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

LASEK eye surgery

LASEK surgery, or Laser Epithelial Keratomilieusis, is very similar to PRK surgery, the main difference being that with LASEK surgery the cornea’s epithelium is not removed. LASEK is actually a recent variation of PRK, and can only be explained in terms of the differences between PRK and LASIK surgery.

With LASIK surgery the surgeon cuts and lifts the surface of the cornea so that the energy from the laser can reshape the underlying cornea; the flap is replaced after this, which helps the eye to heal more quickly.

In PRK surgery, instead of cutting a flap, the laser beam is directed straight on the eye’s surface. The outer layer or epithelium is completely removed in this procedure, although it does grow back eventually.

In LASEK eye surgery the outer layer is preserved, because the laser beam is not applied until that layer has been lifted. Once the surgeon has reshaped the cornea with the laser, the flap is then replaced.

In LASIK surgery a cutting tool known as a microkeratome or special laser is used, whereas the LASEK surgery method uses a cutting tool called a trephine.

Are you suitable for LASEK?

People whose cornea is too steep or too thin are more suited to LASEK surgery, because it cuts down potential complications that can occur with the flaps in the LASIK method. If the flap is not thick enough for the LASIK procedure, the patient might be better suited to LASEK surgery. LASEK cuts thinner flaps than is possible with the LASIK method.

You need to remember that the healing process takes longer with LASEK than it does after LASIK surgery. There are also more complaints over LASEK surgery and so some surgeons prefer to undertake the PRK procedure.

LASEK eye surgery procedure

As with most laser eye treatment you will be given a local anaesthetic. A trephine is then used to cut the outer layer of the cornea. The doctor will put a diluted alcohol solution into the eye for about thirty seconds to loosen the epithelium. This is then folded back so that an excimer laser can be applied to the cornea, as in LASIK and PRK treatments. Once the cornea is reshaped the flap is replaced so that the eye can heal. LASEK surgery is more painful than LASIK treatment.

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