"It turns out that the flap that we make in LASIK is not an innocent bystander," says Roger F. Steinert, M.D., 2005 ASCRS president, professor of ophthalmology, professor of biomedical engineering, director of cornea, refractive and cataract surgery, and vice chair of clinical ophthalmology at University of California, Irvine.
"We now have data validating something we suspected for the past year but hadn't firmly proven, which is that the rate of achieving high levels of vision is better with the IntraLase laser than with the conventional metal microkeratome. On theoretical grounds we knew flap creation with IntraLase would be safer, and its performance bore that out. But we didn't anticipate seeing a difference in actual vision. Multiple studies now show higher rates of 20/20, higher rates of better than 20/20, and that Custom treatments show better results as well."
RESEARCH SUMMATION
LASIK has always been a two-step process. In the first step, the surgeon makes a thin flap and folds it back for the second step, where an excimer laser is used to ablate corneal tissue for vision correction.
MEDIA RESOURCES
Physician Interviews: Speak with a study author about these findings.
Film / Observe a Procedure: Obtain doctor/patient interviews in your market.
B-Roll / Procedure Animation / Digital Artwork available: Of both the IntraLase laser and microkeratome.