Epi-LASIK
Epi-LASIK is a type of refractive surgery. It is generally considered a hybrid of LASIK and LASEK procedures. The process began in Greece (invented by Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris) and began to be used worldwide in September of 2003.
Contents
Who is Epi-LASIK for?
- People with thin, steep, and/or flat corneas
The Basics
- 1) Suction is applied to the eye to allow an Epikeratome (similar to a Microkeratome, but made of plastic) to make an incision in the epithelial layer of the cornea.
- 2) This creates a hinged sheet in the epithelium which is then moved gently aside to allow for ablation of the cornea (this is the fundamental step of the surgery).
- 3) Once ablation has occurred, the epithelial sheet is replaced and covered with a soft-contact lens bandage.
How is it different from LASIK or LASEK
Both LASIK and LASEK involve cutting the cornea's outer layer (the epithelium) with either a laser (for LASIK) or a precise blade called a Microkeratome (for either LASIK or LASEK). In Epi-LASIK the surgeon uses a blunt, plastic oscillating blade to perform this incision. As opposed to using alcohol to loosen the epithelial sheet (as in LASEK, the surgeon still uses the plastic blade for separation. The main advantage is that this avoids any negative side-effects of alcohol use (it can potentially kill epithelial cells).²
Complications¹
- Over/undercorrection
- Visual acuity fluctuation
- Halo effect and/or starbursts around light sources
- Off-center vision (resulting from decentered ablation)
- Corneal haze
- Epithelial erosion
- Loss of epithelial flap
Sources
1) Wikipedia:Epi-LASIK
2) Epi-LASIK Eye Surgery: How It Works
Sites tagged with "Epi-LASIK"
