Imagine a life where you no longer need to depend on glasses or contact lenses to go about your daily routines and activities. Thanks to incredible advancements in technology, Custom LASIK Surgery has made this a reality.
Custom LASIK offers a personalized approach, harnessing the power of state-of-the-art technology to achieve exceptional precision and remarkable outcomes. It opens up the possibility of attaining visual freedom like never before. With Custom LASIK, you can experience a whole new level of clarity and convenience in your life.
What is Custom LASIK Surgery?
Custom wavefront LASIK, also known as “custom LASIK surgery” or “wavefront LASIK,” improves the precision and personalization of LASIK vision correction surgery by utilising modern wavefront technology to create a 3D (three-dimensional image) to assess the unique features of your eyes.
A wavefront analyzer detects how light goes through your eye and then develops a 3-D wavefront map unique to you, like your fingerprint. Your wavefront map shows a precise diagram of the areas of distortion (called aberrations), allowing your doctor to give genuinely customised vision correction for you. Within the eye, several forms of visual abnormalities, known as lower and higher-order aberrations, can impair your vision. Custom lasik can correct these aberrations.
Who is eligible to undergo Custom LASIK Surgery?
You can undergo custom LASIK surgery if you fulfil the following conditions:
- If you are an adult aged 18 or older
- There is no family history of eye disease, fungal eye infection, or scarring
- If you have e a corneal thickness that is suitable for the surgery
- If you are suffering from mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism
- If you are facing farsightedness and age is not the cause (presbyopia)
What to expect while consulting an eye doctor?
During a consultation with an eye surgeon, they will evaluate your eyes and assess your suitability for custom LASIK surgery.
They will discuss the procedure, potential risks, benefits, expected outcomes, and alternatives. The surgeon may provide diagnostic tests to evaluate your eligibility, which type of custom LASIK surgery is best for you, review the treatment plan, and provide full pre-and post-operative care instructions.
Types of Custom LASIK Surgery
You will be advised to undergo one of the forms of personalised LASIK surgery based on the doctor’s suggestions. Custom-tailored LASIK procedures are classified into three types. They are:
1. Wavefront-Guided LASIK
This technique starts by measuring how light travels through your eyes to understand your vision problems better. With this information, a personalized laser treatment is created to fix specific eye issues.
The lasers not only correct the main vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism but also takes care of smaller irregularities that could affect your vision.
2. Wavefront-Optimized LASIK
This personalized vision correction technique aims to protect the natural shape of your cornea. It does this by using precise measurements of the front surface of your eye. By keeping the cornea’s natural shape intact, it reduces the chance of a specific type of visual distortion called “spherical aberration.”
Spherical aberration can cause halos around lights and other nighttime vision problems. With this personalized approach, you can minimize these issues and enjoy clearer and sharper vision, especially in low-light conditions.
3. Topography-Guided LASIK
- This personalized vision correction treatment uses precise measurements of your cornea’s surface to calculate the laser’s adjustments. It is specifically designed to address vision problems caused by corneal abnormalities like scarring and refractive errors. With topography-guided LASIK, you can achieve clearer vision that is tailored to your unique eye condition.
Benefits of Custom LASIK Surgery
Compared to regular LASIK, Custom LASIK Surgery has significant benefits.
Benefit 1: One step further than traditional LASIK
Custom LASIK surgery uses Wavefront technology to produce a 3D map of your eye. This map exposes even minor flaws that may have gone undetected using standard LASIK procedures.
Benefit 2: Addresses many Vision Problems
Higher- and lower-order aberrations, or abnormalities on the cornea, can occur in our eyes. Lower-order abnormalities such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism can only be treated with traditional LASIK surgery.
Bur Custom LASIK surgery, on the other hand, uses wavefront-guided technology to detect and correct both higher and lower aberrations, resulting in therapy for complicated eye conditions such as glare, halos, starbursts, blurring, and other visual impairments.
Benefit 3: Greater Margin of Vision Improvement
One of the primary benefits of the wavefront-guided tailored LASIK procedure is that it improves the overall quality of your vision. Patients who undergo custom LASIK surgery have a better chance of reaching 20/20 vision and have improved contrast sensitivity and night vision quality. This means you have a better chance of seeing clearly both during the day and at night after the surgery.
Benefit 4: Faster Recovery Time
The process is faster than traditional LASIK, and the recuperation period is shorter, allowing you to resume your typical activities sooner.
Frequent Side Effects After Undergoing Custom LASIK Surgery
Both traditional and tailored LASIK procedures do not have a high rate of side effects. In rare cases the side effects are:
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Hazy or Blurry Vision
- Discomfort/ Pain in the eye
- Glare and halos around lights
These side effects generally go away. The more severe cases, on the other hand, would necessitate treatment. In a very tiny proportion of cases, these adverse effects become permanent. In a custom LASIK procedure, side effects are less likely to occur and are less likely to persist.
Recovery and Results
You may experience slight discomfort or dryness in your eyes after undergoing custom LASIK surgery, but this usually goes away within a few days. You must see your eye surgeon to monitor your recovery progress after customized eye surgery.
Most patients experience an immediate improvement in their vision after the procedure. Your eyes may take a few weeks to heal fully, but you can expect to enjoy significantly improved vision once they do. You may even be able to ditch your glasses or contacts altogether!
Custom LASIK Surgery Vs. Traditional LASIK
Characteristic | Custom LASIK | Traditional LASIK |
Personalization | Tailored to your individual eye measurements and specific vision needs. | Offers a standard treatment for vision correction, not personalized. |
Technology | Utilizes advanced wavefront technology and precise measurements for a more personalized approach. | Uses a standard laser treatment without customized measurements. |
Vision Quality | May result in better visual outcomes, especially in low-light conditions and night vision. | Generally provides good vision, but not as precise as custom treatments. |
Addressing Irregularities | Can correct irregularities in your eyes that standard LASIK may not fully address. | Focuses on correcting common refractive errors but may not target all irregularities. |
Who should consider undergoing Custom LASIK Surgery?
The people who qualify to undergo tailored LASIK procedure:
- Those looking to improve their vision or lessen their need for corrective lenses
- Patients suffering from mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism
- People with normal vision and no history of eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts, or corneal scarring
- Patients who have previously had LASIK and want to improve their vision further
Conclusion
Custom LASIK offers a highly personalized and advanced vision correction solution, delivering better visual outcomes and addressing specific concerns. While Traditional LASIK remains effective for common refractive errors, Custom LASIK offers a better alternative for those seeking optimized vision and precision.