| Intralase,
also called “Bladeless LASIK” is considered by
many laser eye experts and surgeons to be one of the most
important new technological advancements in LASIK, laser eye
surgery. LASIK is actually a two-step process. In the
first step, the surgeon creates a flap of corneal tissue and
folds it back to prepare the eye for the second step, where
an Eximer laser is used to emit a cold beam of light on the
inner cornea to correct vision. This two-step process allows
for rapid visual recovery with little or no patient discomfort.
Prior to Intralase, the corneal flap was created
with a hand-held microkeratome blade. While this method has
worked extremely well over the years, the majority of LASIK
complications has been traced back to the microkeratome blade.
The most common complications include buttonhole cuts, partial
or improperly formed flaps, free caps, invasive corneal incisions,
corneal abrasions, and subsequently blurred vision.
With IntraLase, the
surgeon uses the precision of a computer-guided laser to create
the corneal flap. This level of precision is unparalleled
by any other technology in vision correction surgery. IntraLase
allows surgeons to tailor the corneal flap for each individual
patient, and each individual eye. Because of its consistent
accuracy, IntraLase may make LASIK a viable option even for
patients who previously didn’t qualify, such as those
with thin corneas.
Clinical studies confirm that a percentage
of patients see better following IntraLase-initiated LASIK
than with the hand-held microkeratome blade.
According to the manufacturers of Intralase, Intralase Corporation,
 More
patients achieve 20/20 or better vision with IntraLase-initiated
LASIK.
Patients
stating a preference preferred the post-operative vision of
their IntraLase-treated eye 3 to 1 over their
blade-treated eye.
IntraLase
creates fewer high and low order aberrations, frequently associated
with glare and halos at night.
IntraLase
patients have a reduced incidence of post-operative dry eye
symptoms.
IntraLase
patients required fewer enhancement procedures following LASIK.
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