Would you like to reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses and contacts?

Refractive surgery, also known as LASIK or PRK, is a laser procedure used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. In the procedure, a laser is used to reshape the cornea—the clear, round dome at the front of the eye—to improve the way the eye focuses light rays onto the retina at the back of the eye.

For patients who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on glasses and contacts, the iDESIGN® Refractive Studio is the next generation of personalized laser assisted vision correction. The iDESIGN® system takes over 1,200 measurements of the inside and outside of your eye and maps each data point to create an optical fingerprint unique to each patient’s eye. Using the personalized procedure plan, the laser corrects your vision to your exact needs.

 iDESIGN® technology is approved for patients with myopia, hyperopia, and mixed astigmatism, making laser vision correction available for some patients who were previously not candidates for refractive surgery. iDESIGN® technology is also approved for monovision, a procedure designed for patients over 40 years old who are experiencing blurry near vision due to aging of their eyes, where one eye is corrected for distance and the other for near vision.

More than 90% of people who have refractive surgery perform most of their everyday tasks without glasses or contact lenses. Your doctor will consider your vision needs for work and leisure activities to determine if refractive surgery is right for you.

Some patients may need a second enhancement surgery or might need to wear glasses for certain activities, such as reading or driving at night. Refractive surgery cannot correct presbyopia, the age-related loss of closeup focusing power, so you may still need reading glasses after the procedure.

Contact us at (803) 779-3070 to schedule a consultation to determine if you are a candidate for refractive surgery.

The post LASIK – Freedom from Glasses and Contacts appeared first on Columbia Eye.

For patients who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on glasses and contacts, the iDESIGN® Refractive Studio is the next generation of personalized laser-assisted vision correction. Refractive surgery, also known as LASIK or PRK, is a laser procedure used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. In the procedure, a laser is used to reshape the cornea—the clear, round dome at the front of the eye—to improve the way the eye focuses light rays onto the retina at the back of the eye.

The iDESIGN® system takes over 1,200 measurements of the inside and outside of your eye and maps each data point to create an optical fingerprint unique to each patient’s eye. Using the personalized procedure plan, the laser corrects your vision to your exact needs in only a few minutes.

iDESIGN® technology is approved for patients with myopia, hyperopia, and mixed astigmatism, making laser vision correction available for some patients who were previously not candidates for refractive surgery. iDESIGN® technology is also approved for monovision, a procedure designed for patients over 40 years old who are experiencing blurry near vision due to aging of their eyes, where one eye is corrected for distance and the other for near vision.

More than 90% of people who have refractive surgery perform most of their everyday tasks without glasses or contact lenses. Your doctor will consider your vision needs for work and leisure activities to determine if refractive surgery is right for you.

Some patients may need a second enhancement surgery or might need to wear glasses for certain activities, such as reading or driving at night. Refractive surgery cannot correct presbyopia, the age-related loss of closeup focusing power, so you may still need reading glasses after the procedure.

Contact us at (803) 779-3070 to schedule an exam at any of our three convenient clinic locations to determine if you are a candidate for refractive surgery.

The post Now Offering iDESIGN® Laser-Assisted Vision Correction appeared first on Columbia Eye.

In the procedure, a laser is used to reshape the cornea — the clear, round dome at the front of the eye– to improve the way the eye focuses light rays onto the retina at the back of the eye.

For people who are nearsighted, LASIK is used to flatten a cornea that is too steep. Farsighted people will have LASIK to achieve a steeper cornea. LASIK can also correct astigmatism by shaping an irregular cornea into a more normal shape.

More than 90 percent of people who have LASIK perform most of their everyday tasks without glasses or contact lenses. Your doctor will consider your vision needs for work and leisure activities to determine if LASIK is right for you.

Some patients may need a second enhancement surgery or might need to wear glasses for certain activities, such as reading or driving at night.

LenSx is a bladeless surgical laser used for cataract and premium lens procedures. A cataract is a clouding of the lens inside the eye that occurs naturally with age. The LenSx laser can be used rather than a hand-held blade to make incisions as well as opening the front of the cataract and softening it prior to its removal.

The LenSx can also be used to correct astigmatism during premium lens procedures and cataract surgery. Astigmatism is an irregularity in the shape of the cornea that causes both near and distance objects appear blurry or distorted without correction by glasses or contact lenses.   The laser is used to make incisions into the cornea which are placed at the exact location of the astigmatism.

The benefits of laser surgery include:

• The laser provides an extremely detailed 3-D image of the eye. Since each eye is different with regards to its structures, the surgeon can use the measurements the laser provides to plan your surgery much more precisely.
• The laser automates challenging steps, allowing precise, repeatable incisions through an image-guided system.
• The laser enables better centering of the intraocular lens which is a significant factor in determining final visual outcomes.
• The laser procedure causes less inflammation to the eye, so patients heal more quickly and experience improved visual acuity more quickly than with traditional cataract surgery.
• The laser enables the physician to simultaneously correct certain amounts of regular astigmatism to reduce your need for glasses.

Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the United States and has been shown to significantly improve vision and quality of life for patients who undergo the procedure.

The post What’s the difference between LenSx and LASIK? appeared first on Columbia Eye.