Alternatives to LASIK may yield better results

Alternatives to LASIK may also help improve vision.

The AP (4/29, Neergaard) reports that for people wary of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), other eye surgery alternatives, such as wavefront-guided photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), during which "a laser reshapes the cornea's surface," may help to improve vision. Conductive keratoplasty may also be used to correct "farsightedness or astigmatism by beaming radiofrequency waves around the cornea's edge." In addition, phakic intraocular lenses (hard plastic lenses) can "be implanted through a small incision in the eye, in front of the natural lens," to correct nearsightedness, while allowing patients "to retain close-up vision, too." Other options include a refractive lens exchange, during which the "patient's own lens" is replaced "with an artificial one," and intacs, corneal rings that "are transparent crescents about the thickness of a contact lens [which are] implanted to form a ring around the cornea's edge." They work by flattening "the cornea without permanently destroying tissue." The AP notes that these operations "all have their own risks," and patients should seek a "surgeon who...is qualified to evaluate [them] for all of the options, to find the best fit."

How LASIK and PRK procedures differ. Best Syndication (4/28) explained that LASIK and PRK "are types of refractive surgery" that "use an excimer laser to vaporize tiny pieces of unwanted tissue from the cornea, the front clear part of the eye." Both procedures "can improve vision only if the cause of poor vision is incorrect light refraction," such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. During LASIK, "a thin flap is cut in the corneal surface, to expose the layer beneath. It is folded back out of the way, while" a laser "reshapes the corneal curvature." Afterwards, the "flap is folded back, and smoothed down gently. It will heal without any sutures." With PRK however, the surgeon "remove[s] surface tissue altogether, with a special instrument," and following laser treatment, inserts "a bandage contact lens." After PRK, the "eyes take longer to heal," and patients "feel more discomfort." Nevertheless, PRK "avoids all the possible complications that the LASIK flap can cause." Consumers considering these procedures should "choose a highly trained and well-experienced eye surgeon who is thorough in screening patients."