Out of all our 5 major senses, it is perhaps our eyes that are most important. It is the eyes that serve as a window to the outside world, which is why it is pertinent that we take good care of them.
Unfortunately, time and disease are probably man's greatest enemies and they can take a toll on one's vision as well.
Fortunately, however, eye surgery procedures have made massive progress over the last few years and it's not surprising to see more and more people opting for some of the newer eye surgery procedures to correct and improve both their ability to see as well as their appearance.
Here is a brief look at some of the latest options in eye surgery procedures:
For most people looking to correct their eyesight, Lasik eye surgery has been a boon. It is a type of refractive eye surgery and the name LASIK is actually an abbreviation for "Laser assisted In situ Keratomileusis." It involves a controlled and precise removal of the corneal tissue and reshaping the cornea to correct its focusing ability. The procedure itself is very short and can take anywhere between 20 to 50 seconds. Probably the best aspect of Lasik eye surgery is that people can expect to go home within half-hour of surgery and can resume normal life after a short recovery period of 3 to 5 days! Although the cost of Lasik surgery has steadily risen over the last few years due to its growing demand, the advantages still far outweigh the cost factor for most people.
Even though Lasik surgery is a proven technique, it is still an elective procedure and not medically necessary and therefore not all people maybe ideal candidates for the same. One of the most popular alternatives to LASIK is PRK or Photorefractive Keratectomy which involves the use of laser to make changes to the exterior surface of the cornea as opposed to Lasik where changes are made inside the cornea. PRK surgery has proven highly beneficial for patients with low to moderate farsightedness or nearsightedness.
This procedure is diagnosed particularly to those with recurrent corneal erosion. However, it takes much longer to attain the desired result with PRK surgery because there is a much greater amount of tissue that needs to be healed.
Another new eye surgery technique to go in for especially when the patient is too nearsighted or farsighted to be helped by the Lasik procedure is Intraocular Lenses or IOLs. This method involves the insertion of a small lens behind the pupil and just in front of the existing natural lens of the eye. However IOLs are yet to be approved by the FDA but have a great potential to become popular once approved.
Apart from the above mentioned types of surgery, one of the most important surgeries is Cataract surgery which enjoys a high success rate of 98%. In this procedure, the lens which has been clouded due to cataract is removed and replaced with an artificial one.
Another type of Cataract surgery known a Phacoemulsification uses ultrasound to break-up the cataract. In Extracapsular surgery, which is yet another technique of removing the clouded lens, a longer incision is made on the side of the cornea and the core of the lens is removed in one piece and the remaining part of the lens is removed by suction. However, no matter what technique is used, cataract eye surgery patients still need to use prescription glasses unlike Lasik surgery.
Thus we can understand that no matter what the technique of surgery, doctors and physiologists continuously strive to better existing techniques or create newer efficient procedures to cure different types of eye maladies, so that we can live a more complete and fulfilling life.
