November 23, 2022

Refractive Surgery: how it improves patients’ quality of life

It would be wonderful if anyone with vision problems could get rid of glasses or contact lenses for good. Unfortunately, this is not possible for everyone since it is necessary to meet certain conditions that ensure safety and quality in the surgical result. But for those who fulfill the requirements, the application of the excimer laser offers impressive results.

Learn three surprising facts about the excimer laser that most people may not know:

  1. Almost 30 years of experience

Refractive surgeries have been performed for many years now – longer than most people might think. In fact, decades of development have led to the current situation where it is the most frequent operation in the Western world, numbering approximately 141 million operations worldwide.

  1. Short and accurate process

During the operation the excimer laser sculpts the retina at an amazing speed of 1.4 seconds per diopter which means faster than even the opening of the eyelids. For absolute accuracy, the eye tracker during the operation monitors the movements of the eye at a speed of less than 2 msec, i.e. 10 times faster than the movement of our eye. The whole procedure takes only a few minutes and it is done with the use of anesthetic drops. The patient does not feel any pain and the results are permanent since the shape of the cornea is changed. In recent years, the application of FemtoLasik technology offers additional precision in the surgical procedure and the postoperative result.

  1. Excellent results

Overall, all patients who undergo refractive surgery are very satisfied with the result. Complications are extremely rare and always manageable. According to the results of a survey in the United States, of patients who underwent refractive surgery, more than 93% reported that they were completely satisfied with the result. The benefits are mainly focused on improving daily life and activities, without dependence on glasses and contact lenses. 87% of patients feel that the results of the operation met or exceeded their expectations.

Konstantinos Tourmouzis, MBBS, BSc

Royal United Hospital, United Kingdom

Scientific Associate of Athens Ophthalmic Day Surgery Unit