LASIK Eye Center of Silicon Valley - Dr. Gary Kawesch

Compared to traditional LASIK, custom LASIK has the potential to improve not only what you see, but how well you see it.

Custom LASIK utilizes Wavefront technology to create a 3D map of your eye's irregularities. Traditional LASIK uses a phoropter, the device with many lenses through which you view a vision chart. Using the phoropter, your eye doctor determines if you have nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism – the lower order aberrations (LOAs). Custom LASIK identifies both LOAs and higher order aberrations (HOAs) using a wave of light.

Compared to traditional LASIK, custom LASIK has several advantages, including:
• Reduces risk of poor night vision
• Reduces risk of poor contrast sensitivity
• Reduces risk of glare, halos and ghosting
• Reduces risk of losing best vision after LASIK

Wavefront measures your eye with a laser light that passes through your eye, from front to back. As the light travels through the structures of your eye, the smooth edge of the light is distorted and altered as it meets the microscopic irregularities of your eye. Once the light reaches the retina at the back of your eye, it is reflected back and recorded in the Wavefront system. The system then creates a 3D map of your eyes and your surgeon uses the data to plan a highly customized LASIK procedure.

If you are interested in LASIK surgery and live in San Francisco, California, or the surrounding areas, please contact the experienced LASIK surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

Cataract surgery removes a cloudy eye lens and replaces it with an artificial, implantable contact lens (ICL). Cataract surgery is one of the most common eye surgeries today and has a success rate of more than 90 percent, according to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Even with the procedure's safety record, a patient undergoing cataract surgery must be informed and aware of the associated risks, including:
• Intraocular infection
• Inflammation
• Bleeding
• Swelling

Other complications that may develop in the months following cataract surgery include:

• Retinal detachment: This complication is caused by the movement of fluid in your eye, which can lead to a fine tear in the retina after cataract surgery. Fluid begins to build up, separating the retina from the back of the eye. A common symptom of retinal detachment is a curtain or shadow obstructing part of your vision. There are several procedures used to correct this complication.

• Posterior capsule opacity (PCO): When an ICL is placed, it is placed inside the capsule that formerly encased your natural eye lens. Known as a "secondary cataract," PCO arises when epithelial cells grow on the capsule, resulting in cloudy vision. PCO is most often quickly and easily corrected with laser treatment.

Experienced cataract surgeons prevent complications by carefully screening cataract surgery candidates and taking other precautionary steps during surgery.

If you live in the Santa Clara, California, area and would like to learn more about cataract eye surgery, please contact the experienced eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

Traditionally, there are three types of anesthesia that are used for cataract surgery:

• Local anesthesia
• Topical anesthesia
• General anesthesia

Because other anesthesia forms have made it unnecessary, general anesthesia is no longer used for cataract surgery. Local and topical anesthesia are now routinely used, and the best one for you depends largely on a discussion between you and your eye surgeon.

Local anesthesia is injected in the upper and lower portions of your eyeball. This type of anesthesia both numbs your eye and prevents it from moving during surgery.

Topical anesthesia is in the form of eye drops. Like local anesthesia, the eye drops numb your sensitivity, but topical anesthesia will not prevent your eye from moving. A major advantage to topical anesthesia is that it removes patient anxiety about needle injections around the eye.

The only way to choose anesthesia is to discuss the options with an eye surgeon. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and your eye surgeon can discuss these aspects as well as any concerns or questions you may have.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for cataract surgery and live in Santa Clara, California, or the surrounding areas, please contact the experienced eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

If you are considering LASIK surgery, you are probably wondering about the safety and risks of the procedure. In general, vision-threatening complications are rare, provided you are a good candidate for the surgery. Most complications that do arise can be corrected with additional enhancement procedures.

Possible LASIK complications include:
• Dry eye
• Overcorrection
• Undercorrection
• Glare and halos
• Epithelial ingrowth

These complications are typically reversible and do not have long-term effects on vision.

To reduce the risks of LASIK, choose a surgeon who is experienced and uses FDA-approved lasers. A good eye surgeon carefully screens LASIK patients. Certain conditions may mean that the procedure is not right for you; if that is the case, your LASIK surgeon should not recommend the procedure for you and should instead suggest alternatives.

To learn more about LASIK surgery in the San Francisco area, please contact the experienced eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

LASIK eye surgery provides improved vision and reduces dependence on eyeglasses and contact lenses; however, not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK. People who are good candidates have a reduced risk of LASIK complications and an increased chance of satisfactory results.

There are many LASIK variant surgeries which may provide an alternative for people who are not candidates for LASIK, but generally the following is required to be a good candidate for LASIK:

•18 years of age or older
•Stable prescription for at least one year prior to surgery
•General good health
•Free from eye infections and injuries
•Adequate corneal thickness
•Have realistic expectations of LASIK results
•Have a common refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism)

Certain things that may disqualify you from LASIK include pregnancy, breastfeeding, autoimmune disorders or a long history of dry eyes.

An important part of your candidacy is your expectations of the results. After LASIK surgery, many people continue to wear glasses and contact lenses some of the time. You should be okay with the possibility that LASIK will not eliminate the need for corrective eyewear.

If you live in or near San Francisco and would like to find out if you are a candidate for LASIK eye surgery, please contact the experienced eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the sale of medical devices and monitors the ongoing safety of these devices, including the lasers used in LASIK. The FDA does not regulate the procedures in which the devices are used.

Even if a laser is not approved by the FDA, a doctor may legally use the device; however, as a patient, you should note that lasers not approved by the FDA have not been evaluated by a governmental regulatory agency.

You can find a long list of FDA-approved lasers for LASIK on the FDA website. Included in the list are the following lasers:
•B&L Zyoptix
•LADARVision 4000 Excimer Laser System
•Mel 80 Excimer Laser System

To monitor the ongoing safety of medical devices that have been approved, the FDA gathers reports from the following sources:

•MedWatch. This FDA reporting program lets consumers, healthcare professionals, and manufacturers report serious complications related to medical devices and drugs.

•SightNet. In this program, healthcare professionals can report concerns specifically regarding ophthalmic medical devices.

The FDA cannot create any kind of rating system ranking the devices. For example, the FDA cannot say one device is better or safer than another.

If you live in San Francisco and would like to learn more about LASIK surgery, please contact the experienced LASIK eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.

In general, recovery from LASIK surgery is a short process. Although it may take up to six months for your eyes to completely heal, most people experience clear vision within hours to a few days following the procedure.

There are a few factors that affect your recovery from LASIK, including the specifics of your vision condition, your overall health and the technology used in your laser vision correction. The advanced LASIK surgery lasers used by the experienced San Francisco eye surgeons at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley all provide precision and comfort while limiting the physical impact to your eyes that affects recovery time.

That said, aspects of each laser differ and play a role in the time you’ll need to recover.

The LADARVision laser, for example, reshapes your cornea while smoothing the eye’s surface thanks to a unique laser. The laser’s horseshoe-shaped tip (most are flat) and narrow beam allow accurate, uniform reshaping in a manner that is increasingly believed to assist in faster vision recovery.

With the IntraLase laser, the corneal flap necessary to access and reshape your cornea can be created without the use of a blade. In traditional LASIK procedures, a tool called a microkeratome with an oscillating surgical blade was used to hand cut the flap.

With the bladeless IntraLase, the corneal flap is gently separated from the cornea and can be easily replaced following cornea reshaping. In addition to being advantageous for patients with thin corneas, IntraLase provides less pressure on the eye during the corneal flap creation and may reduce the risk of dry eyes and other forms of irritation that can slow recovery.

Of course, your individual recovery will rely on factors aside from technology. Closely following our post-operative LASIK guidelines will also help ensure a quick recovery and clear vision.

If you would like to learn more about LASIK surgery options, please contact the skilled San Francisco ophthalmologists and LASIK experts at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley to schedule a consultation.