Today highly successful Lasik eye surgery has become the norm and patients and surgeons are searching for even better results. As with all technology, there is always someone trying to create a way to do things faster, better, cheaper. In the past, Lasik surgeons strived to have their patients be able to see almost as well after Lasik surgery as they did before using their glasses. Now the push is on to fine-tune patient’s vision beyond what they currently can see with contacts or glasses. This is where Custom Lasik comes in.
For traditional Lasik surgery, the doctor bases his treatment on what his patient tells him during the initial exam. This is very similar to an ordinary eye exam where your eye doctor asks you questions; which is clearer, one or two? This is a very subjective method of determining focusing errors based on how you answer the questions. Our answers to these questions may change from one day to the next based on how we’re feeling and how well rested we are.
In the past, many Lasik surgery patients were happy if their after-surgery vision was as good as their pre-surgery contact lens corrected vision. Now with Custom Lasik, your surgeon may tell you, “After Custom Lasik surgery, you’ll be able to see better than you now do with your contacts or glasses”. For this to be possible, Lasik treatment has to be incredibly sophisticated and personalized for each individual.
In Custom Lasik, the front surface of the cornea is ‘mapped’ much like a topographical map. This topographical map shows not only the height and curvature of the front of your cornea, it also shows the back. The computer analyzes every tiny irregularity on the surface of your cornea and stores this information. But it doesn’t stop there, it goes on to create a simulation of what your ‘best possible’ vision could be. This detailed information is fed into the computer and will assist your surgeon in guiding the laser to give you the best, one-of-a-kind Custom Lasik vision correction.
