laser vision correction: what you should know.

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LASER VISION CORRECTION:
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW.
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You and your eyes
Why LASIK?
Our Treatment
Looking Ahead
What Next?
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www.phirozedastoor.com
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You and your eyes
Light rays pass through the clear part at the front (the cornea) and pass through the
lens, which focuses them onto the "screen" at the back of the eye called the retina. There, billions
of photoreceptors (light-sensitive nerve cells) convert the image into electrical impulses that are
transmitted to the brain.
But not everybody's eyes are perfect. When the cornea, lens or eye is an abnormal shape, light
cannot focus accurately on the retina and the image is blurred. The most common sight
defects are as follows:
Myopia
(Nearsightedness): if you are myopic, light rays come to a focus before they strike your retina.You are able to see
close objects clearly but everything in the distance becomes blurred.
Hyperopia
(Farsightedness): hyperopic people can see distant objects clearly but have difficulty focusing on closer ones,
as the rays come to a focus behind the retina.
Astigmatism
Both near and distant objects appear blurred. It occurs when the light rays travel in two different directions inside
the eye rather than being focused to one point.
In the last decade, laser eye surgery has become a routine method of correcting defects like those above.The principle
is simple: using microscopic points of fine laser light, the cornea is re-shaped, allowing light rays to focus accurately
on the retina.
Excimer lasers have become ever more accurate over the years and the most recent development - Wavefront
Guided Custom LASIK - uses systems more precise and less invasive than any developed so far.
Phiroze Dastoor is currently the only clinic in Mumbai to offer Wavefront Guided LASIK with Customize software
using a Tscherning aberrometer, as well as conventional LASIK, allowing us to select exactly the form of treatment that
is right for you.
I N V E S T I N YO U R V I S U A L F U T U R E
T E L E P H O N E : +91 22 2 4 1 0 1 2 3 4
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Why LASIK?
It is the preferred choice for refractive surgery by surgeons worldwide
Procedure is done on an out-patient basis
Clarity of vision within hours of surgery
Extremely predictable
No more daily rituals with visual aids
Greater convenience for playing sports
Broad range of treatable prescriptions
Both eyes treated on the same day
Conventional LASIK
Conventional LASIK corrects only prescription (sphere and cylinder) and a single central reading of corneal curvature map.
For those people who have lower prescriptions, typically those up to -3.0 to +2.0 dioptres without astigmatism or
irregular corneal curvature, conventional LASIK may suffice.
Wavefront Guided Custom LASIK
Customised LASIK has a higher potential for perfect vision and lower potential for visual compromise. Patients
with more complex prescriptions, unusual corneal shapes or who want the best visual outcome will benefit
from Custom LASIK.
Every patient’s eye differs in corneal shape, corneal thickness and pupil size.Wavefront technology analyses
the entire visual system from the corneal surface through the crystalline lens of the eye, all the way back to
the retina.A device called a Tscherning Wavefront Analyser projects a fine grid of 168 light beams onto the retina
and captures its image using a high-resolution camera. The image is then compared with one from a normal eye and
the information is used to create an ideal vision correction profile which removes any distortion from the optical
path in order to bring an object into perfect focus. Due to the flexibility of numerous possible treatment patterns the
laser beam will treat each point in a larger surface of the cornea precisely according to a unique treatment plan.
The benefits of Custom LASIK
Greater opportunity of achieving 20/20 vision
Greater opportunity of achieving better than 20/20 vision
Reduced opportunity for night vision and glare problems
The laser itself
Where older lasers produce a broad, square-shaped beam, ours has a more rounded,
sharply-focused profile measuring less than 1mm across.
This allows us to remove the minutest amounts of corneal tissue with greater accuracy,
resulting in a more stable cornea - essential to sharper vision.
Our team
In addition to this extraordinary technology you need, of course, extraordinarily skilled people to use it, and
Phiroze Dastoor has just the team. Wev also have a dedicated team of support staff,, who assist our surgical team and look
after our patients throughout every stage of the procedure.
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Our Treatment
The consultation
Not every eye is suitable for laser treatment. It might surprise you to know that we turn down about half the
people who come to us.
Phiroze Dastoor consultants will examine your eyes using equipment as unique as the Wavefront technology itself.
To assist them, please do not wear soft contact lenses for a week and rigid ones for two weeks beforehand. Lenses
distort the cornea and might influence the outcome of the treatment.
If you have any old prescriptions for lenses or glasses (or details of any eye treatment you have had in the past),
please bring them along: if we can see how your eyes have altered over time, we can best determine how to treat them.
Dilatation of the pupils may temporarily blur the vision of some people for a few hours. Therefore, we advise
that you make arrangements for someone else to drive you back home.
The procedure
On the day of the procedure please arrange to have someone with you. Please do not wear perfumes,
make-up, gels or sprays either, as fine vapours can interfere with the path of the laser beam.
If you have any anxieties whatsoever about your treatment, our support staff will be happy to assist you.
Our aim is to make you feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Once the laser has been calibrated, your eyelids are held open and your eyes anaesthetised with drops.
Then, using a precision device called a microkeratome, the surgeon creates a micro-thin flap on the surface
of the cornea.The flap is gently lifted to one side, the bed of the cornea (the stroma) is exposed and the
laser reshapes this surface to re-focus the eye. After 30-60 seconds, the flap is repositioned.
The flap holds itself naturally in place, but we do recommend you wear protective glasses or the shield we
provide you with to prevent you from rubbing your eyes for a few days.
After resting for a short while in our waiting area, we will examine your eyes again before you leave.
After the procedure
Before you go home, our staff will give you personalised after-care instructions and eye drops.Your vision may be
blurred for a few hours so please ensure that there is somebody else to take you home.
After the procedure for a short while you will experience watering of the eyes and feel as if there is something "stuck
in your eye". This is quite natural, but on no account must you rub them.
Your follow-up care
After your surgery, we will see you several times again over the next year, and examine your eyes
using the same equipment as before.This way, we can properly monitor the success of your treatment.
I N V E S T I N YO U R V I S U A L F U T U R E
T E L E P H O N E : +91 22 2 4 1 0 1 2 3 4
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Looking Ahead
What can you do after the procedure?
Most people can return to work within 24 hours after the procedure. However, there are a few other activities that
need to be carried out with due care:
Showering - The next day with your eyes closed
Driving - When you are comfortable with your new vision, and if it meets driving standards
Heavy exercise - After one to two weeks depending on how comfortable your eyes feel
Swimming - After two weeks with goggles, or six weeks without them
Eye make-up - Mascara after four weeks, other make-up after two days
Repeat procedure
Very, very occasionally some eyes do not respond fully to laser treatment,
and we may recommend that you go through the procedure again.This time, though,
the treatment is simpler, as it just involves lifting the flap and re-applying the laser.
Some common questions
How successful is laser vision correction at Phiroze Dastoor?
Our goal and our commitment to you is to get you to a level of 6/12 (20/40) or better, enough to function without
glasses, to watch TV, play sport and take up occupations where good vision is essential. In fact, after treatment over
95% of people can drive without glasses. Our consultants will discuss with you at the time of your consultation what
can be achieved in your individual case.
Does it hurt?
No. LASIK is virtually painless.You may experience some mild to moderate discomfort and watering of the eyes for a
few hours after treatment.This varies from person to person and has been likened to the sensation of having worn
contact lenses too long.
Do the results last?
The effects of LASIK are permanent and they do not wear off. But it is important to realise that a person's eye can
still change internally.That is why many surgeons recommend having the procedure done after the major eye
changes have occurred in one's life.Your surgeon can review the changes you have had and help you make a decision
whether or not LASIK is appropriate for you.
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w w w. e y e c a r e i n d i a . c om
www.phirozedastoor.com
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What happens when I get older?
Natural changes occur in every eye. As we reach our mid 40’s, the fine focusing mechanism of the lens within our
eyes does not function as well as when we were younger. Therefore, it is most likely that you will require glasses for
reading fine print when you reach your mid 40’s. It is because this age-related change affects the lens in our eye and
not the cornea that LASIK cannot treat this change.
If I get LASIK done and my vision changes later in life, can it be redone?
In most cases, an enhancement may be a solution to vision changes later in life.Your eye care specialist will examine
your eyes and determine whether an enhancement can be performed.
What are the long-term side effects?
Laser eye surgery has been performed for more than 10 years and no complications have been documented that
have not been encountered in the first year of follow-up. Minor complications such as haziness, delayed healing
and night time glare have been reported although these are very few and far between, and in almost all cases, can
be treated.
Is the procedure covered by health insurance?
Most health insurance companies do not cover LASIK.
How long before I can see well?
Visual rehabilitation after LASIK is rapid. Most people achieve good vision the day after surgery and find that their
eyes feel fairly normal 24 hours later. However, your sight may improve even further, and the very best vision can still
take two to three weeks.
What Next?
Call us on +91 22 2410 1234 and arrange to see one of Phiroze Dastoor's consultants.
Let us help you to see beyond your limits.
I N V E S T I N YO U R V I S U A L F U T U R E
T E L E P H O N E : +91 22 2 4 1 0 1 2 3 4
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PHIROZE M. DASTOOR & CO.
53, S. V. Road, Santacruz (W), Mumbai 400 054
Tel: +91 22 2649 0028 - 2600 0626
Fax: 2280 9000
www.eyecareindia.com www.phirozedastoor.com