What are the different types of corrective eye surgery appropriate for your age?

Have you recently been thinking about getting rid of your contact lenses and eyeglasses by undergoing a vision correction procedure? The most important information you can find in the following article.

vision correction surgeries

Sight is one of the greatest blessings that God Almighty has bestowed upon us, and correcting eyesight is operations that people resort to in order to get rid of wearing contact lenses, or wearing glasses that are cumbersome and painful for the eyes and head in many cases, and science has shown more than a modern technology to help people with Double vision through correction operations.

There are a number of vision correction operations that have appeared recently, as most of the vision correction operations work to shape the cornea in another way so that the light that passes through it can focus on the retina of the eye, and the operations differ from each other in terms of cost, the extent to which the patient needs the operation, and the effect process, and we can group these operations as follows:

Traditional LASIK Operations - LASIK
PRK - Refractive Corneal Surgery
EpiLasik
aALK
PRELEX
RLE - Lens Replacement Operation
Intacs - Corneal Rings Transplant
Superficial keratotomy - RK
lens implants

And in our article today we will try to explain these processes in a simplified way, in order to know what each of these processes can offer.

Traditional LASIK operations

There are two types of laser vision correction operations, namely:

laser keratomileusis: is a surgery that reshapes the underlying corneal tissue in order to focus light on the eye and reach the retina. This operation is ideal for patients who suffer from nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism; What makes LASIK unique in the field of vision correction operations is its methodology, whereby eye surgeons create a flap from the outer layer of the cornea in order to reach the underlying tissues, and it is worth noting that this process requires great accuracy, and what increases the power of the laser is that developments in technology Computer imaging allow doctors who specialize in LASIK to create detailed images of the cornea of the eye and direct the appropriate treatment to it.

laser epithelial keratoconjunctivitis: This operation is a slight difference in photorefractive keratectomy, in which the doctor makes a flap where the epithelial cells are removed by applying an alcohol solution, and then the laser works to reshape the cornea of the eye, and the flap is fixed using a weak and soft contact lens so that the To be healed around the patch.

Refractive corneal surgery (PRK)

In this type of vision correction surgery, special lasers are used to correct the shape of the cornea, and this surgery is the first type of laser vision correction surgery that was used before the types that we will list next.
This surgery is not very common compared to other types, but it is still used in some cases, and sometimes it may be the best option, especially if the patient's cornea is thin by nature.

It is worth noting here that this process:

It takes a long time to fully recover compared to other vision correction operations.
Its cost is not much different from other types.
Sometimes it causes general eye discomfort in the post-operative period.

aLK - automated lamellar keratoplasty

ALK surgery is useful in patients with high myopia and low levels of farsightedness, although LASIK surgery has replaced ALK surgery as a corrective method.

In this process, the ophthalmologist creates a flap in the cornea to reach the underlying tissue, and here the laser is not used, instead, the doctor makes an incision in the sub-layer of the cornea to reshape and correct the vision.

RLE - Refractive lens exchange

RLE operation is known as RLR - Refractive Lens Replacement, or CLE - Clear Lens Extraction; Of the cataract correction operations, where the doctor makes a small incision to remove the natural lens of the eye at the edge of the cornea, and the lens is replaced with a silicone or plastic lens.

This operation can be used to correct severe farsightedness, or nearsightedness, as well as to correct thin corneas, dry eyes, and minor eye problems, and additional operations may be required to correct astigmatism in addition to RLE.

EpiLasik

It is a process very similar to the PRK procedure, where the doctor separates a thin layer of the cornea and then reshapes it, the layer can be removed or replaced, and at the end of the procedure, a soft contact lens is placed in order to protect the target place until full recovery can be possible.

PRELEX - Presbyopic lens exchange

This operation is performed for those who suffer from presbyopia, a condition in which the flexibility of the lens of the eye is lost. Patients with presbyopia have difficulty looking strong and focusing on close objects, and PRELEX is a process in which the eye doctor implants multiple lenses Focal points to improve the flexibility of the eye lens, restoring focus.

Intacs - Corneal Rings Transplant

Intax known as intracorneal ring clips (ICR), is a vision correction procedure in which the doctor makes a small incision in the cornea, and two plastic rings are placed in the shape of a crescent at the outer edge of the cornea to flatten it, where the flat cornea allows light rays to change the way they focus on Retinal, ICR has been replaced by laser-based procedures in order to treat mild myopia.

Implanting intraocular lenses

Some patients with significant myopia for LASIK or PRK require implantation of an intraocular Phakic lens. In this procedure, the doctor inserts an implant through a very small incision at the edge of the cornea that is attached to the iris behind the pupil, leaving the eye's natural lens in place.

Superficial Keratotomy - AK

It is a surgery that corrects astigmatism without using a laser. People with astigmatism have football-shaped corneas. This surgery corrects this defect by making one or two incisions in the steepest part of the cornea. After making the incisions, the cornea relaxes and takes a rounded shape. Noting that the UK can be done alone or in combination with other laser eye surgeries.

Other options and techniques

Revision operations do not stop at the mentioned types only, but there are many other types, such as:

Femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK.
Clear lens extraction (PRELEX).
Thermal laser (LTK).

Are you eligible for vision correction surgery?

Before the patient undergoes the correct vision correction process appropriate for his condition, his condition is first evaluated, as it is required that certain criteria be met first.

These are the most important criteria that must apply to the patient candidate for laser vision correction operations:

The patient must be over 18 years old.
The patient's visual impairment has been relatively stable in the last year prior to the operation.
That the person does not have an eye disease, such as cataract and glaucoma.
The candidate should not have one of the following diseases:
lupus;
Diabetic retinopathy.
Rheumatoid arthritis.
The candidate should not be pregnant or breastfeeding.

Risks and complications of vision correction surgeries

Vision correction surgeries may include some common and some rare complications, the most important of which are:

In cases of a thin cornea, the surgery may cause a deep wound to the inner eyeball tissue, which requires immediate discontinuation of the operation.
A defect may occur in the incision made in the outer tissue of the cornea, which may also require immediate discontinuation of the operation.
Infections and ulcers in the eye may occur in the period following the operation.
The patient may develop temporary dry eyes.

There are other symptoms that may appear after the vision correction process and require a doctor to go immediately if they appear and are considered a medical emergency, such as: