While LASIK surgery has been a successful and popular procedure for restoring sharp vision, one drawback of the procedure is the need to cut a flap in the cornea. This can rule out some candidates and some refractive error corrections.
Reinforcing the cornea with a procedure called crosslinking at the end of a LASIK procedure reduces the risk of typical side effects and expands the pool of patients who qualify for LASIK procedures. That’s why Dr. Randa Garrana and our team offer Fortified LASIK® at Advanced Lasik in the Midtown East section of New York City and Long Beach, California.
Corneal crosslinking is easy to add to the regular LASIK procedure. Here’s why Fortified LASIK may be the vision correction procedure that’s right for you.
Corneal crosslinking is a procedure that’s used to repair cornea damage which undermines the collagen matrix — a protein grid that holds the cornea together.
It’s a simple technique that uses riboflavin (also known as vitamin B) and a focused ultraviolet light source to form new collagen bonds and strengthen the cornea, helping to guard against some of the most common side effects of the LASIK procedure.
If you aren’t familiar with the workings of the LASIK vision correction surgery, here’s a quick review.
The procedure starts with the cutting of a thin flap of corneal tissue. The flap is pulled back so a precision laser can reshape the exposed portion of the cornea to change the way it refracts (focuses) the light entering your eye.
This reshaping works with the other refractive elements of your eye to bring images into sharp focus on the retina, or the image-forming tissue at the back of your eye. When laser shaping is complete, the flap is replaced over the cornea, where it will reattach itself with time.
Your vision isn’t clear immediately, though you’ll see normally within a day or two. It could take a few months to reach full vision correction after healing.
Simply by adding the corneal crosslinking step to the LASIK procedure, our ophthalmologist Dr. Garrana provides you with a stable and strong corneal vision correction procedure that’s more dependable and reliable than the LASIK procedure on its own.
As with most refractive surgeries, Fortified LASIK has an ideal patient profile range. In some cases, your refractive error or the condition of your eyes may make another refractive surgery a better fit.
Ready to learn more? The process starts with a consultation at your nearest Advanced Lasik office in New York City or Long Beach, California. Call or click online to schedule a visit with Dr. Garrana, and give yourself the gift of better sight today.
