What is laser eye surgery?
Laser eye surgery is a surgical procedure from ophthalmology for the correction of ametropia. It can be used to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. The treatment of the eyes with a laser is nowadays a routine procedure. Laser eye surgery is an alternative to wearing contact lenses and glasses.
Indications
Indications for laser treatment of the eyes are myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. In addition, you should be at least of age (treatment is recommended from the age of 25) and the ametropia should be stable for two years. Laser treatment is suitable for patients with dioptres of approximately -12 to +6.
In the case of myopia, the ratio between refractive power and length of the eyeball is not correct. The eyeball is too long and/or the refractive power is too strong and therefore close objects can be perceived well, but objects further away are blurred. In laser therapy of short-sighted eyes, the LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) method is usually used.
The laser ablates more in the middle of the cornea than at the edges of the cornea. This makes the cornea flatter. In the case of farsightedness (hyperopia), the refractive power is too weak in relation to the eyeball or the eyeball is too short in relation to the refractive power.
As a result, farsighted people see distant objects sharply and objects close by blurred. In laser therapy of farsighted eyes, the cornea is ablated mainly at the edges, which increases the curvature. Here too, the surgical method is LASIK.
Astigmatism is characterized by an irregularly shaped cornea. As a result, incident light rays cannot be bundled in one point. With laser therapy, the cornea is brought back into an even shape
- Laser therapy for myopia
- Laser therapy for farsightedness
- Laser therapy for astigmatism
Contraindication
The following contraindications can be a relative or absolute exclusion criterion to laser eye surgery. Patients with: a too thin cornea (< 0.5mm) age under 18 years unstable corneal statics cataract macular degeneration pregnancy, lactation Diabtes mellitus rheumatism collagenosis autoimmune disease wound healing disorder tendency to scarring Have a preliminary examination with your ophthalmologist to determine whether laser treatment can be performed in your case. – a too thin cornea (< 0.5mm)
- Age under 18 years
- Unstable corneal statics
- Cataract
- Glaucoma
- Macular Degeneration
- Present pregnancy, lactation
- Diabtes mellitus
- Rheumatism
- Collagenosis
- Autoimmune disease
- Wound healing disorder
- Scarring tendency
Which different lasers are there?
Eye lasers use state-of-the-art laser types such as the YAG laser, femtosecond laser and excimer laser. The YAG laser (yttrium-aluminum-garnet) generates a high acoustic wave velocity, its laser beam is cold and therefore well suited for applications on the eye. In addition to eye laser treatment, it is also used for the treatment of a cataract (after a cataract treatment the lens becomes cloudy again).
In addition, the YAG laser is used for glaucoma, so that the aqueous humour can flow off again in a targeted manner. The femtosecond laser bundles infrared rays and offers many advantages such as fast wound healing, painless application and low heat generation at the object of application. Due to these properties, it is used to correct short- and long-sightedness and astigmatism.
The excimer laser is a gas laser that uses halides of a noble gas. The laser is not visible in the eye and is used to shape the cornea. During eye surgery, the laser is combined with a computer to register possible eye movements.
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