All-Laser Lasik - IntraLasik

All-Laser Lasik, also called "IntraLasik", is exactly like traditional conventional or custom wavefront Lasik, except the corneal flap is created with a femtosecond laser microkeratome rather than a mechanical microkeratome with a metal blade. The IntraLasik name comes from a combination of the name of a femtosecond laser manufacturer, Intralase, and Lasik.

All-Laser Lasik may be performed with conventional laser ablation or wavefront-guided custom Lasik laser ablation.

There are several advantages to All-Laser Lasik that can make All-Laser Lasik more predictable and safer than traditional Lasik with a mechanical microkeratome, however there are limitations and a unique set of concerns that need to be evaluated.

Advantages include more precise positioning of the flap, more accurate thickness of the flap, more even thickness of the flap throughout, and a lower probability of intraoperative complications such as buttonhole flaps, thin/thick flaps, or epithelial defect. Recent studies have shown All-Laser Lasik to be more favorable than Lasik with a mechanical microkeratome in providing vision with better contrast sensitivity.

Some patients, but not all, experience a short period of increased corneal edema with All-Laser Lasik. This slight swelling can cause vision to be blurry, but the swelling normally resolves with healing. Occasionally an All-Laser Lasik patient will experience some photosensitivity. All these issues usually resolve during the normal Lasik six-month healing process, however additional eye drop medication may be required.

All-Laser Lasik is an option for nearly all who decide to have refractive surgery with a corneal flap, but All-Laser Lasik may be a requirement for individuals with preexisting epithelial defects, large pupils, thin corneas, poor contrast sensitivity, or other physiological reasons that indicate the greater accuracy and safety of All-Laser Lasik is required.

If you are ready to choose a doctor to be evaluated for conventional or custom wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, PRK, LASEK, Epi-Lasik, NearVision CK, RLE, or any refractive surgery procedure, we highly recommend you consider a doctor who has been evaluated and certified by the USAEyes nonprofit organization. Locate a USAEyes Evaluated & Certified Lasik Laser Eye Surgery Doctor.

If this article did not fully answer your questions, use our free Ask Lasik Expert patient forum.

Video courtesy University of Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary.

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Current Femtosecond Laser Medical Journal News...

Structure of intracorneal femtosecond laser pulse effects in conical incision profiles.

Related Articles

Structure of intracorneal femtosecond laser pulse effects in conical incision profiles.

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2008 Apr 30;

Authors: Vossmerbaeumer U, Jonas JB

PURPOSE: As the applicative potential of femtosecond lasers is to be extended from LASIK-flap creation into intrastromal ablation uses, the interdependency of influencing factors has to be understood. We therefore evaluated the relationship between focus depth, energy level, spatial distribution and morphology of fs-Laser pulse effects at a given repetition rate in corneal tissue. METHODS: The experimental study included five porcine corneae obtained from slaughterhouse pigs. Using a prototype of a femtosecond laser (FEMTEC; 20/10 Perfect Vision AG, Heidelberg, Germany), a conical circular cut was performed in posterior-anterior direction through the entire corneal profile. The laser energy applied ranged from 4.0 to 8.5 muJ. Histological sections (n = 337) of a thickness of 7 mum were obtained, stained with hematoxylin/eosin, and morphometrically evaluated. RESULTS: The intrastromal femtosecond laser effects were aligned throughout the corneal stroma in a line that followed the dissection line programmed for the laser. The lesions were mostly of roughly elliptic shape with a fine dense lining at the inner wall, without evidence of a collateral damage beyond the disruption cavity. The mean maximal diameter of the intrastromal laser effects was 34.2 +/- 18.6 mum (range: 9-120 mum), and the mean maximal lesion diameter was 60.8 +/- 42.6 mum. In multivariate analysis, the lesion type (single shot cavity, partly confluent lesions, and fully confluent lesions) was significantly associated with the laser energy applied (P = 0.027) and the lesion diameter (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: At higher laser energies, the intrastromal laser lesions were larger and more confluent, suggesting that, with the prototype of femtosecond laser used, a higher laser energy may lead to more confluent intrastromal laser effects. It may facilitate the complete cutting of the corneal tissue with the laser. Neither discernable debris nor stainable collateral damage were detected, suggesting a purely mechanical action of the laser.

PMID: 18446357 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]