Laser Eye Surgery from LASIK MD – First in World to Use Bausch & Lomb’s New Technology
On October 16, 2001, Dr. Mark Cohen was the first surgeon to use a combination of Zyoptix Custom Wavefront LASIK jointly with the new Zero Compression Microkeratome. The new laser eye surgery technology can benefit a very large subset of patients, especially those with thinner corneas and those with large pupils.
Zyoptix Custom Wavefront LASIK surgery involves tailoring the excimer laser treatment to very small visual irregularities, called higher order aberrations. These irregularities are specific to each person. Zyoptix Custom Wavefront LASIK technology takes information from corneal topography maps and from an instrument called an aberometer (also called a wavefront analyzer) and feeds it directly by computer link into the laser.
One of the biggest advantages of the Zyoptix Custom Wavefront laser eye surgery technology is its ability to remove less corneal tissue – from 15% to 30%, depending on the prescription. In fact, this can mean an extra 30 microns of tissue. Ultimately, this "extra" tissue can allow certain people with thin corneas, who could not have otherwise undergone LASIK surgery, to have the surgery. For others, it allows the surgeon to create an even larger optical zone treatment size. The end result is eliminating or significantly reducing the possibility of night time glare or haloes. In addition, saving cornea means left over tissue that can be used for a retreatment, if needed. Since corneal tissue never grows back, leaving behind as much as the surgeon can is a healthy option for everyone.
The Zero Compression Keratome also saves a significant amount of tissue since it has the ability to make thinner flaps. During LASIK surgery, a thin layer of the surface cornea is displaced to the side and held in place by a hinge. This is called the flap. With the flap positioned out of the way, the laser is then applied to the inner corneal surface. Once the laser application is completed, the flap is repositioned. Standard flaps measure 160 microns. The new Zero Compression Keratome technology allows the safe creation of 140, 130 and even 110 micron flaps. The thickness of the flaps is even more accurate than before and is of superior quality. The creation of such thin flaps will leave behind more corneal tissue that the surgeon can use. More precisely, this corneal tissue can be used to treat higher prescriptions, create larger optical zone treatment sizes, or leave enough tissue for a second treatment.
The combination of both these technologies represents the leading edge of laser eye surgery.
