Lasik Surgery

As compared to traditional LASIK eye surgery, Wavefront laser eye surgery actually improves the way you see – not just how much you see.  Traditional laser eye surgery concentrates on ensuring you achieve 20/20 vision on an eye chart.  Wavefront technology, on the other hand, improves the way you see, such as by improving the fine details of what you see, and your sensitivity to the contrast between light and dark.

In terms of the quality of your vision, the benefits of Wavefront LASIK Surgery are many.  They include:

An increased chance of achieving 20/20 vision or better
A decreased chance of losing the optimal level of vision correction achieved
A lesser chance of losing contrast sensitivity
A lessened chance of experiencing glares
An unlikely chance of having problems seeing at night

With Wavefront LASIK, how much you will end up seeing depends heavily upon the particular defects in your vision, referred to as lower-order aberrations.  Traditional LASIK is used to effectively treat these typical refractive errors such as myopia and astigmatism.  How well you see depends on the distortions in your vision, known as higher-order aberrations.  Wavefront LASIK is designed to treat these higher-order aberrations such as the decrease in contrast sensitivity or problems with night vision, as already mentioned.  Shadows, halos, and glaring are also examples of higher-order aberrations treatable with Wavefront LASIK.

Using Wavefront LASIK, your doctor will create a personalized laser correction program particular to each of your eyes.  This program will be guided by a detailed analysis of the particular errors in your vision as dictated by the way the light travels through your eye.  Although Wavefront LASIK is an improvement over traditional laser eye surgery for high-order aberrations, it is important to understand that not all aberrations are effectively reduced with custom Wavefront LASIK.

As with any surgical procedure, the best way to determine whether you should proceed with Wavefront LASIK is to talk to your doctor.  Ask questions, and be sure you are clear about what to expect from the surgery.  Although Wavefront LASIK does have a high rate of success, it is surgery, and as such it is a good idea to be aware not only of the benefits, but also of the potential risks of the procedure before opting for it.