LASIK

The LASIK method, the author of which is professor Pallikaris of Crete, is another one from the surgery procedures for correcting dioptric defects. This method’s priority is postoperative painlessness, significant stability of the resulting correction, absence of cornea opacities, fast retrieval of visual functions. This method is sometimes more difficult in less accessible eyes with short eyelids or in high supraciliary arches.

Principle of laser operation

The principle of this method is a partial microsurgery excision of the corneal lamella and subsequent laser correction (as in the PRK method) in the depth of the cornea. The corneal lamella is then put back in its original place.

Course of operation

Operation is made in an outpatient surgery and is painless. A patient lies on a comfortable couch and follows a fixation point. Eyes can wink; the operated eye is secured against its full closing. To desensitize the eyes, we use anesthetic drops. The operation proper consists of two stages. During the first one an instrument is used called microkeratome and it cuts off a very thin lamella of the corneal tissue in such manner so it can be put aside. Thereafter follows the second stage of operation, which is similar to the PRK method. An active monitoring system of the instrument incessantly follows the eye position and reacts to any movement of the eye. This guarantees that laser beams fall safely in the place where they should. Following the laser treatment, the lamella is repositioned to its original place. The lamella will firmly cling during several minutes so that there is no need of sewing. The surgery proper, including the cornea preparation, does not last very long, depending on the size and complexity of a dioptric defect.

Laser beam can be fixated either on the centre of the pupil or on the eye optical line of sight, which is very essential in particular in farsightedness and is a big advantage of our laser.

Post-operation

After operation, a contact lens is applied to the patient for 1 hour, prior to leaving the outpatient Clinic, during the exit examination, this lens is removed from the patient’s eye. For home treatment the patient receives drops (antibiotics, anti-inflammation and eye moistening drops). Medical check is on the 2nd day following operation, within a months, then at patient’s request.

Visual sharpness will stabilize very fast following this surgery. Fast eyesight regeneration is owing to the fact that the surface epithelium layer remains intact during operation. As early as on the second day following the surgery, majority of patients can see without glasses at 80% to 100% of the pre-operation quality with glasses.

All laser operations are made by the chief ophthalmologist, doc. Smečka.

When PRK, when LASIK?

The LASIK method is preferred by more than 80% patients. Principal reasons are painlessness, fast recovery, good vision already within a few hours, fast return to normal work. Any dioptric defect within the range of –12 to +8 dioptres can be corrected by this method, provided some prerequisite are complied with: eye accessibility, sufficient thickness of the cornea and its regular shape, sufficient diameter of the cornea.

The best results attained by using the LASIK method are attained in shortsightedness approximately from +2 to –10 dioptres. In higher farsightedness, with the cornea diameter being smaller or of oval shape or in eccentric pupils, better results can be attained by using the PRK laser method. The PRK method is more suitable in thinner corneas.

Consequently, the suitability of a method applied is to a great extent preconditioned by pre-operation examination results and is discussed in detail with every patient.

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