What Can LASIK Do For Me?

Poor eyesight is generally caused by two things: having a too-long or too-short eyeball; and by having a too-steep, too-flat cornea, or irregular shaped Cornea. Research has shown that changing the size and shape of the eyeball itself is impractical and ineffective. Therefore, the development of lasers for use in eyesight correction has been directed toward changing the shape of the cornea. LASIK is one of the newest methods of refractive surgery and shares many of its fundamental ideas with previous laser-based techniques.

LASIK surgery has advanced steadily over the years; the technology used to measure your visual error prior to surgery has become more powerful and corrections can be optimized to your needs. Until the IntraLase Method, however, the creation of the corneal flap was the one step that lacked the technological sophistication of the rest of the LASIK procedure. As it turns out, that step is an important one in terms of providing you with the best possible LASIK experience.

If you were not eligible for LASIK surgery performed with a Mircrokeratome due to steep, flat, or thin corneas, you may now be a candidate with the IntraLase Method.

What Is IntraLase?

With IntraLase, a beam of laser light is used to create your corneal flap, which is then, lifted so the second step of LASIK- the reshaping of your cornea-can be performed. When your LASIK treatment is over, the flap is securely repositioned into place. This bladeless, computer-guided technology is 100 percent more accurate than most of the mechanical microkeratomes.

IntraLase has been used successfully on hundreds of thousands of eyes and Dr. Lavery trusts this advanced technology to deliver exceptional results. His commitment is to provide you with the ultimate in comfort, safety, and outstanding vision. LASIK with IntraLase can help you achieve all of this –while it delivers the added assurance of knowing you are being treated with the most advanced technology there is.

How IntraLase Works

Unlike mechanical instruments, IntraLase technology is uniquely able to program the dimensions of your flap based on what is best for your eye. Then the IntraLase laser creates your flap from below the surface of the cornea-without every cutting it. How?

1. IntraLase uses ultra fast pulses of laser light to position microscopic bubbles at a precise depth determined during your exam.
2. The Laser light passes harmlessly through your cornea. Then the laser creating rows of these bubbles just beneath your corneal surface as it moves back and forth across your eye in a uniform plane.
3. Next, the IntraLase laser stacks bubbles around your corneal diameter to create the edges of your flap. These bubbles are stacked at an angle that is determined by Dr. Lavery and is individualized to the way your eye is shaped.
4. The process takes only about 30 seconds from start to finish- it’s quiet and it’s comfortable.
5. Dr. Ernest then gently lifts the flap to allow for the second step of your LASIK treatment. When treatment is complete, the flap easily “locks” back into position and rapidly begins to heal.

In a clinical study comparing the IntraLase laser to the leading microkeratome, more patients achieved 20/20 vision or better in standard and custom LASIK surgery when IntraLase was used to create the corneal flap.