WHENEVER a patient undergoes any type of surgical treatment there is a possibility for a complication. The main questions are: are these complications serious and could affect the final outcome – or minor and short lived and which do not affect the ultimate vision? Also, what are the chances of a complication occurring that would require adjustment or follow-up correction?

LASIK surgery is no different from any other operation, despite how it may be pitched by some clinics, in that it IS a surgical correction and should be approached as such. However, and fortunately, most complications are in fact minor and easily resolved.

Technology

LASIK risk continues to drop as doctors and engineers perfect the equipment used in the treatment. Advances in technology have made a big part of the difference here so make sure you are getting that latest equipment and not an older fashioned approach.

The risks drop as doctors continue to screen for the right candidates to have the procedure, and screen out those with any chance to have a problem. Research also shows that with the right pre-testing and surgical handling, the risk of complications in LASIK surgery is less than 1% and most of these are minor problems which will be fully corrected afterwards without undue ongoing problems.

The most common risk with LASIK surgery is a complication with the flap, created by the surgeon in the first part of the procedure.

In the original LASIK procedure, the flap is cut by a surgical blade device known as a microkeratome. The blade cut is, however, less precise than those from newer femtosecond lasers.

Blade Free LASIK

LASIK risk is reduced by the newer “bladeless” dual laser technique.

In bladeless (blade free) LASIK surgery, the risk of complications is lower because the blade or microkeratome is no longer used. It is replaced by special type of infra-red laser that greatly reduces human or machine error.

The original laser to make a LASIK flap came from the USA, manufactured by Intralase. You may see this surgery called IntraLASIK or iLASIK.

The newer machine is from Switzerland and produced by the Ziemer Group of companies. There appear to be some advantages of the tighter focus of the Swiss laser. This procedure may be called Z-LASIK.

Summary

When assessing these LASIK risks it is recommended that when you are considering surgery that you ask your doctor what technology the clinic has and whether or not a blade free dual laser approach will be used.

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Advanced Medical Optics Inc. in Santa Ana, announced on Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new laser for use in laser eye correction. The iFS femtosecond laser is set to be at the centre of AMO’s iLasik products for laser vision surgery. The laser has an increased speed of 150kHz, up from the existing 60kHz.

However, competitor Ziemer from Switzerland recently launched its own femtosecond laser offering more than 1000kHz speed, integral to its Z-LASIK offering. Click here for a discussion blog post comparing iLASIK and Z-LASIK.

AMO has pushed into laser vision correction, including its $800 million buy of Irvine, California-based IntraLase Corporation last year. The iFS laser uses technology from IntraLase. The femtosecond laser is used to create a corneal flap which is the first step in laser vision surgery. Advanced Medical’s lasers have been gaining market share over traditional metal blades. The laser is due to be shipped to U.S. laser eye surgeons in the third quarter, according to Advanced Medical Optics.

Tags: Z-LASIK, iLASIK, AMO, FDA, femtosecond, eye, laser, surgery

OK. lots of new laser eye surgery names appearing, so let’s confirm what they mean!

Z-LASIK: means blade free LASIK using the new Swiss Ziemer laser to make a corneal flap, rather than a traditional blade.

iLASIK: means blade free LASIK but using the American Intralase laser to make a corneal flap.

So, simple so far. Z for Ziemer’s laser and i for Intralase’s laser. Both of these devices allow elimination of a blade to make a physical cut in the cornea. Instead they use millions of precise laser pulses to create a very accurate flap, removing the potential risks associated with a metal-blade mechanical system.

Click here to watch an FDA animation of mechanical blade LASIK (N.B. Caution: watching this will put you off ever having bladed LASIK in the future! You will definitely want to opt for all laser LASIK after this!)

So what’s the difference between Ziemer and Intralase lasers?

The Ziemer laser is a new system, with potential advances upon the older American Intralase laser flap maker. Ziemer’s lasers, called the LDV, appears to eliminate occasional complications found with iLASIK. Some iLASIK patients (around 7%) get a marked discomfort and aversion to light for several days after laser vision correction, know as “transient light sensitivity”.

This side effect is not seen with Z-LASIK, possibly because of a much more tightly focused laser energy pulse and greatly reduced energy per pulse, compared to Intralase’s looser focus and wider dispersion of energy through the cornea.

Studies are ongoing to compare the two systems in greater detail.

Background on the LASIK procedure:

Creating the corneal flap is the first stage in a LASIK procedure. Treatment to correct your eyesight is actually done on the corneal tissue that’s below the surface and access to it is done by making a surface flap and folding it back (quite painlessly!).

This flap creation is critical for a successful result of your LASIK surgery – it needs to be of exactly the right thickness and in exactly the right place. When the surgery is completed, it’s easily folded back into position and acts as a delicate bandage over the treated eye. It heals up by itself.

The microkeratome devices used in traditional LASIK surgery are hand-held tools with a steel blade that oscillates, moving back and forth at very high speeds. When used expertly it makes a good flap but the thickness can vary more than laser flaps and they can be more irregular, tending to be thinner in the centre.

LASIK complications are quite rare. Fact. But when they do happen, they often arise from a poorly created corneal flap. Use of new femtosecond lasers (Ziemer or Intralase) greatly reduces the likelihood of any such complications.