Each year thousands of patients come to Dr. Jason P. Brinton seeking what we call visual freedom, or crisp, clear vision free of glasses and contact lenses. We accomplish this through LASIK and its six variations – SMILE, Visian ICL, PRK, Raindrop inlay, Kamra inlay, and RLE.

Refractive surgery refers to the treatment of eyes that suffer from refractive problems. People that are short sighted or long sighted have refractive problems and this means that viewing things far away or viewing things very close up can be difficult. The good news is that there is laser eye treatment available that can correct these refractive problems and restore sight to as it should be. Those who suffer from myopia (shortsightedness) can have their cornea flattened slightly, and anyone with farsightedness can have the curve of their cornea slightly steepened during laser vision surgery.

Many people who wear glasses or contact lenses are unaware that there is laser treatment available that can remove their eye problems altogether. The glasses can be got rid of with a simple surgery. There are many conditions that refractive surgery can help. A refractive lens exchange is another common procedure that can help many people have their sight restored. Over time the lens of the eye become hardened, and when it does it can affect sight. A refractive lens exchange removes the hardened lens and replaces it with a new one, customised to the individual's needs. It can correct longsightedness or shortsightedness at the same time. Another benefit of a refractive lens exchange is that you will never develop cataracts in later life, as these only occur in natural lenses and can't in artificial ones.

When a laser is used to make the incision then this type of lasik surgery is called an IntraLasik. Using a laser in this way is a little more time consuming but the incision is neater and thinner. There is also a custom type of lasik eye surgery known as wavefront. This is a tailor made procedure per individual. The whole procedure begins by taking a 3D map of the eye. From here the map can be compared to a perfectly healthy and working eye so the surgeon or doctor can choose the most appropriate treatment.

With the advancement of laser eye surgery, now a whole host of problems and conditions can be treated easily and successfully. Glasses wearers may be rid of their glasses for good with refractive surgery. There are many different types of laser eye surgery including lasik eyes surgery and a refractive lens exchange. Your eye doctor will be able to advise you on what the most appropriate treatment would be. Laser eye surgery can also be used to treat problems with the eye such as cataracts, glaucoma and even macular degeneration. Sometimes these conditions can cause blindness if not treated to regular check ups with the eye doctor are vital.

Laser eye surgery takes place while the patient is awake with mild sedative given. In LASIK, the area of the cornea to be operated on is marked prior to surgery. In this method, a very thin flap is created and carefully lifted. The eye surgeon uses a computer to adjust the laser and the laser light pulses painlessly reshape the cornea, precisely removing very tiny bits of tissue. The procedure is completed in minutes but the higher the prescription, the longer the operation will take. After the procedure, a protective shield may be placed over the eye and a mild pain reliever is prescribed. Care should be taken and the eye should not be rubbed, poked, or touched during this time.

On the other hand, refractive lens exchange is an alternative to laser eye surgery. It is essentially a cataract surgery but used particularly for refractive purposes. In contrast to laser surgery which involves reshaping the cornea, RLE corrects refractive errors through the replacement of the lens of the eye with an artificial one to achieve sharper focus. The procedure is very much like cataract surgery. During the operation, a small incision is made along the edge of the cornea. A special fine probe is then inserted through the incision and this is used to gently break up and suction out the lens of the eye. An intraocular lens is then implanted in place of the original lens and this acts as a permanent lens replacement. After the procedure, the dependence on glasses and contact lenses is eliminated, there is quick recovery, and the results are permanent.

The use of refractive lens exchange is a practical option especially for those adults over 50 years old. It works best for older patients who are short sighted or long sighted and want to lessen their dependence on reading glasses. The good thing about lens exchange is that it eliminates the need for cataract surgery in the future. Since the lens is replaced with an artificial one, it will not develop clumps of protein that leads to cloudiness of vision. While cataracts can develop at any age, they are most common in the older population and around two thirds of all adults will have some sign of cataracts by the age of 60 years old.

Refractive errors are very common, this is when the eye is unable to focus in one way or another. One of these conditions is known as Presbyopia eye correction surgery.

Presbyopia is simply caused by time, the ability to read without the assistance of glasses decreases for many people as they grow older. This can be a singular problem or it may be combined with other issues. Either way it is possible to replace the lens and eliminate the need to have glasses on when you want to focus on reading anything.

Common Eye Irregularities That Can Be Improved with Lens Implants

There are many other conditions that could be repaired by putting in a new lens in both of your eyes. This process only takes around twenty minutes per eye, and can last for a lifetime. The other common refractive errors are:

• Myopia - This is being short sighted so that everything close to you looks good, but anything in the distance can appear blurred.

• Astigmatism - This irregularity can cause blurred vision and is caused when the cornea is deformed.

• Hyperopia - Being long sighted is again a very common ailment. The objects that are close to you may be blurred while you are able to see things clearly at distance.

Another problem which is surprisingly common in the over fifties are cataracts. This is when the lens becomes clouded and the vision is affected. As cataracts can result in the loss of vision many people are willing to invest in their eyesight and pay the relatively small price per eye for having good eyesight for the rest of their lives.