What Are The Types Of Lasik Eye Surgeries?

In today's digital world, when everything is digitalized, and most of our work is done on the screens, it saves time and energy, but it also has its downfall, like many people are facing specific health issues while spending so much time on the screens. Most of these issues concern our eyes, as many people get red eyes, a burning sensation in the regard, and the power is increasing. Eye power is a unit defined to measure the lens's focusing power required by our eyes. A 20/20 eye power is described to be expected. But when our eye power gets affected, people seek help in many ways. Some go for glasses, some for contact lenses, and some for the ultimate solution, like LASIK surgery.

The different types of LASIK surgery

Here is the list of all the different types of LASIK surgeries:

PRK 

 It stands for Photo Refractive Keratectomy. It is also known as the original laser technique for eye surgery. Most people prefer LASIK over PRK, but this surgery still has the potential to cure people with issues with thin corneas. This surgery uses a blade-free technique and can very quickly treat patients who have astigmatism, and it can also correct myopia. People who are suffering from high hyperopia should not prefer PRK as this surgery may not be able to cure them. This surgery is generally known as the predecessor to the very famous LASIK procedure, as it was the first laser eye surgery used for vision correction.

LASEK 

 It stands for Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileusis. The procedure of this surgery is very similar to PRK. the only main difference between both of the surgeries is that in PRK, the corneal epithelium is discarded from underneath the stromal layer, so instead of removing this tissue of the eye, the very thin epithelium' flap' is pushed towards to one side of the cornea and it remains attached to the eye. It is similar to the thicker flap of the corneal issue, which is generally created during LASIK surgery). The difference between the visible result or the healing result of LASEK and PRK is almost none; however, there is certain discomfort and a comparatively large recovery time in LASIK surgery.

EPI-LASIK 

 This type of surgery is also considered a variation of the PRK procedure. The thin flap created in the LASEK surgery is very similar to the epi-Lasik flap created in this surgery. The flaps in both processes are made up of only cells and have a fragile outer layer of the cornea known as the epithelium. The only difference between both procedures is n the process of how the flaps are created. A flap is made from tools with a sharp blade in LASEK surgery. In epi-LASIK, the flap is separated from the underneath corneal layer with the help of an epithelial separator with an oscillating blade with a thin blunt edge.

SMILE 

This stands for Small Incision Lenticule Extraction. This surgery has some new blade-free techniques and only uses one laser. In this surgery, a femtosecond laser is used to create a disc of tissue in the shape of a lens within the cornea. This disc of tissue is referred a 'lenticule' because of its lenticular shape. This disc of tissue is removable. The shape and size of the lenticule can be easily adjusted according to the refractive error requirements of the patient. A laser eye surgeon removes the lenticule with a 4-5 mm incision on the cornea.

YAG 

It stands for Yttrium Aluminium Garnet. This laser surgery is known for providing practical, fast and painless treatment for PCO (Posterior Capsule Opacity). The whole procedure is known as YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. The procedure can be easily performed in the consulting room, so the patient does not even need to go into the surgery, and the whole process is painless. The patients who undergo the procedure can immediately notice the improvements in their eyesight. The FDA also approves this surgery. Some of the indications of this survey include laser eye surgery for treating secondary cataracts. A cloudy lens of the eyes is replaced with an artificial lens in cataract operations.

SLT

It stands for Selective Laser Technology. This surgery is used to decrease the intraocular pressure in glaucoma. When the eye medications are failed to lower the stress and are also causing severe side effects, then the help of this surgery is taken. Most of the time, this surgery is considered the initial treatment for the case of glaucoma, as people with open-angle glaucoma need to have lower intraocular pressure to be eligible for the procedure. In this surgery, laser energy is applied to the eye's drainage tissue, and then chemical and biological change is observed in the tissues, which leads to better drainage of the fluid out of sight through the drain.

Things to avoid after surgeries

Limiting your screen time is crucial; no one should skip this. And if you can avoid it totally after the surgery, that would be more beneficial to your eyes than anything. Wash your hair carefully and only if necessary for a week after the surgery. Even if you must wash your hair, make sure you face the opposite way, so the water does not come in contact with your eyes.

Avoid going out, go only if necessary otherwise, go out only if necessary, swim for about three weeks, and avoid eye makeup for about a month. Avoid removing the protective shield too soon after the surgery. Make sure your eyes do not get in contact with any pollen or dust particles.