FAQ

• Questions about refractive surgery
• Questions about strabismus surgery
• Questions about laser surgery

Questions about refractive surgery:

Is it painful?

The surgery itself is painless, as performed under the effect of anesthetic eye drops. During the Lasik surgery you may feel, for a few seconds, a slight pressure during the creation of the flap.
After PRK during the first 24 hours, you can experience the intensity of pain varies greatly from one person to another: from a simple impression of a grain of sand or an eyelash in the eye until 'to a sensation of pain can be relieved by analgesics.
After Lasik, irritation only lasts a few hours but never painful. This sensation of "sand" rarely lasts more than 48 hours.

The problems of myopia can they return?

One of the criteria in order to undergo surgery is to have stable vision for at least a year. The surgeon checks the condition during the preoperative examination. If your vision is stable, then in principle, nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism should not come back.

Can I work the next day?

Even if you see, a few days of convalescence is recommended. Return to work varies from person to person, however, you should avoid dusty and smoky.

Am I a good candidate for surgery?

To see if you are a good candidate for surgery, you must pass an examination before surgery. This review will assess the condition of your eyes and the importance of your visual defect. It is important to ensure that your eyes are in perfect health so that the results of surgery are the best. It was during this examination that we can determine which technique is best for you. If you wear soft contact lenses, you should remove them just days before the day of the exam, if you wear contact lenses, rigid or semi-rigid, you will need to remove at least a week before the day of the review. The withdrawal is necessary because contact lenses can cause a change in the natural shape of the cornea.

Is it possible to operate both eyes at once?

In Lasik, it is possible to operate both eyes at the same time but it is more usual to treat them separately with a delay which can vary from one to several weeks for your convenience and according to surgeon.

FemtoLasik technique, the procedure is usually both eyes simultaneously

In PRK, can operate on both eyes in the same meeting but it is more uncomfortable than if it operates in two stages. The trend now is to make both eyes simultaneously, whatever the technique.

The clear lens extraction and cataract operations that are never together, we work one eye at a time.
Refractive implants obeys the same requirements.

How is recovery?

Should be avoided during the first month of being exposed to irritants or getting hit in the eyes. Swimming is also prohibited for two weeks. Otherwise, you can continue your normal activities.

If I have a cataract later, will I be able to have surgery even if I have had refractive surgery?

Yes.

Questions about presbyopia surgery:

What is the purpose of the operation?

The objective is to obtain a reduction or complete elimination of the defect of vision associated with age that appears between 40 and 50 years of progressively: presbyopia. This is the loss of capacity for the eye to focus from distance vision and near vision. Then the patients are obliged to progressive lenses.

What is the normal eye?

The normal eye lens is composed of two transparent front, the cornea and lens. The image you see is taken up by cells of the retina that receive light information to send to the optic nerve. The cornea and lens can be compared to the objectives of a camera and the retina to the film. It is on the cornea that you put the contact lens.

What types of operation for presbyopia?

Laser surgery affects the cornea without the need to "open" the eye. While the surgery of the lens (the same as that used in cataract surgery) is done with an eye opening of 0.9 mm in diameter and consists of removing the lens and replace it with a lens. These interventions are performed under topical anesthesia (eye drops by).

What are the vision problems are correctable with laser?

The various surgeries presbyopia mainly directed at subjects with a "default view" (which was already wearing glasses or lenses before).

The patients most satisfied with the surgery patients are hyperopic (default generates an effort to the vision of a permanent felt near and far first time) but it is possible to treat patients who were not wearing glasses and short-sighted.

Treatment with this FemtoLasik ametropia can under certain conditions to provide a "plus" for near vision and autonomy with respect to eye closely. Patients can benefit as they are able to accommodate: in practice this treatment is difficult beyond 50 years. The concept of Presbylasik is based on this principle. Widely reported this technique meets relatively few patients using near vision, particularly outside of work. However, this technique is scalable and can be edited in case of discomfort.

Since late 2008, has emerged the technique developed by the laboratory in Colombia called Technolas INTRACOR. . It is this time the subjects had never worn glasses for presbyopia and who discover that the glasses are becoming increasingly necessary for near vision.

This technique only addresses one of the two eyes (like a monocle) and does not yet proven its effectiveness in a sufficient number of cases, and especially evidence of its safety. Yet we know that significant changes to the structures of the cornea (concentric incisions). It also has the serious disadvantage of not being reversible. For all these reasons, even if we have the femtosecond laser, we do not believe that this technique is desirable for our patients.

Questions about laser surgery:

What is the purpose of the operation?

The objective is to obtain a reduction or complete elimination of defects of vision sufficient to achieve autonomy in daily life without glasses. This goal is different depending on the degree of abnormality, the full reduction is technically easier if the attainment is lower.

What are the vision problems are correctable with laser?

Myopia is the main indication of the Laser. It is an anomaly of refraction in which the vision of an object in the distance is blurred, while near vision is clear, due to a lengthening of the eyeball.

Hyperopia (anomaly of refraction due to a shortening of the eyeball where the vision of an object located near or far is blurred in the absence of accommodation) can also be corrected.

Astigmatism (Refractive anomaly due to a lack of curvature of the cornea, prevents light rays focus at a single point of the retina) is often associated and can be treated at the same time.

Presbyopia can be corrected in some cases by laser techniques currently used do not seem to give satisfactory results or have too little decline (effective but may decrease the effect of the laser in a few months) and we prefer surgery classic implementation of an implant in the eye that can see far and near.

What is the diopter and visual acuity?

The ophthalmologist as the optician evaluates the degree of myopia in diopters. Myopia is denoted in units less negative "x" diopters. The tenth express visual acuity (corrected or not corrected by glasses, contact lenses or surgery) on a standardized scale differently in different countries. They allow to assess the quality of vision in everyday life. For example, low myopia that sees without glasses 1-2 tenths of a degree of myopia about 2 to 3 diopters and see 10/10 with correction. Your order or contact lenses, you can read for example "- 3 diopters" and in no case is 3/10ths.

The scale of myopia ranging from -0.25 to -25.00 or more. There are generally small in the myopia (from -0.25 to - 2.75), low (-3.00 to -5.75), medium (from -6.00 to - 11.75) and high (in excess of -12.00).

To what degree of correction can you make?

The operation by Lasik can correct with very good results until about myopia - 9 diopters of hyperopia up to +6 diopters and astigmatism up to + / - 4 diopters. This corresponds to the power of your glasses. The possibility of operation depends mainly on the thickness of the cornea. In addition, other surgical techniques can correct myopia.

What is the technical principle?

The laser reshapes the eye one time the surface of it (the epithelium) is removed. In LASIK, we associate a SURGICAL CUTTING of the cornea to the action of the excimer laser that reshapes the shape of the eye. In PRK the epithelium is removed surgically by removing the surface and then performs the laser treatment and the epithelium heals in about 48 hours. This is the healing period that causes discomfort, more or less depending on the patient after surgery and that is why in this case is put in place after surgery a lens a few days to avoid rubbing the eyelid on the eye.

1. In the LASIK surgical cutting is done with a laser system (femtosecond) and provides a very thin corneal flap of approximately 110 microns thick, perfectly regular. It is then raised using a small cannula. During this part, the vision will disappear within seconds. It is quite normal.

In PRK, the removal of the epithelium is done manually without laser.

2. The excimer laser then acts as the corneal flap in the corneal thickness (corneal stroma), corneal thinning remaining in its central part. The amount of tissue removed can reduce the thickness of the cornea. The resulting flattening reduces the diopter power of the cornea and correct nearsightedness.

3. In LASIK, the cornea reshaped once the cover is repositioned on the cornea, and membership of the cover is obtained in minutes without sutures in the vast majority of cases.

In PRK healing occurs naturally in bandage lens.

What is the progress of the operation?

The operation is done on an outpatient basis, externally. The operation takes place in the operating room to give the surgical procedure with all the guarantees and strict aseptic surgery. The patient lies on his back. After carrying out the disinfection of the skin of the eyelids, a surgical partially covers the face of the operated eye. Anesthesia is achieved instillation of a powerful anesthetic drops (topical anesthesia). The surgical procedure described above starts. The crackling of the laser is audible and takes a few minutes. This entire procedure takes less than 15 minutes.

Which can be operated?

All patients wishing to reduce or eliminate their optical correction (glasses, lenses), for reasons aesthetic, athletic, or professional (attention, surgery of myopia is not compatible with all professional skills). Holders of contact lenses are the first volunteers, especially if they no longer support their lenses, as well as athletes who practice water sports in which the lenses are not indicated. It makes sense to operate than patients whose correction is stable for over a year because it is not advisable to wear glasses a few months after the operation.