Co-managing Refractive Surgeries

Co-managing Refractive Surgeries

This is an exciting step in your vision journey when you start to consider refractive surgery. Our office work closely with renowned surgeons in town to help you get to that next step when you are ready. Schedule your refractive surgery consult today and Dr. Le will guide you through this scary but very exciting journey!

Understanding IntraLase LASIK (iLASIK)
Our goal is to offer the very best technology and clinical expertise to achieve the best results possible. A significant technological advance in laser vision correction involves use of the Intralase. Intralase is the all laser method of creating the LASIK flap.

We have recently made the next big leap in technology. Through Dr. Dell's consulting relationships, Dell Laser Consultants uses the first and only iFS next-generation Intralase laser in Central Texas. This faster, more precise laser can create a corneal flap in under 10 seconds by placing a series of tiny overlapping air bubbles in the cornea. The laser is also the first to allow the corneal flap shape to be customized to the needs of each patient. The IFS Intralase LASIK also produces faster visual recovery, and better overall quality vision.

When IFS Intralase LASIK is combined with Custom Wavefront-guided correction, it is referred to as iLASIK. iLASIK has produced some of the best results ever achieved with laser vision correction. The safety, stability and superior night vision of iLASIK have made it the preferred treatment for all military fighter pilots and NASA astronauts.

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) & Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA), "Flap-less" Blade-free Laser Vision Correction
PRK/ASA is sometimes referred to as Blade-Free Laser Vision Correction. It is a highly advanced form of photorefractive keratectomy (reshaping of the cornea with laser light), using highly sophisticated excimer lasers, capable of eye tracking and wavefront customized treatment, to reshape the front surface of the cornea to correct vision. there is no corneal flap with this surgery. A temporary soft contact lens is placed on the eye for a few days during the healing process. Surface treatment may be preferred for certain patients with very thin corneas, as this does not involve any cutting of the eye to create a flap. This completely blade-free approach to eye surgery is attractive to many patients.

One very minor disadvantage of PRK/ASA is that vision is often slightly blurry for a few days after the surgery. This blurring is only temporary, and many patients are able to drive within 3 to 4 days after the surgery. The PRK/ASA procedure we perform today is a very far cry from excimer laser surgery we performed ten years ago, commonly referred to as first generation PRK. While those early cases provided excellent results, there was definitely more discomfort with surgery from that era. With vastly improved lasers, techniques, highly advanced FDA-approved overnight contact lenses and eye drops, today's ASA is nearly discomfort-free in most patients. PRK/ASA patients are treated with exactly the same advanced lasers as our LASIK patients, and the accuracy and long-term results of PRK/ASA and LASIK are virtually identical.

Understanding custom Wavefront Laser Vision Correction
No two eyes are alike, and like your DNA or fingerprint, your vision is unique. For hundreds of years, glasses have been used to correct vision by eliminating one or more of the three basic elements or distortions in every eye, even when the perfect glasses or contact prescription is used.

While we have achieved excellent results by treating nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, we can now offer the technological advantage of Custom Wavefront Laser Vision Correction. Custom laser correction involves a diagnostic device that maps the tiny distortions and imperfections naturally present in all eyes. This precise and detailed information is effectively a unique "fingerprint of your vision." the technology involved is highly complex, and it is based upon mathematical techniques used to improve the image quality of deep space telescopes. This customized unique map of your eye is then loaded into the computer of the excimer laser, which generates a wavefront customized treatment appropriate for the individual "fingerprint" of your eye.

Measuring and correcting these tiny imperfections is what allows custom laser correction to achieve superior accuracy and quality of vision. Patients undergoing custom laser correction may even achieve a sharper, crisper level of 20/20 vision as compared to the excellent results of standard laser correction. Results of the FDA trial examining this technology also revealed superior night vision as compared to standard laser correction.

Not all patients are candidates for this technology. Certain prescriptions are not treatable with custom laser correction. A very thorough evaluation of your eyes is necessary to determine if the technology will benefit you. There is an additional charge for custom laser correction. The additional charge is due to royalties that must be paid to the patent holders of the technology, and the complex screening and evaluation process necessary to properly implement it.