One of the most popular ways to correct vision in the Topeka area is with a procedure called LASIK, which uses a laser to change the curvature of the cornea (outer window of the eye - click for interactive eye diagram).

LASIK with IntraLase has quickly become the procedure of choice for most patients because they recover quickly and have fewer side effects and complications than with other methods of vision correction. In fact, most LASIK patients notice a significant improvement in their vision soon after surgery. This laser vision correction procedure removes tissue within the cornea to treat low to high levels of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

Nearsightedness occurs when the eye’s front surface, the cornea, is excessively curved, and/or when the eyeball is too long. This causes light to focus in front of the retina, resulting in blurry distance vision.

 To treat nearsightedness, the steep cornea is made flatter by removing tissue from the center of the cornea. This moves the point of focus from in front of the retina to directly on the retina.

The excimer laser beam is used to flatten the front of the cornea, removing small amounts of tissue from the front of the eye.

Farsightedness occurs when the cornea is too flat in relation to the length of the eye. This causes light to focus at a point beyond the retina, resulting in blurry close vision and sometimes blurry distance vision too. For farsightedness, the excimer laser beam is used to steepen the front of the cornea. To do this, the laser beam removes small amounts of tissue from a ring-shaped area around the center of the cornea.

 To treat farsightedness, the flat cornea is made steeper by removing tissue outside of the central optical zone of the cornea. This moves the point of focus from behind the retina to directly on the retina.

Astigmatism in an eye is usually caused by the shape of the cornea assuming that of a spoon, where the curvature in one direction is different than the curvature in the other direction. Light rays entering the cornea are, therefore, bent unequally preventing the formation of a sharp focus point on the retina. Astigmatism can occur with nearsightedness or with farsightedness or by itself. Astigmatism produces a decrease in vision without glasses. In order to correct astigmatism with glasses or contact lenses a similar “spoon shape” is created in the eyeglasses or in the contact lens. Such contact lenses are called toric contact lenses. Astigmatism can now be treated with the excimer laser in conjunction with nearsightedness and farsightedness in a similar fashion.

 To treat astigmatism, the cornea is made more spherical -- like a basketball instead of a football. This eliminates multiple focusing points within the eye and creates one point of focus on the retina. Astigmatism can be treated at the same time as nearsightedness and farsightedness.