Posts Tagged blade free Lasik
Does “Custom Lasik” mean “Blade-Free”?: The Power of Words and Understanding the Current Lasik Technologies
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on January 8th, 2010
Advertising for Lasik can be somewhat deceptive. Often you’ll hear high tech words used to imply that a surgeon uses all of the latest technologies available, but that is not necessarily the case. “Custom”, “Customized”, or “Customvue” are terms that I’ve heard used in this way in Lasik advertising. Although customized treatments are a key component to most Lasik systems in use today, advertisers often emphasize the word “custom” while neglecting to mention that they use bladed systems when making the Lasik flap. In my opinion, that is a serious omission and misleading to the patient. The most current and safest technologies involve Lasik systems that are bladeless. Although the custom technology is still important, if the surgeon is not clearly using a blade-free system like the Intralase®, then they cannot truly say that they are using the most advanced, precise, and safest Lasik technology.
Custom Lasik does not mean Blade-free Lasik
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Lasik | iLasik, Milwaukee Eye Care on September 23rd, 2009
I hear some Lasik surgeons talking up the fact that they do advanced Custom Lasik but they make no mention of the blades that they use in their Lasik surgery. That’s right, “Custom Lasik” and “Blade-free Lasik” are two completely separate things. Surgeons that continue to use the cheap bladed Lasik try to cover that fact by talking about their Custom Lasik but that is old news at Suson Eye Specialists in Wauwatosa. I don’t think there’s a Lasik center in the USA that doesn’t use a Custom Lasik system and it’s been that way for years. But the real technological difference has been in the advancement of the blade-free Lasik systems to make the Lasik flap. That’s the technological advancement that these cheap chain centers neglect and that they always fail to mention. So they cover it up by talking about Custom Lasik so you won’t know that they still use blades.
Should I consider Lasik Eye surgery?
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on September 17th, 2009
Many people are curious about Lasik eye surgery as an option for vision correction instead of the traditional glasses or contact lenses that they’ve used for ages. Many people were told in the past that they were not good candidates but with current up-to-date technology, many of these people are actually very good candidates. The reasons for having Lasik eye surgery are very personal and each individual has to look at his or her own needs, desires, and lifestyle. Those things will be the major determinants on whether you should have Lasik eye surgery.
iLasik: Visual Function, Cosmetics, and Convenience
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on August 27th, 2009
A patient sent me a note saying that his wife wanted him to be able to see through walls. Another said their spouse wanted to be able to see their pretty eyes. Whether these suggestions truly came from the spouses, they illustrate 2 of the major reasons for having Lasik eye surgery. Those reasons are 1) visual function and 2) cosmetic appearance. Another third category of reasons to have Lasik surgery falls under convenience, for example getting rid of the hassle of cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses.
Don’t Compromise: Have Blade Free Lasik or No Surgery at all!
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on July 7th, 2009
I recently had a patient tell me the cost of Lasik was his biggest concern. He liked the idea of the top end blade-free technology, but if it wasn’t within his price range, then he couldn’t have it anyway. My answer to this patient: “Your choice is clear. Do NOT have Lasik at all…at least until you can save up some money to have it done right.”
Wavefront Guided Lasik and Night Driving Performance
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on June 4th, 2009
Wavefront Guided Lasik and Night Driving.
Wavefront Guided Lasik treatments use a highly advanced method of scanning the eye for higher order optical aberrations. It has been known for some time that using the excimer laser to eliminate these optical aberrations gives better visual outcomes in situations of low light compared to conventional Lasik treatments. The Wavefront system that I use is called the Visx Star S4 IR Customvue™ system.
Reading Vision After Cataract or Lasik Surgery. What should you think about?
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on June 2nd, 2009
How to deal with reading vision after eye surgery?
Lasik Eye Trackers, Iris Registration, and Decentration.
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Lasik | iLasik, Milwaukee Eye Care on May 31st, 2009
In the early days of laser refractive surgery, the laser systems were relatively simple. The laser energy was produced in a relatively circular simple pattern which expanded outward. The surgeon maintained control of the treatment alignment manually while using an aiming reticle viewed through the surgical microscope. In those days, if a patient had excessive movement or oscillation of their eye, it could be quite challenging to maintain proper centration of the laser treatment. It is always best to maintain perfect centration of treatment in order to obtain the best optical results. Any significant deviation from center can lead to suboptimal results and even induced astigmatism or other optical aberrations. Decentration and related optical aberrations were actually a rare but important complication after Lasik or PRK in its early days. Innovations in technology have reduced their incidence considerably, however.
Epithelial Ingrowth After Lasik Surgery
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on May 29th, 2009
One well known complication of Lasik Surgery is Epithelial Ingrowth. Epithelium is the very fast growing cell layer that covers the eye. Actually, there is an epithelium that covers every part of the outside of your body. It is rapidly growing and constantly shedding and renewing itself throughout your lifetime. The epithelium should remain on the very outer surface of the body, but at times we can see it grow beneath the surface where it becomes trapped and cannot properly shed and renew itself. On the skin, epithelial ingrowth appears as a cyst or bump and has only a cosmetic consequence.
Trends Show Increasing Use of Blade Free Lasik
Posted by Dr. John Suson in Milwaukee Eye Care on May 21st, 2009
As time passes, more and more US eye surgeons are changing over to the use of blade-free lasik systems like the iLasik system that I use. Every study has shown that results using the femtosecond lasers to make Lasik flaps result in equal or better outcomes with significant safety advantages. Those resisting change to the more advanced systems continue to site the cheaper cost and the time savings. Typically they mention time savings of around 8 minutes per case. I personally find it astonishing that the surgeon would sacrifice safety and precision for the sake of cramming in a few more cases a day. If the case can be made safer by spending just a few more minutes per case, I don’t see how that is unreasonable. Here is a link to a recent article from Ocular Surgery News detailing the current trends toward the laser only flade-free Lasik systems.