The Easier Approach To Achieving Perfect Vision

LASIK - (Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis). LASIK combines the proven techniques of both corneal flap and excimer laser surgery, resulting in dramatic results and rapid visual recovery. LASIK is effective for correcting most cases of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

LASIK - Visual Results

Nearsightedness (myopia)	20/20 or Better	20/40 or Better
-0.50 to -2.00	99%	99%
-2.01 to -4.00	98%	99%
-4.01 to -6.00	96%	98%
-6.01 to -8.00	95%	96%
-8.01 to -10.0	92%	93%
-10.01 to -12.0	90%	93%
Farsightedness (hyperopia)
+0.50 to +1.50	98%	99%
+1.51 to +3.00	95%	97%
Above +3.01	90%	92%

*Includes last 3000 eyes. Includes astigmatism from 0.00 to -4.00. Overall enhancement rate 1.2%

PRK - Photorefractive Keratectomy: PRK is a safe, viable alternative to LASIK for many patients. Clear Advantage uses the same Technolas 217z excimer laser to perform PRK and LASIK and our pre-operative evaluation is identical as for LASIK including the use of Zywave wavefront sensing technology.

During PRK, the top layer of the cornea is gently removed to prepare the eye for treatment. Originally, this top layer, or epithelium was mechanically removed by the surgeon. Today, a variant of PRK originally known as LASEK (Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis ) uses a dilute alcohol solution to loosen the epithelium prior to removal. The excimer laser is then used to resculpt the shape of the cornea reducing your refractive error in the same fashion as is done after flap creation with LASIK. Anesthetic drops are used which numb the eye making the actual procedure painless.

After the treatment, a contact lens is placed on your eye as a bandage for four to six days while the epithelium of the cornea re-heals. This top layer is one of that fastest healing tissues in the human body. In an optical sense, the epithelium is the first surface that light focuses through as it enters your eye.

Zyoptix Customized LASIK

The very latest development in LASIK laser eye surgery from Bausch & Lomb is a system called Zyoptix ®, a system that takes LASIK to a new frontier.

Essentially:

• Zyoptix means that laser eye surgery is now unique to each eye. Zyoptix is designed specifically to treat your individual vision errors.
• Zyoptix could improve the quality of your vision. In an evaluation of clinical data submitted to Bausch & Lomb, significantly more Zyoptix patients had better quality of vision with night driving than patients treated with standard LASIK.
• Each Zyoptix treatment assessment involves an extra diagnostic (screening) process to allow the surgeon to understand your vision more thoroughly and select the most suitable treatment for you.
• The Zyoptix system uses the latest, most advanced technology to detect and treat very small vision errors.
• The Zyoptix system has many advanced built-in safety features that help to optimize the success of your treatment.

How Zyoptix Works

Zyoptix software combines data from two different types of diagnostic equipment, the Orbscan II and the Zywave, then programs the laser with your unique treatment, based on this data. Data is collected to assess the structure of your cornea (called topography). Data is also collected from a measurement of your optical system using advanced wavefront technology, a measurement not normally taken with standard LASIK treatments.  As you read more on this site, you will learn how our evaluation process of topography and wavefront work together to ensure the most thorough screening and treatment program.

Monovision

Monovision generally involves correcting one eye for a vision defect such as presbyopia to provide reading or intermediate vision  in one eye  and correcting the other eye for distance vision. Monovision can be achieved through eye surgery or traditional means such as contact lenses.

The brain plays a role in monovision by "selecting" the appropriate image needed for near or far vision, while filtering out the "blurred" image. Not everyone adapts well to two different vision corrections at the same time and the adjustment may take time.  To make sure monovision works for you, your eye doctor may recommend that you try contact lenses with monovision correction first before you make the more permanent decision of electing to have  monovision eye  surgery.

Even if you have a LASIK monovision treatment, you still may require extra correction from eyeglasses in certain circumstances such as night driving to make sure your vision is appropriately sharp.  In addition, you may find that  "middle" distance fields, such as a computer, lose  some  clarity.   Monovision also may adversely affect depth perception, which might be an issue for athletes or airplane pilots.

Some LASIK candidates elect for best corrected vision in both eyes and then elect wearing a multi-focal or bifocal contact lens in one eye  after their vision has stabilized from the LASIK procedure . This allows for best corrected vision in both eyes, but  the ability utilize a monovision treatment for  other activities, such as  work, for example.

Several scientific studies have shown high satisfaction among patients with presbyopia who underwent LASIK eye surgery providing monovision.  Our office is happy to demonstrate a monovision prescription during your initial evaluation so see if this option may be appropriate for your vision needs.

The Importance of Diagnostics

Your eye and vision are like your fingerprint - truly distinctive and personal. They are distinctive because light is scattered unevenly to form a pattern that is unique to your eye and because your cornea has a unique shape. Each Zyoptix treatment assessment involves an extra diagnostic (screening) process extensive enough to let the surgeon see every individual patient's unique optical characteristics. With a Zyoptix treatment assessment, you can rest assured that your surgeon now has a broad base of information on which to decide whether your eyes are suitable for treatment, and how to plan the right treatment for you.

Janie Bradstreet

“The experience of seeing clearly now, was worth my dissatisfaction with having to wear glasses for all that time.”

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The Wavefront Factor: Measuring Your Vision

Wavefront was first developed by astrophysicists and has now been applied to Zyoptix. It provides the most technologically advanced measurement of not only of standard visual errors, but also of scattered light errors known as ‘aberrations’. Wavefront technology or aberrometry is based on the principle that if an eye had no imperfections at all, light passed through it would not scatter. But because no eye is perfect, light scatters to form distinct patterns – called a wavefront. Wavefront technology measures your eye’s entire optical system, enabling the surgeon to plan a treatment that exactly matches individual vision errors.

Your wavefront will be measured by the industry’s leading aberrometer, the Zywave™ from Bausch & Lomb. The Zywave aberrometer measures the eye from the center to the outer edges (the periphery) of the pupil. This is especially important, because at night your pupils open up and more light is scattered in the periphery of the pupils. Your surgeon needs to know as much about your nighttime vision as he does about your day time vision.  The Zywave collects this information from over 9,800 points across the cornea, using Bausch & Lomb’s Zyoptix system.

In addition to standard visual errors, Zyoptix also measures and treats small vision errors (higher order aberrations) that scatter light in a pattern that is unique to you. These aberrations are an important cause of poor quality night vision. About 70% of people with these vision problems could benefit from Zyoptix treatment.

The Zywave aberrometer picks up these aberrations that are unique to your eye. The software breaks the wavefront into a variety of components for analysis by the surgeon and indicates which specific aberrations are of visual significance.

Philip Deitsch

“Dr. Peters' demeanor throughout the surgical procedure was importantly most calm and reassuring.”

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Orbscan Topography: Assessing Your Corneal Surface

While it is important that your surgeon measures your optical system, it is equally important to know the shape of your cornea. This screening test enables the surgeon to assess the curvature and thickness of your cornea to determine if you are suitable for laser eye treatment.

Our practice offers only the most advanced FDA approved procedures, and our Bausch & Lomb laser, unlike the VISX laser, is the only custom laser on the seacoast that has been FDA proven to reduce the higher order aberrations that wavefront can measure.

Zyoptix: Technology

The simplicity and safety of a Zyoptix treatment depends on highly sophisticated, computer-controlled machinery, which is interlinked by specially designed software. In a Zyoptix treatment, the following equipment is used:

• The Hansatome® Microkeratome
  This is a high-precision instrument which the surgeon uses for the first stage of the operation - to create the flap under which the laser operates.
• The Orbscan® IIz Topographer
  As discussed earlier, the Orbscan analyzes the shape of your cornea and allows the surgeon to decide if it is suitable for treatment.

  

• The ZywaveT Aberrometer
  As described earlier, the Zywave measures your complete optical system so that your surgeon can plan the best treatment type for your eyes.

  

The Excimer Laser

The laser and laser bed have been designed to be comfortable for the patient, yet effective, efficient and easy to use for the surgeon. The Bausch & Lomb Technolas ® 217Z excimer laser uses cool ultra-violet light to re-shape the cornea with the latest flying spot technique.

 

The Eyetracker

This highly sophisticated safety device locks in on the pupil and ensures the treatment to the eye is applied in the same way as the information was acquired. The system tracks tiny eye movements and guides the laser to follow them. This makes sure that the laser treats the correct areas of your eye. The eyetracker forces the laser to stop treatment if your eye moves outside the laser treatment range.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lasik