Laser eye treatment information and guides

Laser eye articles

• Laser eye surgery procedure: what happens?
• Are you suitable for laser eye surgery?
• For and against laser eye treatment
• What happens if laser eye surgery does not work?
• Recovery after laser eye surgery
• The laser eye surgery healing process
• Laser eye surgery effects
• PRK vs. LASIK
• LASIK eye surgery
• PRK eye surgery
• Short sighted PRK surgery
• LASEK eye surgery
• Wavefront LASIK surgery
• Zyoptix LASIK surgery
• EpiLASIK surgery
• IntraLASIK surgery
• How does the eye work?
• Common vision problems
• Laser surgery for short sightedness
• Laser surgery for long sightedness
• Laser surgery for astigmatism
• Laser surgery for presbyopia
• How does laser eye treatment work?
• Laser eye clinic
• Corrective eye surgery
• Laser eye surgeon

EpiLASIK surgery

EpiLASIK surgery is a variation of the popular LASIK procedure, and offers a distinct set of benefits. In some ways, EpiLASIK surgery is less invasive and thus a good fit for certain patients, while the recovery time involved is also a consideration. To get a complete picture of EpiLASIK surgery, it is important to look at the procedure itself, including the pre-operative and recovery processes, as well as EpiLASIK's suitability for different types of eyes.

EpiLASIK surgery procedure

EpiLASIK eye surgery can be a good solution for short sightedness, long sightedness and astigmatism. Before looking at the specifics of EpiLASIK, it helps to understand laser eye treatment in general. Nearly all corrective eye surgery involves reshaping the cornea with a laser. This change in shape refocuses light into the correct part of the eye, restoring visual clarity.

Operations differ in what comes before this corneal reshaping. Traditional LASIK surgery cuts a flap directly into the cornea, and that flap is pulled back so the underlying corneal tissue can be reshaped.

EpiLASIK surgery, on the other hand, only removes the surface membrane layer of the cornea, or the epithelium, before reshaping. That is what the “Epi” prefix refers to in the name of the surgery. This process is known as surface ablation. In other ablation procedures, such as LASEK eye surgery, an alcohol solution is used to loosen the epithelium. EpiLASIK surgery uses a gentle plastic separator tool to remove the epithelium rather than alcohol. Some research suggests this alcohol-free approach reduces irritation and recovery time.

Once the epithelium is removed, the laser eye surgeon can reshape the cornea to suit your prescription. After the cornea is reshaped, a “bandage” contact lens is placed over the eye for a few days to allow the epithelial cells to regenerate.

EpiLASIK surgery or regular LASIK?

Since EpiLASIK does not involve cutting a corneal flap like LASIK, it is perfect for patients with very thin corneas. Most complications from LASIK are related to the corneal flap process. Although IntraLASIK surgery uses a laser to create a more precise corneal flap, many doctors believe EpiLASIK is lower risk because it does not cut the cornea at all. Your doctor will be able to tell upon examination whether your corneas are too thin.

Another common reason patients choose EpiLASIK over LASIK is if they are at risk for dislocation of the corneal flap after surgery. This is typically a concern for those participating in sports, especially boxing and martial arts. Certain industrial and manual labor jobs might also pose a risk for dislocating the corneal flap. Aside from these specific situations, EpiLASIK is good for anyone looking to reduce the risk of flap complications, and it generally results in similar laser eye surgery effects to LASIK.

EpiLASIK recovery period

After EpiLASIK surgery, the patient is given antibiotic drops and a shield to wear over the eye or eyes while sleeping. After a few days, the bandage contact lens is removed once the epithelial cells have regenerated.

EpiLASIK generally comes with more pain and discomfort than LASIK in the days following the operation, and this may be managed with pain medication. The return of full vision also takes longer, and it is usually too blurry to drive for a few days. For most people, full vision returns within 7 days, but in rare cases it can take months.

Overall, EpiLASIK offers some clear benefits, particularly to those with thin corneas or at risk of being hit in the eye. Complications involving the corneal flap are taken out of the equation and the vision results are about the same as LASIK. As always, these issues must be discussed with a doctor. That is the first step towards better vision.

Other variations of LASIK surgery include Zyoptix LASIK, which is a branded version of Wavefront LASIK surgery, and IntraLASIK surgery, which uses a laser to make the initial corneal flap.

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