Laser Eye Surgery – Types, Symptoms, & Treatment

Numerous eye diseases can be treated with laser eye surgery, which also helps to enhance eyesight. Cutting, shaping, or removing certain bodily structures using laser treatment entails employing different levels of concentrated light beams. In comparison to traditional surgery, laser treatment eye surgery offers a less invasive method for the sensitive layers of your eyes.

Your likelihood of experiencing problems and your length of hospital stay following laser eye surgery may both decrease. Although procedures like LASIK are becoming more and more popular, not everyone is a candidate.

Types of Laser Eye Surgery

Medical personnel can utilize lasers to cut, remove, or rearrange tissue to treat a number of ailments. Both laser surgeries and laser-guided surgeries might be applied to these treatments. Refractive laser surgery to treat visual issues is the most popular type of laser therapy. This group includes the following three primary forms of laser surgery:

LASIK

A surgeon performs this treatment using two lasers, one to reshape the cornea and the other to open up a flap in the surface of your cornea. After finishing the procedure, they smooth the protective flap back over your eye, which remains in place without stitches.

SMILE

In this method, a surgeon makes a tiny incision that self-heals after the treatment and utilizes a laser to reshape your cornea.

Surface laser treatments (PRK, LASEK, and TransPRK)

In these procedures, the surgeon reshapes the cornea after removing the surface layer of cells that have been covering it. This skin layer naturally comes back over time.

What’s the Process of Laser Eye Surgery?

Your surgeon will take measurements of your eyes, assess your needs and any particular risks you may have before the treatment, and provide you with detailed preoperative instructions. You should arrange an outpatient operation and dress comfortably on the day of surgery.

Arrange for someone to drive you home thereafter. Even though the length of the operation might change depending on the patient and the location, laser vision correction typically takes 30 minutes per eye. These are some potential effects of laser vision correction surgery:

• To numb your eyes, a medical practitioner will apply eye drops.
• To keep your eye motionless and cease blinking, they will set an eyelid holder with a little suction cup over it. Your eyesight could be blurry or dark, and it might seem like someone is pressing on your eyelid.
• Your cornea will have a tiny tissue flap created in it that your surgeon will fold back using a laser.
• While they use a separate laser to rebuild your cornea, your doctor will advise you to keep your head straight. Based on precise measurements made prior to your operation, this laser is set up to address your eyesight issue. You can hear a clicking sound when this part of the operation is taking place.
• Your surgeon will reposition the corneal flap and complete the treatment after the completion of reshaping.

What Happens Throughout The Healing Process After Laser Eye Surgery?

Your doctor could give you a transparent shield or some other kind of eye protection after your laser procedure. This shield aids in preventing damage to your eyes and keeps you from touching or scratching them.

Immediately following surgery, it’s normal to have some discomfort, soreness, itching, or burning. Your doctor could recommend several drugs to treat your pain. The best course of action following surgery is to go home and relax, & even take sleep. Do not scratch or rub your eyes.

Your doctor will also provide guidance on when you may resume driving and other activities. Within 1 to 3 days of surgery, you should be able to resume the majority of your normal activities. Your surgeon will also schedule a time for you to come in for a follow-up checkup.

The Bottom Line

Surgeons can remove or remodel tissue using laser surgery by using concentrated light beams. Certain medical diseases can be treated using laser eye surgery, and visual issues can also be fixed.

Not everyone is a candidate for laser eye surgery, and even after the procedure, it is possible for your eyesight to get worse over time. Each individual’s choice to have laser eye surgery is unique, and it is most effective with the help of the surgeon who will be doing the treatment.