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Alternatives to Lasik
Extended Depth of Focus IOL
Having to remove your glasses constantly can be a huge inconvenience for many people. It is because of this that a person may wear their reading glasses around their neck, have bifocals, scatter many different pairs all over their home. Due to the advancement of eye surgery options, many people will have a selection of which lens may be implanted during eye surgery. Unlike the single vision IOL, the EDOF IOL is a type of implant that has been created to allow a person to be able to see in different distances, which provide a really great extended range of vision. The main goal of this is to provide high quality, yet functional vision to help minimize the use of glasses. Even, though there are some who want to wear glasses for prolonged reading, many patients have the freedom to not wear glasses for watching TV, reading, or even using their cellphones and computers.
Photo Refractive Keratectomy or PRK
PRK which is also called Photo Refractive Keratectomy is a type of method that is used to reshape the cornea using an excimer laser. This was the very first type of eye surgery that was used to help correct vision with surgery. It is during this surgery that a very thin layer of the outer cornea which is also called epithelium will be excised, which allows the surgeon to have access to the corneal tissue that is underneath it. Similar Lasik, the excimer laser will be used to reshape the tissue. After surgery a contact lens will be applied to the eye to help the patient deal with any discomfort. There will be a few days after the surgery that the patient will still experience some discomfort and there will be a lot of sensitivity to light. Those who are not able to qualify for Lasik due to a thin cornea may qualify for Photo Refractive Keratectomy, but it is best to know that there is a much longer recovery time but the final results of PRK are very similar to Lasik eye surgery.
Small Incision Lenticule Extraction or SMILE
The most up to date type of laser eye surgery which has been used to specifically used to treat those who happen to have nearsightedness with no astigmatism or minimal astigmatism is often called SMILE which stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction. It is during this type of surgery that a small lens shaped tissue which is called a lenticule will be created within the cornea. Unlike Lasik eye surgery, where there is an outer flap that is created on the cornea to get to the tissue beneath, this surgery will only need to make a small arc shaped type of incision at the edge of the outer surface. It is from this incision that the lenticule is extracted and this is what will alter the shape of the cornea and correct the vision in patients who are nearsignted. Those who have SMILE will have a really quick recovery time, a much lower chance of developing dry eye, and the visual results are almost identical to the results from Lasik. However, only those who have low levels of astigmatism and nearsightedness can qualify for this surgery.