What Alternatives Are There To LASIK?
Chicago, Illinois
Have you been told you are not a good LASIK candidate? If so, it does not mean that you cannot have any Laser Vision Correction. There are excellent LASIK alternatives that give results just as dramatic as those of LASIK.
Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)
PRK uses the same excimer laser used in LASIK, and you can have the same Wavefront diagnosis that is done for Custom LASIK (as opposed to traditional LASIK). When your treatment is based on a Wavefront diagnosis, it is more precise – so precise that each of your eyes has a different treatment, and nobody in the world will ever have that exact treatment. Every human eye is unique, and this customization leads to accuracy and the best results possible for you.
So with the same diagnosis and the same vision correction laser, what makes PRK different? The difference is in how Dr. Golden creates access to the level where treatment is done. That is the second layer in the cornea, called the stroma, which lays just beneath the top surface.
In LASIK, a corneal flap is created with an instrument called the microkeratome. It is folded back so the laser can target the tissue beneath. Then it is replaced.
In PRK, the corneal surface cells are smoothed off. The laser penetrates less deeply than in LASIK, and then the surface cells regrow after the procedure.
For a person with thin corneas or severe myopia, PRK will often be the better choice. Thin corneas may not have enough tissue for a flap, and a severely myopic eye has steep corneas for which it is safer to avoid making any flap.
Conductive Keratoplasty (CK)
Instead of using any laser, Conductive Keratoplasty uses radio waves. It is designed to correct farsightedness related to age – that is, presbyopia. If you have begun wearing reading glasses and dislike the annoyance, this could be an excellent procedure for you. No corneal flap is necessary, as is done for LASIK, and no tissue is cut. It is a quick and safe procedure to restore clear near vision. The radio waves are directed through a special probe and create eight little areas of shrinkage around the corneal periphery. The shrinkage acts like a belt around the cornea, giving it a steeper curvature.
Presbyopia is not actually a corneal problem like myopia and hyperopia. It is a lens problem that develops as age causes stiffness in the lens, preventing it from steepening itself for near vision. CK compensates for that loss of lens steepness by reshaping the cornea. However, since presbyopia is progressive, you may want to have a repeat CK procedure after a few years. It can be repeated three or four times with no ill effects.
If you would like to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Golden to see how you can achieve visual freedom, please contact our Chicago, Illinois office today.
Two Locations:
Doctors for Visual Freedom Laser Center
875 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1550
Chicago, IL 60611 | Doctors for Visual Freedom Laser Center
2010 S Arlington Heights Rd, Suite 121
Arlington Heights, IL 60005 |
