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After your eye has been completely numbed using "eye drop" anesthesia,
an eyelid holder will be placed between your eyelids to prevent you from blinking.
 An
instrument called a microkeratome is used to create a thin, circular
flap in the cornea. Dr. Mitchell folds the
flap back out of the way, then removes some corneal tissue underneath
using an excimer laser. The laser
uses a cool ultraviolet light beam to precisely remove very tiny
bits of tissue from the cornea to reshape it.
To treat nearsightedness, the cornea must be made
flatter. This is accomplished by removing tissue from the center of the cornea.
To treat farsightedness, the central cornea must
be made steeper. This is accomplished by directing the laser beam to remove tissue
from around this area.
To treat astigmatism, the cornea must be made
more spherical. By changing the pattern of the beam, tissue is removed in one
direction more than the other.
The flap is then laid back in place, covering the area where the corneal tissue
was removed. |
