What’s the Difference Between LASIK and LASEK?
Many patients are understandably confused about the difference between LASIK eye surgery and another procedure called LASEK. Essentially, LASEK (Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis) is a version of Advanced Surface Ablation or PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy).
The differences between LASIK, PRK, and LASEK can be summarized as follows:
- During LASIK surgery, a thin corneal flap is cut into your eye’s surface and then lifted so the laser can re-shape your eye for optimal vision correction. Once the treatment has been applied by the laser, the corneal flap will be replaced, serving as a natural bandage to help your eye heal.
- Meanwhile, PRK does not require a corneal flap to be cut into the surface of your eye. Instead, the laser energy is directly applied to your eye’s surface, resulting in the complete removal of the thin outer layer (called the epithelium). This layer will eventually grow back, but because it is removed, PRK involves a longer recovery period than LASIK.
- LASEK is designed to preserve your eye’s thin epithelial layer. Instead of cutting into it (as in LASIK) or removing it (as in PRK), the epithelial layer is lifted from the surface of your eye in order for laser energy to be applied for re-shaping. After the LASEK procedure is complete, the epithelium layer will be replaced on your eye’s surface. Carefully controlled studies have shown that there is no difference in the end result with LASEK and PRK and most surgeons have stopped attempting to save the epithelium. The replaced epithelium is regrown just as in traditional PRK before healing is complete.
Advanced Surface Ablation is mostly used for patients who have corneas that are either too steep or too thin for LASIK. This procedure was originally developed to reduce the potential complications that can occur when a LASIK flap does not have the ideal diameter or thickness. In other words, it is an alternative procedure that allows people with thin or steep corneas to still benefit from Laser Vision Correction.
If you have further questions about the differences between LASIK and LASEK, please contact our experienced Chicago eye surgeons today to schedule a free consultation. Doctors For Visual Freedom has two offices in Illinois: one in downtown Chicago, and one in Arlington Heights.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 10:09 pm and is filed under LASIK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
