Dishler Laser - Blog

First there was PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) then there was LASIK, and now you might here about ASA (advanced surface ablation). What is advanced surface ablation, how is it different than PRK, and when is it indicated in vision correction instead of LASIK? The original laser vision correction was PRK on the corneal surface. LASIK eclipsed PRK with rapid visual recovery, minimal discomfort, and no scarring. Now we are coming back to an improved version of PRK called Advanced Surface Ablation or ASA in certain patients. Learn why this might be your best option and how things have changes over the last 20 years.

Many patients have asked a relatively simple question, "why was LASIK invented at all?" A decade ago very few people even knew the word LASIK, and while the word had become a part of our lexicon, the real reason that doctors choose to do LASIK escapes many peoples understanding. We were one of the first handful of doctors in the United States to perform LASIK vision correction, and the first to realize the potential benefits of LASIK for vision correction in Colorado almost fifteen years ago. Since that time there are now over 10,000 LASIK doctors in the USA alone and a multiple of this number worldwide. The reasons for the success of LASIK are numerous but in a sentence it provides rapid, accurate, and relatively painless restoration of vision to a wide range of refractive errors. Patients are able to see like they were wearing contact lenses without all of the bother, cost, inconvenience, and risks of contacts. In general they have better visual function than provided with glasses in the same way that contact lenses are better than glasses for so many reasons.

There are several laser centers that have popped up in the last few years based on marketing 20/20 vision guarantees or the alternative of lifetime enhancement guarantees. While both of these merit discussion, this post is about something different, it is about night vision. There is a big difference between seeing 20/20 on a high contrast eye chart and driving a truck at night down a dimly lit road. Today I was on Martino TV with a patient who told how in just two weeks since his LASIK procedure, not only does he see better than he did with glasses or contact lenses, but he sees more clearly at night than he can remember. When patients make a choice about laser vision correction, they are also making a choice about the technology used on their eyes and they only get one chance to make this important decision. For that reason, let us look at what makes for night vision which is so important to some people in both their occupation and in their personal lives.

It was about 1992 when I first went to visit one of my fellow Ophthalmology residents in Louisiana to see for myself that a corneal 'cap' would almost magically stick back to the front of the eye without glue or stitches. This was before lasers, in a procedure called ALK, which was a foreshadowing of the modern LASIK we practice today. Since that time a new revolution has occurred with femtosecond lasers making flaps which fit better and heal faster than ever before. Now there is an even better breakthrough which literally snaps the cornea back into place. Only the very latest in medical technology allows this to happen and the benefits to patients are impressive.