Many have shied away from lasik eye surgery due to concerns with the risks involved.
Others are simply and understandably uncomfortable with the concept of surgery to their eyes.
Intralasik surgery, also known as "bladeless" or "all-laser lasik",goes a long way toward both minimizing risks and easing patient fears.
The two basic steps involved in any lasik eye surgery involve cutting a flap in the cornea and reshaping the cornea with an exicimer laser.
In traditional Lasik the corneal flap cut is made with a mechanical microkeratome blade.
The only major difference in traditional Lasik and IntraLasik is in the method of cutting the corneal flap.
IntraLasik (or "all-laser lasik") utilizes a computer programmed femtosecond laser microkeratometo create the corneal flap, as opposed tothe mechanical blade utilized in traditional lasik.
Utilizing IntraLasik software, the flap is cut with an infrared laser to an exact pre-programmed depth, position, and thickness.
The laser does not alter the corneal curvature, affect the prescription, or cause damage too surrounding tissue.
The obvious huge advantage to IntraLasik is the predictability and accuracy of the corneal flap cut.
This translates into a much lower possibility of flap related complications such as corneal abrasion, thin flap, thick flap, partial flap, incorrect diameter, or buttonhole flaps.
A few recent studies have also suggested that Intralasik provides better vision contrast sensitivity.
There are several minor possible disadvantages of IntraLasik which may include temporary eye redness and increased corneal edema.
These issues generally resolve during the healing period.
A small percentage of Intralasik patients also develop photophobia (light sensitivity) which can last for a period of weeks.
While IntraLasik is an option for most who are seeking laser eye corrective surgery, it may be a requirement for some individuals whose pre existing medical conditions require the greater precision offered with IntraLasik.