Imagine waking up and seeing the alarm clock clearly without reaching for your glasses, or being able to swim without worrying about your contact lenses. The iLASIK® vision correction procedure at Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) makes this dream a reality for hundreds of thousands of people each year and may be an option for you.

Deciding to have LASIK surgery is a big step, and you want to make sure you find a LASIK specialist you can trust. Experienced eye specialists at PAMF can help determine whether you’re a candidate for surgery, explain all of your surgical options and help you decide if iLASIK® is the right vision correction procedure for you.

What is LASIK?

LASIK is a time-tested and popular method for surgically correcting the most common causes of poor vision, farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism.

Eye specialists at PAMF perform the state-of-the-art iLASIK® procedure, an all laser, blade-free LASIK method with a long-held safety record.

Around the world, eye surgeons have collectively performed laser vision procedures on more than 40 million people since 1991, according to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. LASIK ranks as the most common elective vision procedure in the United States. All branches of the military and NASA accept LASIK vision correction for their servicemen and women, thanks to studies using iLASIK technology in Navy pilots.

How Does LASIK Work?

LASIK corrects three common eye conditions by reshaping the cornea—the clear, front surface of your eye—so the light entering your eye can focus better on the retina. The method varies, depending on your individual needs. Conditions often treated with LASIK include:

• Farsightedness — If nearby objects appear blurry, the central cornea of your eye isn’t as curved as that of someone with 20/20 vision. To fix this, your eye specialist uses a laser to remove tissue around the central cornea and make it steeper.
• Nearsightedness — If you have difficulty seeing far away objects, your cornea is curved too much. To correct this, your eye specialist uses a laser to remove tissue from the center of the cornea and make it flatter.
• Astigmatism — When your cornea is curved more steeply in one direction than another, the cornea needs reshaping to make it more round. Your eye specialist fixes this by removing more tissue from one part of the cornea than another.

During your procedure, we first create a 3-D map of your eyes for individualized treatment. Then your eye specialist makes a protective flap in the cornea using the IntraLase™ FS Laser. A specialized wavefront sensor is used in tandem with the STAR S4 IR© Excimer Laser System and Advanced CustomVue© technology to shape your cornea.

How Painful is LASIK Surgery?

Eye specialists at PAMF do everything in their power to make you as comfortable as possible during surgery. You are awake during the procedure, but you may be given an oral medication, such as Valium®, to help you relax.

Numbing eye drops are administered before the procedure begins. You may feel some pressure during the procedure, but the eye drops help prevent any pain.

How Long Does it Take?

The procedure typically takes about 10 minutes per eye. After LASIK, you may experience a slightly scratchy sensation. This usually goes away within 12 to 24 hours.

Although your vision may seem somewhat “milky” after the procedure, most people notice improved vision within seconds of completing LASIK.

Before going home, you may be given protective eye shields to keep you from accidentally rubbing your eyes. By the next day, most people see well enough to drive themselves back for their follow-up appointment.

To learn more about LASIK or any of the procedures performed at the PAMF Munnerlyn Eye Institute, please call (408) 524-5900.