Laser Eye Surgery: LASIK, PRK, and LASEK

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Laser Eye Surgery LASIK, PRK, and LASEK
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A surgical subspecialty, ophthalmology deals with
the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
Just like any other medical field, it is also
going through numerous advancements. Vision
correction surgery has seen a new revolution in
the form of laser eye surgery. Laser eye surgery
benefits include lower risk and less recovery
time. Lets know about some laser eye surgeries.
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LASIK LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In-Situ
Keratomileusis. LASIK surgery is one of the most
well-known refractive surgeries. It is a
blade-free surgery as it only utilizes two lasers
to reshape the cornea. It is used to treat eye
conditions like myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism,
and presbyopia. It is recommended because it
causes the least discomfort, and its recovery
period is faster than other laser eye surgery
methods. Its success rate is quite high. The
great thing about this surgery is that you need
just topical eye drops as an anesthetic. Lets
discuss the LASEK procedure
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• The first laser uses a femtosecond laser that
  makes a flap in the superficial cornea that
  measures 105um deep.
• Its an infrared laser that uses a wavelength of
  1053nm. This laser creates millions of small gas
  bubbles that again combine to shape this
  superficial flap. This silent laser takes less
  than 15 seconds to complete the flap.
• The second laser uses an excimer laser that is
  used to reshape the cornea that is under the
  flap. If you have myopia, then this laser will be
  used to flatten the curvature of the cornea. In
  cases of hyperopia, this laser will steepen the
  cornea. But still, the surgery will be done as
  per the treatment prescription for your glasses.

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• The higher the treatment prescription of your
  glasses or contact lenses, the more corneal
  tissue is reshaped. This laser emits a cool beam
  of 193 nm of ultraviolet light. Unlike the first
  laser, you can hear its sound.
• Approved by the FDA (Food and Drug
  Administration), all the procedures for this
  operation take around 1015 minutes. If we
  discuss LASIK vs. glasses and contact lenses, we
  will understand that people will choose the
  latter due to affordability. But they need to
  know that LASIK will have a permanent result.

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PRK PRK stands for Photorefractive Keratectomy.
PRK is the predecessor to LASIK and is the
original laser eye surgery technique. A
blade-free technique, it reshapes the cornea just
like LASIK, but the difference is that in PRK,
reshaping is done on the surface once the
epithelial cells are removed. It is good for
treating and correcting myopia or nearsightedness
but is not recommended for hyperopia or
long-sightedness. Unlike LASIK, recovery after
PRK surgery is more. PRK existed even in 1988 and
was FDA-approved in 1995.
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LASEK LASEK stands for Laser-Assisted
Subepithelial Keratomileusis. LASEK is quite
identical to PRK because the corneal epithelium
is removed. But unlike PRK, it is not completely
removed instead, the ultra-thin "flap" of
epithelium is pushed off to one side of the
cornea. Thus, it is able to remain attached to
the eye. After the surgery, the epithelial tissue
is repositioned. The eye is then covered with a
bandage contact lens so that it can heal itself.
There are some risks and complications with
LASEK. It creates more discomfort and takes a
long time to recover.
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Only after gaining proper knowledge and surgical
expertise , a medico can perform these
surgeries. As these surgeries are frequently
being performed nowadays, aspiring
ophthalmologists must get proper education,
surgical skill set, and training related to
it. DigiNerve, a renowned medical edtech platform
provides one of the best ophthalmology lectures.
To further enhance the students knowledge, along
with the video lectures for ophthalmology, you
get practice questions, notes, and much
more in ophthalmology MD online.
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Conclusion Laser eye surgery will surely become
more common in the near future. There are
different types of surgeries as per the needs and
budgets of the patients. Aspiring
ophthalmologists can enroll in online
ophthalmology courses to get interactive ophthalmo
logy video lectures for medical students and
excel in ophthalmology MD course.  
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