Choosing LASIK Eye Surgery Procedures
Most people who are looking into correcting their vision want to go with the very best LASIK eye surgery procedure possible, but what’s the best? And who offers it? A lot of people don’t realize that there are numerous vision correction procedures available. Once they do find that out, it can be a little bit confusing when it comes to which procedure is best for you.
The latest advancements in laser eye surgery are between SMILE and Contoura Vision. These are some of the newest procedures to hit the market. It can be hard to figure out which procedure is best for you. Fortunately, at ClearChoice we offer both of these procedures and more, so we can help explain things!
Types of LASIK Eye Surgery Procedures
To start, here’s a brief history of laser vision correction procedures:
PRK
The 1st generation of laser vision correction was PRK. This procedure removes the thin, top-most layer of the eye to allow a laser to access the cornea to treat the prescription. Then the top layer which was removed heals the back and the vision is corrected. This is still a great option for many patients.
LASIK
The 2nd generation was LASIK and was performed with a Microkeratome blade (Bladed LASIK). With this procedure, a corneal Flap is created with a blade and then a laser was used to treat the cornea, correct the prescription, and then the flap was repositioned back in place. This procedure produced quicker healing time than PRK while giving people similar visual outcomes.
Femtosecond LASIK
The 3rd generation was Femtosecond LASIK (bladeless LASIK). With this procedure, the flap is created with a highly precise femtosecond laser and the rest procedure is the same as LASIK. This version of LASIK improved the procedure because the all-laser approach creates the flap in a much more accurate fashion than a blade does. For the patient, this reduces the odds of complications occurring and some potential side effects.
SMILE Surgery
The 4th Generation is SMILE Surgery – With SMILE, one laser is used to create a corneal lenticule which is removed from the inner layer by making small incisions on top of the cornea. What this means is that unlike LASIK there is no flap created, and the size of the incision on the surface of the eye is greatly reduced. The visual outcomes produced by SMILE are similar to LASIK.
Contoura Vision
Contoura Vision was introduced in the US in 2015. Contoura offers a more personalized topography-guided treatment. The purpose of topography-guided treatment is to give a patient better quality of vision. ClearChoice only uses a laser when creating a flap with our procedures. The topography-guided laser used to correct the prescription has proven to be highly precise.
Which LASIK Procedure is Best?
So, if SMILE and Contoura are the newest procedures, then which is the best LASIK eye surgery possible? The Answer: it depends.
There are different advantages to both procedures and choosing the vision correction option that is best for your eyes truly requires an expert who has experience with both procedures. What this means is that the best laser eye surgery recommendation that you’ll be able to get is from an experienced surgeon with access to multiple technologies.
LASIK centers that offer a limited amount of technology or procedures might only promote/recommend what they have access to. That plays into the conflicting information between SMILE and Contoura Vision.
The only way to be truly confident that you’re being offered the best LASIK eye surgery possible is to go to a surgeon with many different options. This is the best way to get an expert opinion while also receiving a truly objective recommendation on what would be best for you. The importance of getting a consultation from a LASIK center that offers a wide range of technology can’t be downplayed.
You’ll want to make sure that ALL of these vision correction procedures have been evaluated for you before choosing one: LASIK, PRK, SMILE, CONTOURA Vision, and The Visian ICL. LASIK centers that provide all of those procedures will be able to scientifically and ethically recommended the very best procedure suited for your eyes. At ClearChoice, we’re proud to say we offer all of these procedures and more! If you would like to learn about your LASIK surgery options, then schedule a free consultation with ClearChoice today!
