Laser Eye Surgery

When considering any type of eye procedure, including LASIK, the best first step is to discuss it with your eye doctor. He or she will help you determine if LASIK is the right solution for correcting your vision.

Laser eye surgery isn't the best option for all people. Here are some example circumstances:

• Your glasses or contact lens prescriptions change from exam to exam
• You have thin corneas or certain medical conditions such as dry eyes
• You have an eye infection, perhaps caused by Herpes simplex
• You are under age 21
• You are pregnant or nursing
• You have had an injury to your eye
• You have Glaucoma

But for many people, LASIK surgery eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses and brings greater freedom and flexibility to everyday life. It is also a good option for people who have trouble wearing contacts due to allergies.

Before any vision procedure, arrange for transportation, as your vision may be a little blurry afterward, or you may be given a sedative that could impair your ability to drive.

To begin your procedure, you will relax in a reclining chair and a topical eye drop will be administered as an anesthetic.

The procedure will last about 30 minutes. You may feel faint pressure during the procedure and afterward, you may experience some itching, burning or swelling in your eye. It's a good idea to avoid the use of any topical products, such as makeup or eye creams, around your eyes for a few days. You can return to work and normal activities like driving after 24 to 48 hours, or once your vision is comfortable again. Your doctor will provide more specific pre-and post-surgery guidelines.

If you aren't an ideal candidate for LASIK, there are other vision correction options that may work for you and provide you with better vision. Speak with your doctor about the best choice based on your individual eye health, age and other physical and lifestyle factors.

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)

Until recently, if you were one of the millions of people with a refractive error (which means that light rays do not focus precisely on the retina, causing you to be nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic), eyeglasses and contact lenses were the only options for correcting vision. But with the development of refractive surgery, some people today can have their vision corrected through refractive surgery.

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is one of several refractive surgery procedures used to permanently change the shape of the cornea to improve the way it focuses light on the retina.

PRK is an outpatient procedure performed with topical anesthetic eyedrops. It takes only about 15 minutes. Because no incisions are made, the procedure does not weaken the structure of the cornea.

Refractive Lens Exchange

When LASIK and other refractive procedures are eliminated as an option for correcting a patient's nearsightedness or farsightedness, refractive lens exchange is a great alternative. The surgeon will remove the natural lens of the eye and replace it with a new, pre-calculated lens implant.

If you're ready to correct your vision and live without contacts and eyeglasses, LASIK is an ideal means of doing so. LASIK is the widely used term for LASer In-situ Keratomileusis, which means: "To shape the cornea using a laser." Since performing one of East Texas' first LASIK procedure years ago, DeHaven has kept up to date with technology advancements to provide you with the newest and best LASIK procedures.

LASIK is an outpatient procedure that uses topical anesthesia in the form of eyedrops. The procedure takes about 15 minutes. Vision will be slightly cloudy immediately after the procedure but will clear rapidly, sometimes within a few hours. Your vision should be clear by the next day. Antibiotic and steroid eyedrops should be used several times a day for the first week, along with rewetting drops.

LASIK with the Intralase Laser

This LASIK method uses a special laser called a femtosecond laser. The femtosecond laser delivers tiny, quick pulses of laser light to the cornea, creating microscopic bubbles at a specific depth and position within the cornea. The surgeon creates a flap in the cornea by gently separating the tissue where the bubbles have formed. The flap is then folded back to allow the excimer laser to remove tissue from the cornea. The flap is then replaced and sealed without sutures.

CustomVue with Intralase

CustomVue is an advanced, FDA-approved procedure that uses technology to create a map of the eye for greater accuracy during treatment. The WaveScan WaveFront™ System and the VISX STAR S4 IR™ Excimer Laser with Iris Registration (IR), enable a surgeon to precisely measure imperfections in a person's vision and design individualized treatment. First, the WaveScan technology precisely measures each eye. The information is then transferred to the VISX STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser System, where it is used to deliver the treatment to the eyes.