LASIK eye surgery is the most effective way to correct your vision issues, but some people are reluctant to get this procedure because they are worried about having blades or scalpels near their eyes. Does this describe you? Are you denying yourself perfect vision due to fears or concerns about the procedure? If so, you need to learn about all laser LASIK. This is a safe, worry-free procedure. Here’s an overview of the essential facts you need to know.
What Is All Laser LASIK?
All laser LASIK is a corrective vision surgery that does not use any surgical tools. Instead, the whole process only involves lasers. Because of that, you may also hear this procedure referred to as blade-free LASIK or bladeless LASIK.
What Happens in All Laser LASIK?
Generally, with LASIK surgery, the eye doctor starts by cutting a very small flap in your cornea, with a special tool called a microkeratome. This is safe, but if you don’t like the sound of this tool, you may want to opt for an all laser approach to LASIK. With all laser LASIK, an extremely fast laser takes care of this step.
This fast laser is called a femtosecond laser, which is why this procedure is sometimes called femto LASIK. A femtosecond is a one quadrillionth of a second. In other words, if you cut a second into a billion pieces and then you cut one of those billionths into a million pieces, one of those tiny bits of time is a femtosecond.
After that initial step, the rest of the process is just like a traditional LASIK eye surgery. Essentially, a laser reshapes your cornea to correct your vision issues.
How Common Is All Laser LASIK?
Eye doctors have been performing this procedure in the United States since 2001. This was the year that the first femtosecond laser gained FDA approval and entered the marketplace. Since that time, several companies have created these lasers, but the most popular option on the market is the iLASIK.
Are There Risks to All Laser LASIK?
All laser LASIK has fewer complications and risks than traditional LASIK. Most notably, there is a reduced risk of corneal abrasions and astigmatism, and the bladeless laser is more accurate and predictable in relation to the thickness of the corneal flap.
Thanks to that predictability, eye doctors can use all laser LASIK to correct nearsightedness more effectively than they can with other methods. Finally, the precision of the flap also helps to promote faster healing. In most cases, all laser LASIK is slightly more expensive than the traditional option, but if you want the extra peace of mind that the procedure doesn’t involve any surgical tools, that extra expense is well worth it.
Regardless of the type of LASIK, you select, there’s no need to worry about safety. These procedures are all completely safe. However, if you like the sound of all laser LASIK in particular, you may want to make an appointment. To learn more, contact us at New Vision Eye Center today.