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Eye laser surgery involves the use of a laser that emits ultraviolet light to reshape the cornea in order to improve or restore clear vision.

Any procedure aimed at correcting the eye focusing ability is called refractive surgery. Laser eye surgery is a form of refractive surgery that uses a beam of ultraviolet light to reshape the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped layer that covers the front of the eye. By adjusting the curvature of the cornea, the eye focusing power is improved, ensuring a clearer and sharper vision. This surgery can correct myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness) and astigmatism.

Refractive surgery is the most common elective surgery performed in the world. The most frequent procedure is the Femto-LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis), which is carried out on more than 95% of patients. During the surgery, the surgeon uses a femtosecond laser or mechanical device called microkeratome to create a thin flap that is one-tenth of a millimetre-thick in the cornea. A laser is then used to reshape the underlying corneal tissue. In the case of myopia, the tissue is flattened. For hyperopia, the surgeon corrects the curvature of the cornea, whereas for astigmatism, the tissue is reshaped. The surgeon then returned the flap to its original position

With femto-LASIK, the healing process is surprisingly very short. For the majority of patients, the corneal epithelium closes up within a few hours after surgery, without needing any stitches. Generally, no discomfort or pain is experienced, and patients notice an immediate improvement, which we like to call the “wow effect”. Many can resume work as early as the day following the procedure, thanks to a short recovery time.

It is certainly possible to correct any eye condition without creating a flap.

Several treatments we offer are able to do that. These superficial surgeries, such as PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), LASEK (laser-assisted epithelial keratomileusis) or Epi-LASIK (epithelial laser in-situ keratomileusis), are performed by removing the thin outer layer of the cornea to work on the treated area.

For the patient, the main difference between femto-LASIK and superficial surgeries, that is PRK, LASEK and Epi-LASIK) is the recovery time. After a superficial laser eye surgery, it can take up to 5 to 7 days for the eyes to be completely healed and for vision to be clearer and stable.