ABC's of Laser Vision Correction

Laser Vision Correction in Manhattan, New York and New Jersey

With so many options available for laser vision correction in Manhattan and across New York and New Jersey, coming to a decision regarding your treatment can be a confusing experience. You may have heard various terms and phrases, whether from friends or in the media, that have left you feeling quite baffled. What are the differences between LASIK, LASEK, Intacs®, PRK, surface laser, intracorneal implants, and conductive keratoplasty? Which technology is best for me; Wavefront®, CustomVue®, IntraLase®, bladed or bladeless technology, excimer laser, topography, Pentacam, phakic implants, or clear lens extraction? It is an alphabet soup of choices!

Take a deep breath and let Dr. Eric Mandel explain the ABCs of your laser eye surgery options. For more information, contact our New York LASIK practice in Manhattan, serving greater New York and New Jersey.

• Your Laser Eye Surgeon
• New Technology in Laser Eye Surgery
• Frequently Asked Questions about Laser Eye Surgery

Your Laser Eye Surgeon

Let’s start off this explanation of laser eye surgery with a metaphor. Imagine your LASIK surgeon as a master carpenter. A master carpenter who does not use the best tools will get suboptimal results. On the other hand, a merely average carpenter, even when using the best tools, will also get suboptimal results. Put simply, the quality of your results will depend heavily on which doctor you choose to perform your laser eye surgery. Some patients mistakenly think that anyone with top-notch equipment can achieve a superior outcome. Laser eye surgery, the most popular form of which is LASIK surgery, is a surgeon-dependent procedure. No amount of high-tech equipment can replace a skilled surgeon. So choose your surgeon carefully. A good surgeon will spend time with you during your evaluation, answering all your questions and addressing any concerns you may have, in addition to detailing your post-operative care.

Click here to learn about why you should choose New York LASIK surgeon Eric Mandel.

Click here to understand How To Choose a Laser Vision Correction Surgeon.

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New Technology in Laser Eye Surgery

Now let’s move on to the laser eye surgery technology used in our New York facility, serving Manhattan and New Jersey. LASIK is the most commonly performed procedure for laser vision correction. It can correct visual errors in the vast majority of farsighted, nearsighted, and astigmatic patients. During laser eye surgery, a paper-thin flap in the cornea is created to give a custom-designed laser access to the corneal tissue underneath. The laser that is used is an excimer laser, which Dr. Mandel began researching at Columbia in 1984, more than a decade before it received approval from the FDA for use in human treatment. The replacement of the flap after the laser treatment allows for a fast recovery. In fact, the day after their laser eye surgery, most patients are able to return to work or even exercise. It is not just the laser, but the longstanding technique that makes LASIK so popular.

PRK and LASEK

The same excimer laser used to correct vision in LASIK is used in two other laser eye surgery procedures, PRK and LASEK. Unlike LASIK, PRK and LASEK treatments do not involve the creation of a flap in the cornea. In both techniques, Dr. Mandel reshapes the tissue beneath the epithelium, the very thin top layer of the cornea. In PRK, the epithelium is removed while LASEK attempts to save this layer. Because the epithelium is affected, the healing time for both procedures is longer than with LASIK. Patients usually have to wear a bandage contact lens for five to eight days following the laser eye surgery, during which time the vision is somewhat blurred. In addition, steroid eye drops are used, and Vitamin C tablets are taken for up to one year.

Click this link for an in-depth look at our New York LASIK technology options.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Laser Eye Surgery

Why would someone have PRK or LASEK when quicker and more comfortable results can be achieved with LASIK?

Patients with thinner corneas and those in occupations in which they have a higher chance of sustaining eye trauma are usually better candidates for a surface laser procedure like PRK or LASEK rather than LASIK. For example, when Dr. Mandel consults with patients about laser eye surgery at his New York offices, also serving New Jersey, he often recommends surface laser procedures for those in the armed services and law enforcement, as well as those engaged in contact sports like kick boxing.

For more information about the various types of laser vision correction, click here to view New York LASIK FAQ's.

I want the best technology in laser eye surgery; are custom treatments with Wavefront® technology the way to go?

For many of the patients we serve in the Manhattan, New York and New Jersey region, we do use CustomVue® Wavefront® technology in their treatments. This refined system provides an advanced analysis of the visual system of the eye using Fourier analysis. Fourier analysis captures 240 microscopic spots on the eye and uses all of them to accurately correct your prescription. Fourier analysis has eclipsed another method, called Zernike polynomial analysis, which captures only 40 spots. Only AMO VISX® Star S4 CustomVue® lasers use Fourier analysis.

Click on the link to learn more about Wavefront® technology at our New York office.

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How do I know if I am a good candidate for laser eye surgery?

Combining two screening technologies, called topography and pachymetry, with a comprehensive eye exam enables us to determine your candidacy for laser eye surgery. Topography is a two-dimensional representation of the three-dimensional contour of a cornea. Pachymetry is a measurement of the thickness of a cornea. When patients from Manhattan and across New York and New Jersey come to our office for a consultation to determine their candidacy for laser eye surgery, we take both their eye exam and information about their lifestyle into consideration.

What is the difference between bladeless and bladed laser eye surgeries?

While it is a common misconception among patients that the bladeless laser technique does not involve the creation of a flap, both bladeless and bladed laser eye surgery requires the creation of a corneal flap that is reproducible in both diameter and thickness. During bladed laser eye surgery, the flap is created with a microkeratome, a cutting tool with a metal blade. With bladeless surgery, the flap is created using a special laser. The laser that creates the flap is different from the laser that corrects your prescription. The laser used to create the flap is a femtosecond laser, called IntraLase®, and the laser that corrects your prescription is an excimer laser. The femtosecond technology has evolved considerably in the past two years.

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What if I am not a candidate for these laser eye surgery procedures— are there other options?

The answer may be yes. Patients with very high prescriptions can consider intraocular implants. There are two types of implants for patients who suffer from extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness. There are implants that can be inserted near the iris, the colored part of the eye, and therefore do not require the removal of the eye’s natural lens; however, this technology is still at an early stage of development. A clear lens extraction, in which the natural lens of the eye is removed and replaced by an intraocular lens, is a more reliable procedure. In addition to distance correction, the implants can improve near vision for reading. ReZoom® and ReSTOR® lenses are two types of multifocal intraocular lens implants.

Other alternatives to laser eye surgery include conductive keratoplasty and Intacs®:

Conductive Keratoplasty

Conductive keratoplasty is a technique in which the collagen fibers of the cornea are heated with radio waves to induce a steepening of the cornea. One reason this procedure is quite popular is that it can be used to treat presbyopia, or farsightedness, something that laser surgery is not yet capable of. Only small farsighted prescriptions can benefit from this technology, and it cannot correct astigmatic prescriptions.

Intacs®

Intacs® are thin, circular plastic strips that are placed into the cornea in order to flatten the central part of the cornea. They cannot correct astigmatism but may be helpful in patients with abnormally shaped corneas, such as occurs with keratoconus.

The best way to get answers to all of your questions and information about your specific case is to talk to one of the caring professionals at Mandel Vision®.

If you are searching for laser eye surgery information, and are a resident of Manhattan or the greater New York, New Jersey area, we encourage you to visit our New York LASIK practice.

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