Laser refractive eye surgery is so commonplace today, it’s surprising that less than 30 years have passed since the FDA first approved the first commercial version of this powerful vision correction approach. Since then, improvements and refinements have expanded the potential for many types of refractive errors.
At Advanced Lasik in Long Beach, California, and Midtown East, New York City, Randa Garrana, MD, and our expert team specialize in many forms of refractive surgery, including ReLEx SMILE and LASEK. These are two of the most innovative laser vision correction techniques to emerge in recent years, building on the advantages of procedures that came before.
Let’s take a closer look at each procedure, including their commonalities and differences as well as the advantages they have to offer when it comes to your vision correction needs.
Short for laser epithelial keratomileusis, LASEK combines the best of PRK and LASIK surgeries, the two most common laser eye procedures.
PRK surgery completely removes the outer layer of the cornea, called the epithelium, to expose and reshape the cornea tissue. This layer is left to regrow after surgery. LASEK techniques push the epithelium out of the way for cornea reshaping, before moving it back into place at the end of the procedure.
LASIK changes the shape of the stroma, deep tissue within the cornea. To access this, LASIK cuts a thick flap of corneal tissue, repositioning it at the end of the surgery.
LASEK preserves your epithelium and avoids the need for a corneal flap. Healing time is faster than PRK, which requires epithelial regrowth, but longer than LASIK. However, LASEK avoids the complications that sometimes arise when the corneal flap becomes dislodged.
While LASEK, LASIK, and PRK procedures have much in common, ReLEx SMILE uses the same laser technology as LASIK, but in a different and more minimally invasive way. SMILE stands for “small incision lenticule extraction,” and both the lenticule formation and small incision set this procedure apart from LASEK in technique.
Essentially, the laser cuts a lenticule, or a lens-shaped portion of the cornea that precisely leaves in-focus vision once we remove the lenticule itself through the small incision. This surgical opening is less than four millimeters (mm).
The epithelium isn’t disturbed as it is with LASEK procedures. Except for the tiny incision, the surface and upper layers of the cornea remain intact and undisturbed.
One of the big advantages of LASEK is the reduction of dry eye as a possible side effect of procedures like LASIK and PRK. ReLEx SMILE advances this even further, as dry eye is unlikely after the ReLEx SMILE procedure.
In fact, side effects from ReLEx SMILE surgery are rare in general. ReLEx SMILE corrects for astigmatism and myopia, though it’s not yet a treatment option for farsightedness.
Given that each laser vision correction surgery has its own optimal applications, Dr. Garrana recommends the procedure that best suits your ocular health and refractive error.
Ready to learn more about the laser surgery solution that best matches your vision correction needs? Contact your nearest Advanced Lasik office by phone or online today to schedule a consultation — and put yourself one step closer to better vision.
