Laser eye clinic in Dublin | Mater Private Hospital

•     review of your medical history
•     assessing your refraction/prescription
•     dilating your pupils
•     checking corneal thickness
•     checking tear production

Laser Vision Correction Procedures include:

• LASIK (Laser In-situ Keratomileusis) is the most frequently performed laser vision correction procedure. A thin surface-level flap is created in your cornea. The flap is lifted and an excimer laser, which has been pre-programmed with your exact visual correction, reshapes the cornea, allowing images to be focused clearly on your retina and so improving your vision. The surgeon then smooths the flap down. It quickly bonds back in place, restoring a smooth, intact surface.

• LASEK (Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis) combines many of the benefits of LASIK and PRK. LASEK may be better for patients who have steep or very thin corneas which make it difficult to make a proper LASIK flap and causes dry eye less frequently than LASIK. A very thin flap is created and the top layer of the cornea is briefly treated with alcohol to detach it from the underlying tissue, then it is rolled back. The newly exposed tissue is treated with the same laser used in PRK or LASIK. The top layer is returned to its original position. Preserving this layer provides better comfort than PRK while avoiding some of the rare complications that can be associated with making the LASIK flap. Many LASEK patients will not fully recover good vision for 1 to 2 weeks while their eye heals, which is similar to the healing time experienced with PRK.

• PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) This procedure also uses an excimer laser to reshape the cornea, but instead of lifting a small flap to reach the sub-layer of the cornea, the outer layer is removed completely. This skin layer regrows in about 3 to 5 days. You may have to wear a "bandage contact lens" for a few days to shield the newly treated surface from irritants such as your blinking eyelid. With PRK, good vision does not return as quickly as it does with LASIK and patients experience slightly more discomfort while healing. However, our surgeons do recommend some patients undergo PRK instead of LASIK because it ultimately leads to better long-term results in some types of eyes.

• Phakic Implants are used to supplement the strength of the natural lens by placing an extra lens within the eye on top of the natural lens. Phakic Implants are relatively new but have been used extensively in patients with high refractive errors during the past five years. It is a minor surgical procedure and is done under local or general anaesthesia. The Phakic Implant is rolled into a tight tube and placed into the eye through a minute incision. Once inside, the implant unrolls itself into the correct position. Visual recovery is rapid and usually within a day, although slight improvements occur over the following two or three weeks. Any residual astigmatism or minor refractive error can, of course, be corrected with subsequent Excimer laser surgery of the cornea. Because the natural lens is left untouched the patient is still able to focus naturally for near vision. In those patients over the age of 45 who are already having problems with near vision, spectacles will be required for reading.

• (Conductive Keratoplasty) is a quick procedure with no cutting involved. CK, is an alternative to typical laser surgeries for people who are over forty and have hyperopia, astigmatism, or presbyopia. Using radiofrequency (RF) energy, NearVision CK can change how the eye focuses light by reshaping the cornea to make it steeper. Once finished, you don't have to wear a patch and can usually return to work or normal activities the next day. Vision generally begins improving in about a week's time. While NearVision CK can turn back the clock on your vision, it cannot stop the clock entirely

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