The all-laser approach

Memorial Eye Institute was the first practice in Central PA, and one of the first in the country to offer all-laser LASIK. We utilize two exciting technological advances, the WaveLight FS200 femtosecond laser and the WaveLight ALLEGRETTO WAVE™ excimer laser, to provide the highest quality vision possible to our patients.

Since the excimer laser’s approval by the FDA in 1995, millions of people have eliminated their nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, and their dependence on glasses and contact lenses.

Excimer lasers differ in several ways. Conventional excimer laser treatments have been replaced with wavefront-guided custom treatments that give our patients the opportunity to improve the quality of their vision beyond 20/20.

Making the corneal flap
The first step of LASIK involves making a very thin flap in the cornea. Our WaveLight FS200 femtosecond laser adds a tremendous amount of precision and safety by using a laser (not a blade) to create the LASIK flap. The FS200 laser directs a laser beam into a tiny two-micron size spot of energy. The beam passes harmlessly through the cornea’s outer layers until it reaches its exact focal point within the cornea. In just seconds, with computer precision, the FS 200 delivers over a million pulses as it separates the layers of corneal tissue and creates a customized flap of the desired thickness, size, orientation, and location. After treatment, the flap is folded back into its original position, where it bonds without the need for stitches.

This unprecedented level of control makes LASIK safer and allows more patients to qualify for LASIK. The level of accuracy, precision, and control with the FS200 laser is simply impossible to achieve with a mechanical microkeratome.

High-quality vision

After making the corneal flap with the FS200 excimer laser, we reshape the cornea with the ALLEGRETTO WAVE™, one of the fastest excimer laser systems in the world, with an average patient treatment time of fewer than 30 seconds. Its flying-spot laser beam is less than 1mm wide, which allows Dr. Chotiner to sculpt the cornea with precise accuracy. The laser’s ‘PerfectPulse Technology’ ensures that every laser pulse has ultra-stable energy levels and is placed exactly where it belongs.

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.

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.

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. We can treat astigmatism at the same time as nearsightedness and farsightedness.

Such a high-speed laser must also have an ultra-fast eye-tracking system to follow eye movement during the procedure. Using three independent infrared light sources, the ALLEGRETTO WAVE™ will automatically pause the treatment if the eye moves out of range and resume treatment when the eye is back in position.

LASIK: Introduction