The Book
Treatments and Procedures
Comparison Matrix: Laser
Treatments*
| Feature |
Conventional |
CustomVue |
| Sharpness of Vision |
+ + + + |
+ + + + + |
| Quality of Vision |
+ + + + |
+ + + + + |
| Night Vision |
+ + + + |
+ + + + + |
| Cost |
$$$ |
$$$$ |
Comparison Matrix: Procedures*
| Feature |
LASIK |
PRK |
| Initial Procedure Recovery Time |
1 day |
2-4 weeks |
| Recovery Time After Retreatments |
1 day |
2-4 weeks |
| Postoperative Discomfort |
minimal |
moderate |
| Future Eye Trauma Concern Level |
some/mild |
none |
| Preservation of Future Options |
usually good |
sometimes better |
| Both Eyes Treated at Once |
yes |
no |
| Haze |
negligible |
mild/moderate |
*These matrices are for comparison only.
Individual results may vary.
Future Technology
At Hale Vision Laser & Implant Center, it is our obligation to
provide our patients with the safest and most effective technology
available. To that end, we are excited to announce the addition of
Intralase to our
state-of-the-art surgical facility
SIGHTLab. In LASIK, a handheld, mechanical, bladed
device called a microkeratome has been used for over thirty years to
complete the first stage of the procedure, the creation of the
corneal flap. The Intralase FS femtosecond laser is a ultra-fast
laser that creates a corneal flap by using plasma energy delivered
through the placement of thousands of tiny energy dots. It has been
shown to produce a safer, more precise corneal flap that enhances the
ability of our excimer treatment lasers to perform the ultimate task
of reshaping the cornea. For more information on the Intralase system
please click
here. There are also advancements in the field of
implantable lens for the correction of myopia. In September 2004, the
FDA approved the first phakic IOL for the correction or reduction of
myopia (neasightedness). A phakic intraocular lens is an implanted
lens that is placed inside the eye in the continued presence of the
natural lens, unlike an implant placed inside the eye after the
natural lens (phakos) is removed for the treatment of a cataract,
etc. We expect more approvals of phakic IOLs in the next few months,
an eventually phakic IOLs designed to correct myopia, hyperopia and
astigmatism. We will continue to research all future technologies
that impact our field of vision correction.
Presbyopia, the
process known as aging vision, is being investigated by various
groups, and many different approaches have been proposed to solve
this universal problem. The first implantable lens that attempts to
restore the eye’s ability to focus at near was approved in
November of 2003. Dr. Hale is approved to implant this lens but is
observing the early results as there are several other lens that will
be released in the near future. There are other methods available
such as corneal laser techniques, scleral laser techniques, and
scleral implants.
For more information regarding implantable lenses in refractive
surgery see our
Implants section in
Technology.
In five or ten years, we may see a revolution in cataract
surgery that can be adapted to vision correction surgery for those
without significant cataracts. There are lenses under development
that can be implanted in the eye, measured for accuracy, tested for
wavefront aberrations, and then adjusted while inside the eye by
treatment with light of a specific wavelength that causes a change in
the shape of the lens and improves the vision.
Please sign up for our newsletter so that we can keep you
up-to-date on all these exciting advances in our field as they
develop.
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