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Blade-Free IntraLase LASIK

Understanding Blade-Free LASIK

LASIK Femtosecond Lasers

The traditional LASIK eye surgery procedure involved a mechanical microkeratome. Please note that LASIK with a microkeratome is still a very good LASIK eye surgery procedure however, there is new technology available at the Texas Eye and Laser Center. Blade-Free LASIK using a femtosecond lasers has taken the flap making process to the next level. The femtosecond laser is used only in the flap creation process of the LASIK procedure. The reason that femtosecond laser technology was explored most likely had to do with the fact that most LASIK complications came as a result of the flap creation part of the procedure. The femtosecond laser technology has now enabled a more safe and more precise flap. Bladeless LASIK is not a new procedure and has been tested for several years now. The scientific and FDA data suggest advantages over the conventional microkeratome style of LASIK. Both the United States Air Force and NASA has accepted Intralase Blade-FREE LASIK as a standard for their professionals when it comes to LASIK vision correction.

What is the IntraLase® Method?

The IntraLase® Method is a 100% blade-free approach to creating the corneal flap, the thin flap of tissue that the doctor folds back in order to perform a LASIK procedure. The IntraLase® Method can only be performed using the IntraLase® FS laser. Traditionally, doctors have used an instrument called a microkeratome for the creation of corneal flaps. The microkeratome is a hand-held blade that moves across the eye, cutting the corneal flap as it goes. While LASIK is extremely safe, if complications do occur the microkeratome is most often the cause. The IntraLase® Method, by contrast, enables your doctor to create your corneal flap without a blade ever touching your eye.

What is a Femtosecond Laser?

A femtosecond laser is an infrared laser that can treat tissue very precisely with significantly less heat created than other laser treatments. This is of course a very big advantage in LASIK eye surgery. Femtosecond lasers work with ultra-short impulses of light that last only a fraction of a second to create a spot as tiny as 1/100mm. Femtosecond lasers have also been used in other medical areas such as cellular biology and dental surgery. It has been determined that the infared laser impulses are so minimal that the eye cannot be damaged during this treatment.

Safety with Blade-Free LASIK

Blade-Free LASIK eye surgery with the IntraLase® femtosecond laser improves the safety, precision and visual outcomes of the treatment. Since the flap is created with the precision of a cool beam laser, the doctors at Texas Eye and Laser Center are able to sculpt the corneal tissue at the exact depth required for the most accurate, precise result possible. The safety record is very stable compared to microkeratome LASIK and various studies have led researchers to proclaim this technology as 100 times more accurate in creating the flap.