by Chong Zhai

Created on: January 06, 2010

The Fundamentals behind “LASIK” Laser Eye Surgery

With the increasing reliance on technology by most people living in this world, vision problems have increased. Many people, whether young or old turn to glasses or contact lenses as a way to help correct their vision problems. However, just from the last millennium, laser eye surgery has become a popular alternative for those who wish to correct their vision problems, while being able to participate in their daily activities without flaw.

Now to understand how Laser Eye Surgery would work, a person would have to understand the different portions of the eye and their functions. In the eye, there are many different components, ranging from the pupil to the optic nerve. However, the major ones that are needed for an understanding of laser eye surgery are:

Parts of the Eye:

Cornea: A clear dome shaped surface that covers the outer part of the eye that initially refracts or bends light rays as light enters the eyes. It also provides seventy-five percent of the eye’s refractive power.

The aqueous humor: is the chamber behind the cornea that keeps it nourished. It is filled with a translucent liquid that helps to maintain eye pressure.  

Pupil: The pupil is the hole in the iris that light passes through to reach the retina.

Lens: Focuses the rays of light coming in from the cornea onto the retina, which allows us to see objects.

Iris: The muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light that enters the eyes. It makes the pupil large when light is dim and small when light is bright.

Retina: Basically can be called the film of the eye. It converts light rays into neural signals and sends them to the brain through the optic nerve.

Optic Nerve: The optic nerve is the cable connecting the eye to the brain. It is responsible for the interpretation of neural impulses it receives into images.  

Laser Eye Surgery Basics

Laser Eye Surgery is becoming one of the most sought after alternatives for helping correct vision problems. It is a type of surgery (term to describe surgery that corrects refractive error in the eye). The main objective of any laser eye surgery is to help correct the way the light travels through the cornea and onto the retina.

In the world today, one of the common types of laser eye surgery would be LASIK. It is mainly used to treat common eye diseases such as Myopia, Hyperopia and Astigmatism. In laser eye surgery, a simple procedure is

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