Custom & Bladeless LASIK Eye Surgery
Since no two eyes are the same, you can feel confident that with the advantage of having a variety of the latest and most advanced technology, along with Dr. Slade’s experience and commitment to continuous quality improvement, that you will have the best results and best care with your custom procedure here at Slade & Baker Vision Center.
Our Laser Technology Sets Us Apart
We use multiple refractive surgery lasers. With LASIK, we use a femtosecond laser to make the flap, and an excimer laser to do the treatment. With SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction), we use a femtosecond laser to delineate a small, lens-shaped portion from the cornea, which we carefully removed through a minimally invasive incision.
We use the Zeiss Visumax laser, the Alcon Allegretto Wavelight Femtosecond and Excimer lasers, and the LenSx laser for cataract and corneal surgery. The Allegretto Wavelight excimer laser measures the eye 400 times per second to ensure highly accurate contouring for advanced visual outcomes. Dr. Slade has found that Allegretto’s technology is particularly beneficial to patients with higher myopia.
Dr. Slade is often the first to have access to new laser technologies through clinical trials. As such, we anticipate debuting two additional new lasers in the near future, though we are unable to release more details at this time.
Learn More:
- We encourage you to visit the FDA’s website to view all approved lasers for LASIK.
- Click here for more information on the Allegretto Wavelight laser by Alcon.
- Click here for more information on the Zeiss Visumax.
What Does “Custom LASIK” Mean?
With Custom LASIK, we take more measurements and create a procedure that is more specific to your eye. This procedure may be wavefront-guided, wavefront-optimized, or a blend of our measurements. It’s like having a suit custom-made for you, rather than buying one off the rack. The fine points of your vision are treated. During your free consultation, we can answer any questions regarding your vision or your treatment options.
The custom or wavefront exam covers thousands of points across the entire visual system of your eyes with our wavefront diagnostic devices.
Until recently, LASIK treatments were strictly based on a patient’s optical prescription. They did not take into account that each patient’s eyes have a unique set of naturally occurring optical imperfections. This was known as conventional LASIK.”
Today, with the advent of wavefront diagnostic technology, wavefront-guided and wavefront-optimized excimer lasers can now treat patients according to the uniqueness of their eyes, not just their prescription.
Wavefront technology compares distorted waves of light exiting the eye to flat waves of light that would have returned in a perfect optical system. This information is converted to a 3-D Map that then serves as a guide for the excimer laser to reshape the cornea.
Another technique Dr. Slade uses is “wavefront-optimized.” This is the newest treatment pattern approved by the FDA and offers superb results for many patients.
The Future
There is a new LASIK technology that is actually guided by the actual topographical details of the cornea. Dr. Slade also has the longest experience in the US with this technique and they have been performing this new topographical-based LASIK is an FDA trial in the U.S.
This FDA trial has ended and patients are currently awaiting FDA approval of this form of LASIK to be able to have this form of LASIK.
Custom LASIK Results
Results have shown that different forms of LASIK including wavefront-guided, topographical based, wavefront-optimized, and Planoscan can reduce some of the unwanted visual effects associated with conventional LASIK; especially those effects associated with night vision such as glare and halos.
Custom LASIK has the potential to improve the quality of vision and make patients see even better than they could with glasses or contact lenses. We are pleased to be able to offer treatment with several different lasers and with several different treatment plans in order to try to match the best treatment pattern to our individual patient.
Bladeless LASIK Eye Surgery
LASIK is performed under a hinged flap of corneal tissue. Once the flap is created and folded back, the excimer laser removes corneal tissue, reshaping the underlying tissue to correct any vision abnormalities. The corneal flap is then relocated over the treated area where it bonds with no need for stitches. LASIK patients experience little if any discomfort. Functional vision returns very rapidly, with the majority of patients seeing well enough to drive in a day or two, without the need for glasses or contact lenses.
During the first step of the LASIK procedure, a corneal flap is made. In the past, the corneal flap was created by a mechanical device which used a blade (microkeratome). Today, we offer our patients ALL LASER LASIK using the IntraLASE® femtosecond laser to create the corneal flap, thereby adding a higher level of safety and precision to the LASIK procedure.
Using this Blade-Free LASIK procedure, the IntraLase laser delivers over millions of tiny, micron-sized bubbles that gently separate the layers of corneal tissue. This creates a customized corneal flap of the desired thickness, size, orientation, and location. This unprecedented level of control also allows more patients to qualify for LASIK and virtually eliminates many of the complications associated with the past mechanical approach.
Along with being the first LASIK surgeon in the U.S., Dr. Slade also has the longest experience in the U.S. with this remarkable blade-free Intralase technology. He was the lead investigator and medical director for the Intralase to receive FDA approval.
- Click here for more information on Intralse®