Screening
Bladeless Lasik surgery, as performed with the VISX Star S4, is effective in reducing nearsightedness between –1 to –10 diopters; with astigmatism between –0.5 and 5.0 diopters; farsightness between +1.0 +5.0 diopters, with or without astigmatism up to +3.0 diopters.
i-LASIK surgery is one of the options for treating nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism; reducing or eliminating dependency upon contact lenses or glasses. There are other options avaliable for people who do not qualify for i-Lasik.
At your first consultation, you will meet your surgeon and the i-LASIK team. Through the initial eye examination and set of tests, your specific corrective needs and eligibility of i-Lasik treatment will be determined. The corneal thickness (pachymetry) and curvature are measured (topography) along with tear productivity (dry eyes), and pupil size. In most cases, your physician will be able to determine if you are a candidate, during the 1st Consultation. The 2nd Consultation includes a fully dilated exam, to insure good health of the interior of the eye and Cycloplegic refraction to evaluate the degree of true refractive error.
Contact lens wearers are asked to remove their contacts before the first exam. Depending on the type of contacts you wear, Soft or Gas Permeable, you will be required to discontinue the wear of contacts for the second exam through the surgery. As a general rule, soft contacts must be removed 10 to 14 days before the second evaluation and gas permeable lenses for two weeks or longer, depending on the total years of wear. Contact lenses can change the shape of the cornea and it is important the cornea has returned to its natural shape before the day of surgery. Please check with our office concerning how long you have worn your lenses and the type of lens, when you schedule your first consult.
Customvue / Wavescan and Basic i-Lasik
The Virdi Eye Clinic offers Customvue and “Basic i-Lasik’. Customvue is FDA approved for nearsightedness not more than –9.0 diopters with less than –3.0 diopters of astigmatism. The pupil must dilate 5mm or more in dim light to obtain sufficient data. Customvue treatment is specific to the eye under treatment. It includes information from the Wavescan System that is more individualized, as no two people are the same, no two eyes with the identical refractive error, when evaluated in finer detail share the same eye irregularities. Customvue creates a highly detail map of your corrective needs, identifying each tiny imperfection or higher order aberrations. The variable spot scanning allows for a larger treatment area, the ability to custom treat the small irregularities (higher order aberrations), giving the doctor greater flexibility to develop a more individualized corrective procedure.
Basic i-Lasik is for patients that have a pupil size less than 5mm.
Surgery
i-LASIK surgery using the VISX STAR S4 excimer laser is performed in our dedicated iLasik surgical suite at the Rock Island Location. The VISX STAR S4 laser is permanently housed at our Rock Island location. Why is this important? A fixed site gives us total control on the daily calibrations and on the sterility, temperature and humidity of the environment in which the laser is used. The cutting ability of the laser is extremely sensitive to temperature and humidity. Diligent daily monitoring assures consistent results and best possible outcomes.
Day of Surgery
On the day of surgery, you will undergo a presurgical prep, including a tablet of Valium one half hour before. You will then be escorted into the surgical suite, where you are seated in a reclining chair. A shield is placed on the eye not having the surgery at that time. Topical drops are applied which will numb your eyes. A suction ring is placed on the eye to stabilize the eye while the laser is creating the flap. The suction is then released and then a speculum is inserted between the upper and lower eyelid to prevent blinking during the surgery.
The flap is lifted away from the bed. The patient is instructed to fixate on the blinking orange light. The laser beam is focused and locked in position with the 3-D ActiveTrak tracking system. This compensates for any small eye movements, directing the laser to move in sync with your eye. If the eye movements are too large for the laser to compensate, the laser automatically shuts down until the corrective fixation is reestablished. The laser delivers short pulses of ultraviolet light to break the molecular bonds in the protein of the stroma, vaporizing microscopic amounts of tissue to reshape your cornea. The flap is then repositioned and smoothed in place. The other eye is then operated on following the same procedures.
Although the procedure is painless, some patients experience slight discomfort during the creating of the flap. After the surgery, you are escorted to a recovery room, given fifteen minutes to rest with your eyes closed before your eyes are checked and you are released.
After Surgery
After the procedure, you are asked to keep your eyes closed for four hours after you have returned home. You may experience:
Mild burning or a gritty sensation
Mild pain and discomfort for up to 3 days after surgery
Blurred vision which becomes progressively less
A mild sensitivity to bright lights or the sunlight
May notice one or more small red spots on the conjunctiva (the white part of the eye)
Glare or haloing at night, a temporary side effect
Temporary Dryness
The first Two to Six Months Following Surgery:
Your intraocular pressure may increase due to use of steroid drops. This resolves by stopping the medication.
One or More Years After The Surgery:
Some patients report visual complaints at one or more years after the surgery.
Results from Clinical Studies:
The clinical study results of the VISX STAR S4 Excimer Laser System for eyes that could see 20/20 or better with glasses before surgery were:
i-LASIK surgery: without the help of glasses (results at 6 months after surgery), 97% highly nearsighted eyes with or without astigmatism could see 20/40 or better
i-LASIK surgery: with the help of glasses (results at 6 months after surgery), 99% highly nearsighted eyes with or without astigmatism could see 20/40 or better
The Good i-LASIK Candidate
If you are considering iLasik surgery, you must:
- Be 21 years of age for i-LASIK treatment of nearsightedness, farsightedness with or without astigmatism
- Your refraction has not changed by more than 0.50 diopters during the year before your pre-operative exam
- Have healthy eye free from eye disease or corneal abnormalities
- Have nearsightedness up to -10.0 diopters with or without refractive astigmatism between 0.5 and 5.0 diopters
- Have farsightedness up to +0.5 to +5.0 diopters with or without refractive astigmatism up to +3.0 diopters for i-LASIK treatment
- Have mixed astigmatism up to 6.0 diopters for i-LASIK treatment
- Be able to lie flat without difficulty
- Be able to tolerate local or topical anesthesia
- Be able to keep your eye accurately focused on the fixation light for the entire Laser surgical procedure
- Be informed of laser surgical risks and benefits as compared to other available treatments
- Be willing to sign informed consent form as provided by our physicians
