Z-LASIK is coming to the UK

Dave Allamby | Jan 16, 2008 | Comments 0

The UK’s first Ziemer LDV [tag]femtosecond[/tag] laser has just arrived in the country and the first procedure will be carried out pretty soon. So watch this blog space!

If you are not familiar, femtosecond lasers are used for performing the first stage of [tag]LASIK[/tag] [tag]laser eye surgery[/tag]. (LASIK simply comes in two parts – first create a thin top layer of the cornea which can be folded to the side and secondly applying the treating laser to reshape the cornea to get rid of the need for glasses. See this weeks posting on LASIK Video – the Basics).

Traditionally, and still in many clinics, this has been done with a mechanical blade device called a ‘microkeratome’. Micro because, well, the blade is pretty small, about a centimetre or so across. ‘Kera’ means the cornea and ‘tome’ refers to cutting. These devices have been around for decades. The blade oscillates to and fro at very high speeds to make a precision cut. Modern microkeratomes are very reliable but can still occasionally cause problems and tend to cut deeper and with significantly less accuracy than the new femtosecond flap makers. So many clinics have invested in the new technology – it means safer and more accurate LASIK.

So when you read about All-Laser LASIK, Blade Free LASIK or IntraLASIK, they are talking about using these new lasers (called femtosecond lasers) to create the flap in the first part of the LASIK procedure. The Ziemer LDV femtosecond laser is a next generation machine that looks to outperform all current femto lasers (there are 3 models around) because it works in a different way. Much more on this coming soon!

Filed Under: LASIK • Technology

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About the Author: Mr. Dave Allamby FRCS FRCOphth is a leading London-based laser eye surgeon. You may have seen him on the This Morning TV show with Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton or read one of several articles in the national press, recently for treating Denise Van Outen, rock giant Rick Wakeman and broadcaster Paul Ross. David is Medical Director at Focus Laser Vision, known as a world-leading clinic in the treatment of presbyopia, or age related loss of close vision. Focus Laser Vision is also London's only clinic to offer next-generation Z-LASIK laser eye treatment for short sight, long sight or astigmatism.

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