About Lasik

By Dr Lee Mun Toong
Consultant Eye Specialist Surgeon KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital

Femto laser Lasik: the latest innovation in Femto-laser eye surgery for correction of long-sightedness, short-sightedness, astigmatism and reduce presbyopia by monovision technique.

WHAT IS FEMTOSECOND LASER?

A femtosecond laser is a laser which emits optical pulses with a duration well below 1 ps (→ ultrashort pulses), i.e., in the domain of femtoseconds (1 fs = 10−15 s). It thus also belongs to the category of ultrafast lasers or ultrashort pulse lasers.

WHAT IS BLADELESS (BLADE FREE) LASIK?

Bladeless uses laser energy to replace the microkeratome blade traditionally used to create a thin flap in the clear front covering of the eye (cornea). During LASIK surgery, the corneal flap is lifted and the cornea is reshaped to achieve sharper focus.

In the FEMTOLASIK method, we create the flap using femtosecond laser. It makes the whole procedure completely blade-free and enables the surgeon to tailor the procedure according to the very unique characteristics of every patient. A truly personalized treatment for everybody!

The femtosecond laser offers more safety, accuracy and patient comfort in laser eye surgery as proven by the many FEMTOLASIK treatments which have been carried out.

WHY CHOOSE FEMTOLASEK LASIK?

FEMTOLASIK has an extremely low impact on the eye:

• The procedure takes only a few minutes. The time the laser is in contact with the patient’s eye is reduced to a minimum.
• FEMTOLASIK is comfortable and painless: The patient’s eye ball is not being knocked about and there is no heavy suction on the eyeball during the procedure.
• FEMTOLASIK also helps in severe cases: Thanks to the extremely high frequency of the laser pulses, the layers of the cornea are separated with unprecedented precision, creating an ultra-thin flap. FEMTOLASIK is therefore effective in patients who were previously not eligible candidates for laser surgery. This includes patients with extreme myopia or thin corneas.
• Minimise Inflammation: The laser energy used for FEMTOLASIK is about 100 times lower than with other lasers. This is gentler to the corneal tissue and prevents temporary inflammatory reactions of the eye.
• Fast results: The recovery period is considerably shorter than for other techniques. Patients are usually able to see well within hours, often even minutes.
• Fewer side effects: FEMTOLASIK enables the surgeon to enlarge the treatment zone. This reduces the risk of undesirable side effects, such as dry eyes, deteriorated night vision or haloes (rings of light that surround point sources of light).

To be continued…