent
to fix the refractive error of the eye. Refractive surgery is
the preferred treatment for rectifying a variety of vision
impairments. Its popularity is owing to the fact that it
produces efficacious and predictable vision improvement without
any major side effects.
Essentially speaking, refractive surgery is any eye surgery
employed to improve visual acuity and decrease dependency on
glasses or contact lenses. The refractive surgery field
encompasses operative procedures for all types of refractive
errors, be it myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism or presbyopia.
The most common procedure is to use lasers to reshape the
corneal tissue.
Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is the most
commonly performed refractive surgery procedure. Especially
recommended for treating nearsightedness, it consists of cutting
a flap in the cornea in order to carve the tissue underneath and
give it the desired shape. The eye surgeon may either use a
microkeratome (a precision surgical instrument) or a laser to
cut a flap of the corneal tissue. Then onwards, the underneath
tissue is reshaped with the aid of the excimer laser (a
high-precision ultraviolet chemical laser).
Other refractive surgery procedures include Laser Assisted
Sub-Epithelium Keratomileusis (LASEK), EPI-LASIK,
Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), Radial keratotomy (RK) and
arcuate keratotomy (AK), among others. Cataract extraction and
intraocular lens implants may also be considered as types of
refractive surgeries, since the key intent is to extract the
lens with a refractive error and replace it with a new lens that
provides clear and improved vision.
As of now, LASIK is a clear winner among the available eye
corrective surgical procedures. All the above listed refractive
surgery procedures have potential complications. However, LASIK
has a minimal complication rate of a mere 5%. With the
technology in hand and with proper pre-operative examination,
your laser eye surgery would go as smooth as a walk in the park.
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