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LASIK Eye Surgery Q & A

What is LASIK eye surgery?

LASIK eye surgery uses light energy from a laser to change your cornea’s curvature and improve your vision. The cornea is the clear window at the front of your eye, which lets light focus on the retina at the back of your eye, producing clear, sharp images.

Problems with the cornea’s shape can lead to shortsightedness (blurry distance vision), farsightedness (blurry close vision), and astigmatism (blurriness at any distance). With LASIK eye surgery, the Ophthalmology Associates of Bay Ridge team corrects the problems causing blurriness to restore clear vision.


How does LASIK eye surgery work?

Your eye surgeon uses different LASIK eye surgery techniques depending on the problem requiring correction.


Nearsightedness
If you’re nearsighted, the focus point for light is in front of the retina. To correct the focus point, your surgeon removes tissue from the central cornea, flattening it so light goes onto the retina.


Farsightedness
If you’re farsighted, the focus point is behind the retina. Your surgeon uses the laser to remove tissue from the outer part of the cornea and steepen the central area, allowing light to focus on the retina.


Astigmatism
People with astigmatism have football-shaped rather than basketball-shaped corneas. To treat astigmatism, your surgeon uses a laser to make the cornea more spherical (like a basketball) so that light has a clear focus point directly onto your retina.


What does LASIK eye surgery involve?

Ophthalmology Associates of Bay Ridge specializes in bladeless LASIK eye surgery. Your surgeon makes a thin flap in the cornea using Intralase® bladeless technology and lifts it to reveal the underlying tissue.

Intralase uses a fast, silent laser to create a precise flap safely; then, your surgeon uses a separate laser to shape the corneal surface. They reposition the LASIK flap and place antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops on the eye. LASIK eye surgery takes under 20 minutes for both eyes.

The team also performs Customvue™ (wavefront) LASIK, an innovative new technology that improves sharpness. Before laser treatment, your eye doctor uses a wavefront analyzer scanning device to measure the refractive error (your eyeglass prescription).

Each eye has unique irregularities affecting vision, but the wavefront analyzer creates a personalized laser treatment profile that delivers optimal vision.

To see if you’re a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery, call Ophthalmology Associates of Bay Ridge today or book an appointment online.

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