LASIK Surgery

Although LASIK is not the only form of vision correction surgery, it is the most commonly selected procedure.  The term LASIK is an acronym for "laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis". The goal of LASIK is for a laser to re-shape your cornea, or the front "windshield" of the eye,  so that light entering the eye can be focused better on the back of the eye, causing clear vision. 

In this procedure, a surgical instrument, called a microkeratome is used to create a flap in your cornea.   Once the flap is lifted, a laser is used to reshape the cornea.  It is extremely important to undergo a thorough evaluation of your eyes before surgery to make sure your corneas are thick enough for this procedure.  

A good illustration of what occurs in LASIK is to think of it as a book.  The flap made by the microkeratome would be the front cover of the book, and the spine of the book would be comparable to how the flap stays attached to the eye.  The laser removes layers of the cornea to reshape the eye, which is similar to tearing out pages from a book.  

Using this analogy, you can visualize why it is important for your eyes to be thoroughly examined to determine corneal thickness.  If you start with a book that is very thick, it is easier to remove pages without really noticing much difference in the shape of the book.  However, if you have a book that is only a few pages long, it is very difficult to remove pages without having a noticeable alteration to the book.  The thicker the cornea, the more stable it is when layers are removed.

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