Eye microsurgery: laser correction

Microsurgery is a section of surgery that deals with surgical intervention on a very small scale. The operations of such a plan require the availability of special high-precision equipment, as well as high qualifications and extensive experience of surgeons. In the course of surgical intervention, miniature surgical instruments and operating microscopes are used that have high accuracy and resolution.

There are several sections of microsurgery: microsurgery of the hand, microsurgery of the ear, as well as microsurgery of the eye. Let's stop our attention on the last direction.

Perhaps the most effective method of vision recovery is laser correction, which is now being carried out in more than 50 countries around the world, returning vision to millions of people. This type of surgery has a number of undeniable advantages:

1. The laser provides much more accuracy than the most skilled hands of the surgeon. Working on a clear computer program, the laser installation does not sin in positioning errors.

2. Recently, the operational impact has shifted from the site near the optical center of the eye to the center itself.

3. Operations for the restoration of vision by the laser method are mostly painless.

4. The duration of the operation is a matter of seconds.

A patient with myopia or hyperopia in the clinic of eye microsurgery basically makes a choice between two types of operations: PRK and LASIK. The essence of both operations is reduced to evaporation of the layers of the cornea with a change in the strength of its refraction. However, the difference in the technologies used is enormous.

PRK (or English PRK) is an abbreviation for the complex medical term "photorefractive keratectomy." This type of laser vision correction was released more than 20 years ago and has since been successfully used in the treatment of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. In KFR, a special excimer laser is used to treat the surface of the cornea, which destroys the epithelium, its natural protective layer. At the end of the operation, the patient, as a rule, experiences some pain and discomfort in the operated eye. Other consequences of the operation are temporary photophobia and profuse lacrimation. On the restoration of vision in the distance takes from 3 to 7 days. In this case, vision completely stabilizes after 3-4 months from the day of surgery. As a rule, first the operation is carried out on one eye, and after 7-14 days - on the other. To avoid falling into the operated eye particles of dust or dirt, and also not to strain it, the eye is "curtained" with a curtain - bandage. During the rehabilitation period, eye drops should also be instilled to ensure an effective healing process.

The PRK method has proven effective in treating astigmatism up to -3, nearsightedness to -6 and farsightedness up to +3 diopters. This type of surgical intervention differs favorably from other methods in that it can be applied to a patient who has a small thickness of the cornea, which may serve as a contraindication to LASIK surgery.

Unlike the PRK, the LASIK operation does not affect the surface layers of the cornea, which excludes pain and causes a rapid period of postoperative recovery. The operation is carried out in two stages. On the first from the cornea in the optical center of the eye with a microkerat (miniature cutting tool) cut the flap, but not completely, leaving the "leg". At the 2nd stage, the flap is bent to the side to ensure unimpeded access to the middle layers of the cornea by the laser beam. After evaporation of layers of a given thickness, the flap is returned into place.

LASIK technology allows you to operate both eyes in one day and enjoy sharp and clear vision after 2-3 hours from the end of the operation.