E.L.A.
Eye Laser Association
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Patient Info - Summary

Introduction
Laser eye correction offers millions of people the opportunity to permanently correct their distance vision though a quick and relatively pain free procedure. The benefits for the vast majority of people who no longer have to rely upon glasses or contact lenses are huge and for many, truly life changing.

There are a number of different types of laser treatment available, and a range of different clinics to chose from. This page is aimed as a guide to people considering laser eye correction, and outlines what to consider when choosing a clinic.
Is laser eye correction suitable for me?
Laser eye treatment is available to nearly all people over the age of 20 with stable, healthy eyes, who suffer from short-sightedness, long-sightedness or astigmatism. As everyone's eyes are slightly different, a more detailed assessment of your suitability for treatment is always given to you at a consultation before surgery.

You are not suitable for laser eye surgery if your prescription has changed within the last two years, if you are pregnant or a breast feeding mother, or if you have an active ocular disease such as cataracts.

Laser eye surgery cannot delay the onset of age-related long sight (presbyopia) because this relates to the flexibility of the eye's lens, not the shape of the cornea. Presbyopia is natural and happens to most of us as we approach our forties and fifties. If you are presbyopic and have needed eye correction for short sight before becoming so, you can still benefit from our treatment. After treatment you should only need to wear glasses for reading or close work.
Types of surgery


  • LASIK is the most common form of laser eye surgery performed in the UK. The technique combines a surgical technique, which creates a thin, hinged flap in the cornea. The flap is gently moved to one side, before the excimer laser reshapes the deep layers of the cornea to refocus the eye. The flap is then replaced and heals quickly. The procedure is relatively pain free and most patients only experience minor discomfort for 6 û12 hours afterwards. Vision improves quickly after treatment and is usually settled two to fours days later.

  • Wavefront is an advanced way of mapping the contours of your eye to determine the laser treatment pattern for LASIK. Wavefront provides a very detailed assessment of the eye, which refines the standard LASIK treatment pattern, enabling eyes to be treated with a greater degree of accuracy. The actual treatment and recovery times are very similar to LASIK, but the quality of the outcome is generally improved.

  • PRK is an older technique, that involves removing the surface "skin" or epithelium of the eye, exposing the tissue underneath which gives the eye its shape. The laser is then used to shape the cornea in a similar way to LASIK. A protective contact lens is then placed on the eye, which allows the surface of the eye to heal over a period of several days. PRK is more painful than LASIK or LASEK, and the results are generally not as consistent.

  • LASEK is very similar to PRK, except that instead of scraping the epithelium, from the front of your eye, it is dissolved with alcohol. This is not as painful as the scraping procedure with PRK, but still requires one eye to be treated at a time, involves a longer healing time and results become less predictable the higher the visual correction.
Benefits
About 97% of patients who undergo laser eye surgery do not need any type of visual correction after their treatment. Typically, the remainder only need glasses for driving and close-up work. This means no longer having the inconvenience of having to care for glasses or contact lenses, or the cost of regularly replacing them.

Many sportsmen and women (including Tiger Woods, Nasser Hussain and Sharon Davies) have undergone laser eye correction to improve their vision while competing professionally.

LASIK (and Wavefront) treatments only takes about twenty minutes to complete. Vision is usually fully restored within twelve hours and takes only a few days to completely settle down. Most patients are able to resume their normal lives the day after treatment.
Risks
Complications such as haziness, delayed healing or night time glare have been reported, although these are very few and far between and in almost all cases can be corrected. They can be minimised by using a reputable clinic and an experienced surgeon.

A small minority of patients will require an additional enhancement to their initial treatment to fully refine their visual results. This involves lifting the flap and re-lasering the cornea and is a simple, routine procedure.

It is possible that an infection or some other complication could lead to a long-term or permanent damage to vision as a result of laser eye treatment (that is the best corrected vision after treatment is worse than the vision achieved with correction before treatment). The risk of this is low (approximately 1 in 1000) and there may be further treatments that can alleviate the problem.
What to consider when deciding on a Clinic
Although laser eye surgery is a very safe and predictable procedure, clinics work to different standards, use different equipment and employ surgeons with a range of different qualifications. Price should not be the only consideration when deciding what clinic to use!
  • Is the clinic a member of the Eye Laser Association?
  • What are the qualifications of the surgeons?
  • How rigorous are their screening procedures?
  • Do they measure your pupils at different light levels?
  • What type of laser do they use?
  • What outcome can you realistically expect from their treatment?
  • What is their success rate and what complications have they experienced?
  • Are there any additional costs for follow-up treatment or aftercare?