Doctors

Laser Treatment For Common Vision Defects

Just a little over a decade ago when laser eye treatment still had not been approved for use in the mainstream market, people who had common vision defects such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism or other vision defects related to an abnormally formed cornea either by virtue of birth, through accident or caused by disease, had to put up with corrective eyewear almost all their lives in order to correct their vision and allow them to do functional visual tasks such as reading and writing. Most people take these common visual tasks for granted, but for people with vision defects, they are a very real problem.
Fortunately, with the advent of laser eye surgery treatment, many of these vision defects now had a permanent cure. Most laser eye treatments seek to correct improperly formed corneas with the use of a laser to burn off microscopic portions of the cornea and manipulate it into the correct shape.
There are two main types of laser eye treatment surgeries, these are: LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) and PRK (photorefractive keratectomy). The differences between the two types of laser eye treatments are minimal but significant. LASIK is the forerunner of PRK surgery and is the laser treatment of choice for most patients as long as they are eligible for it. It is worth noting at this point that more people may be eligible for PRK rather than LASIK surgery, especially people with diseases that impede healing. In any case, you will need to undergo a few tests to determine whether you are safe to undergo either type of laser eye treatment.
The main difference between LASIK and PRK is in the way that they deal with the corneal epithelium which protects the cornea. In LASIK, a corneal flap is made without completely removing the epithelium, the flap is then replaced after the surgery which makes the recovery period much faster than in PRK wherein the corneal epithelium must be completely removed.

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