Intralase® Bladeless LASIK

We know the decision to have LASIK surgery is a big one, so we take great care to determine what’s best for you as our patient. That’s why we offer blade-free LASIK treatment using the IntraLase method.

With the IntraLase method, pulses of laser light create your corneal flap, which is then lifted so the next step of LASIK—the reshaping of your cornea—can be performed. When your LASIK treatment is over, the flap is securely repositioned into place. This bladeless, computer-guided technology is 100% more accurate than most of the mechanical microkeratomes (hand-held devices with a thin metal blade) that surgeons may also use to create a corneal flap.1

IntraLase Assurance and Comfort
The IntraLase method has been used successfully on hundreds of thousands of eyes and we trust this advanced technology to deliver exceptional results. Our commitment is to provide you with the ultimate in comfort, safety, and outstanding vision. LASIK with IntraLase can help you achieve all of this—while it delivers the added assurance of knowing you’re being treated with the most advanced technology there is.

LASIK performed with IntraLase is preferred by patients.
In a survey of clinical practices, the vision in the IntraLase-treated eye was preferred up to 3 to 1 by patients over the vision in the mechanical blade–treated eye (among those who stated a preference).

LASIK performed with IntraLase delivers superior visual results.
In a clinical study comparing the IntraLase laser to the leading microkeratome, more patients achieved 20/20 vision or betterin standard and custom LASIK surgery when the IntraLase method was used to create the corneal flap.3

How the IntraLase Method Works
Unlike mechanical instruments, IntraLase technology is uniquely able to program the dimensions of your flap based on what’s best for your eye. Then the IntraLase laser creates your flap from below the surface of the cornea—without ever cutting it. How?

Ultra–fast pulses of laser light position microscopic bubbles at a precise depth determined by your doctor.
The laser light passes harmlessly through your cornea. Then the laser creates rows of these bubbles just beneath your corneal surface as it moves back and forth across your eye in a uniform plane.
Next, the IntraLase laser stacks bubbles around your corneal diameter to create the edges of your flap. These bubbles are stacked at an angle that is determined by your doctor and is individualized to the way your eye is shaped.
The process takes only about 30 seconds from start to finish— it’s quiet and it’s comfortable.
Your doctor then gently lifts the flap to allow for the second step of your LASIK treatment. When treatment is complete, the flap easily “locks” back into position and rapidly begins to heal.

Because of the superior accuracy of the IntraLase method, certain patients who were ineligible for LASIK may now be able to have treatment. Ask your doctor today if you are a candidate.

LASIK Education

The LASIK procedure was first performed in North America in 1993. It can correct most degrees of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. During the procedure, a cornal flap is created and a laser is used to reshape the corneal tissue, using exact pre-operative measurements of your eyes. Recovery for both LASIK and Wavefront Custom LASIK is relativley quick and comfortable.

Refractive eye procedures, like LASIK, treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. They work in the same way as glasses or contact lenses by altering the eye so that light focuses correctly on the retina.

Normal eye – Light focusus directly on the retina, the back of the eye.

Myopia (Nearsightedness) -If light is focused too far forward in the eye, the refractive error is referred to as myopia, or nearsightedness.

Hyperopia (Farsightedness) – If light is focused too far back in the eye, it is referred to as hyperopia, or farsightedness.

Astigmatism – Astigmatism can be thought of as the presence of light being focused at two different points. It may exist by itself or in addition to myopia or hyperopia.

Presbyopia – (the need for reading glasses) can exist by itself or along with myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism. Its onset typically occurs between 40 and 45 years of age. Prior to this age, the lens system of th eye changes shape in order to keep objects in focus as they move closer to the eye. After the onset of presbyopia, the lens system lacks sufficient elasticity and/or space to maintain focus when objects are within arm’s lenght.