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LASIK Surgery – Interesting Facts

LASIK is a combined microsurgical and excimer laser procedure for correcting refractive errors of the eyes. Usually after the procedure you will not require glasses or contact lenses. Interestingly enough the Excimer laser for was discovered by an Indian in the USA called Rangaswamy Srinivasan and he worked with ophthalmologist in 1983 to etch the cornea and this lead to LASIK procedure.

1. LASIK surgery on the eye has been performed since 1990 and until the year 2007 – almost 17 million people had the surgery with the maximum numbers coming from the USA (8 million).

2. The refractive surgery worldwide market exceeds $3 billion (2008). Refractive surgery procedures include corrections for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia.

3. The two popular refractive error correction procedures are called LASIK - Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and LASEK - Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileusis.


4. The Main difference Between LASIK and LASEK procedure is thickness of the flap. In LASIK – both epithelium and stroma corneal tissue is thinned out whereas in LASEK only epithelial tissue is ablated.

5. There are almost similar proportion of males and females having their refractions corrected by LASIK and almost 90% of the patients recommend it to others.

6. The LASIK surgery (for both eyes) takes only 10 to 15 minutes from start to finish. The excimer laser used in LASIK surgery removes thin layers of corneal tissue that are 1/200th thickness of a human hair. And each slice is taken in about 12 billionths of a second.

7. The commonest problem after LASIK is chronic dry eyes and in one study it was reported to be 20%.

8. To get the best results – find an experienced surgeon (who has done over 700 cases). After surgery avoid eye makeup, strenuous exercise and contaminated water (swimming pools, spas, lakes etc.) for at least 1 to 2 weeks. Avoid rubbing eyes for at least 2 weeks.

9. Under-corrections may require another session whereas overcorrection may mean using glasses or contact lenses.

10. No report of blindness has been reported after LASIK Surgery.

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