Emory is one of approximately 10 centers in the United States chosen to perform this advanced type of surgery. The procedure has been performed extensively outside the United States for the past three years.
Nearsightedness (myopia) is diagnosed when distant objects are out of focus -- usually because the eye is too long. The goal of refractive surgery is to improve the refractive error in myopic eyes by reshaping the cornea, the clear layer of tissue on the front of the eye. This reduces or eliminates patients' dependence on eyeglasses or contact lenses.
The LASIK technique merges the best of two tried-and-true refractive surgery techniques into one procedure. The first, keratomileusis, has been performed for more than 30 years. Eye surgeons use an automated device (microkeratome) to create a protective, hinged flap of the cornea. The second technique, excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), has been used for approximately 10 years. During LASIK, the computer controlled excimer laser is used by the surgeon to "sculpt" the middle layer of the cornea into a new shape. The protective flap is then repositioned.
Currently, either of these two techniques can be used separately. Microkeratomes can be used to perform automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK), during which the device makes the corneal flap and reshapes the cornea. In traditional excimer laser PRK, no corneal flap is made and the laser simply reshapes the outside surface of the cornea, which takes a week or more to heal.
The PRK technique is used in approximately 45 countries and has been under FDA study in the United States for approximately five years.
"The beauty of LASIK is that it gives the laser access to the middle layer of the cornea under the protective flap, so there is much less pain, faster recovery of vision and less long-term wound healing," said principal investigator George O. Waring III, professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine. "The laser is the most accurate device available to reshape the cornea."
Other advantages of LASIK include use of topical anesthesia for outpatient surgery, elimination of sutures, elimination of the corneal haze that occurs after traditional PRK excimer laser surgery, the possibility of further surgical refinement of refraction after LASIK, and the ability to correct the full range of myopia (from two to approximately 30 diopters of myopia). The procedure takes approximately five to 15 minutes in an outpatient setting.
Nearsighted persons may qualify for the surgery. Emory faculty and staff are eligible for a 20 percent discount; family members will receive a 10 percent discount. Call 843-3937 for information.
-- Lorri Preston