No more glasses, no more pain

But eye surgery is not something everyone is comfortable with. Cutting up an organ as small and sensitive as the cornea is something even the most courageous of people think twice about. What’s the need of going for surgery when you can see comfortably wearing spectacles, they argue. And they have a point, since surgery doesn’t give you a 6/6 vision. Though most people end up reducing their refractive error considerably, they often have to wear spectacles even after surgery.

Refractive Error
But now, hi-tech equipment is making eye surgery increasingly safer, and almost painless. Lasik, or Laser Intrastromal Keratomileusis, is the newest technique on the block, in which the cut in the cornea heals naturally.

Thus, there is no need for sutures. Lasik Laser scores over Excimer Laser as it makes the entire procedure painless. Dr Mahipal S. Sachdev, Senior Ophthalmologist, Apollo Hospital, has been using this surgical procedure successfully.

The surgery takes less than half an hour for both eyes. What’s more, the patient feels no pos-operative pain and visual recovery is evident in three to four days, with the vision stabilising completely within a week. An Excimer Laser surgery, on the other hand, causes discomfort for 24 to 48 hours, after which eye drops have to be used regularly for at least three to four months.

For a Lasik Laser operation, the surgeon uses a microkeratome to cut the cornea in such a way that a flap is created which remains attached at one end. The Excimer Laser is then used to reshape the tissue in the eye to correct the refractive error. The cornea is then folded back and it heals on its own. No stitches are required, as the hydration pressure in the eye is enough to seal back the surgical incision.

“The major advantage of this type of surgery is that the superficial corneal epithelium is not removed and the Bowman’s membrane in the eye is not affected,” says Sachdev. The surgeon spends just 10-15 minutes on each eye and conducts it using topical drops. This method is very effective for powers as high as Minus 18 to Minus 20.

Cataract
Cataract, too, can now be removed painlessly. A new technique called Phacoemulsification allows the surgeon to make a 3 mm incision to suck out the cataract and implant a foldable artificial lens in its place. This “no stitch cataract surgery”, leads to an early recovery. In fact, it is popularly called “Drive-back surgery” in the West because the person operated upon can actually drive back home right after the surgery. The procedure results in unaided vision and costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. “We don’t operate on both eyes together as even in the best on hands, there is a 0.5-2 per cent chance of infection,” warns Sachdev. Since the surgery involves the perforation of the globe, there can be a bleed in some cases. But then, these risks are higher in conventional surgery. The procedure takes 7-10 minutes.

Now is as good a time as any to get rid of those thick spectacles.

No Patch on this
Lasik Laser scores over Excimer Laser surgery because the tissue in the eyes heal naturally and no post-operative stitching is needed. The other major advantages are: