Posted: April 16, 2008
If you've ever lost your glasses only to find them perched on your head, you've probably considered LASIK surgery. But the idea of having a doctor perform such a delicate procedure on a body part as precious as your eyes may be keeping you from taking advantage of this amazing technology.
For most of us, some type of visual issue, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, means we need corrective lenses. But the time-tested technology of LASIK, along with the fine-tuned surgical skill of highly trained ophthalmologists, like the eye care professionals at Sacramento LASIK surgery group Griffin & Reed Eye Care, makes LASIK one of the safest, most effective eye treatments available.
Traditional LASIK surgery is used principally for individuals who are very shortsighted (nearsighted) or very longsighted (farsighted). LASIK surgery uses ultraviolet beams of excimer lasers to correct visual acuity.
At Griffin & Reed Eye Care, the state-of-the-art VISX Star S4 IR Excimer Laser produces a cool ultraviolet light, removing a small amount of corneal tissue - typically less than the thickness of a human hair - and allowing light to be more sharply focused on the retina. Then, the flap is gently folded back to expose the next level of tissue, called the stroma. The laser is directed precisely onto the stroma, vaporizing tiny areas and removing the irregularities causing your defective vision. The flap is replaced and the eye generally heals itself in a day or two.
Many wonder whether the flap ever really heals completely. Even though your Sacramento LASIK professional can potentially raise the flap again in future procedures if necessary, this is not a problem for those who have the LASIK procedure, as they do not feel the flap. So although it is never truly "healed", the flap stays in position during healing, remaining so throughout the next 30 days it takes to completely heal, and beyond.
