Wavefront Lasik
Wavefront LASIK, or wavefront-guided LASIK, is a custom lasik procedure. It is an advanced form of LASIK surgery that usually produces better vision than conventional LASIK surgery. The primary difference between conventional Lasik and wavefront custom Lasik is the mapping system that guides the laser. Wavefront can be used for virtually all laser eye surgery techniques including All-Laser Lasik, Lasik, PRK, LASEK, and Epi-Lasik.
A wavefront is a three-dimensional wave or beam of light. Wavefront is a very old technology that has only recently been applied to human vision. If the optical quality of the light beam is “perfect” — that is, it has not been degraded by aberrations in the eye, the wavefront is flat. When the light beam is distorted by optical aberrations, such as higher-order aberrations (HOAs), the wavefront has a disrupted shape.
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Higher-order aberrations (HOAs) cannot be detected by the tests performed in a traditional eye exam. Even if your doctor uses automated instruments to determine your eyeglasses prescription, these instruments usually only measure farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism. Detecting and measuring higher-order aberrations requires wavefront analysis.
Studies have shown that custom LASIK surgery produces fewer higher-order aberrations than conventional LASIK, and, by reducing pre-existing HOAs in the eye, wavefront LASIK surgery typically produces a post-surgical eye that has fewer higher-order aberrations than eyes that have undergone conventional LASIK.
Custom LASIK laser treatments are based upon the unique visual characteristics of your eye. Up until now, with glasses, contacts and conventional LASIK surgery, corrections were quite similar for each type of prescription. Custom LASIK involves measuring the eye from front to back with a special laser, using what’s called “wavefront” technology, to create a three-dimensional (3-D) image of the eye. The information contained in the wavefront-map guides the laser in customizing the treatment to your individual visual system.
Custom LASIK wavefront technology is revolutionary because it has the potential to improve not only the quantity of your vision (i.e. the visual acuity measured by the standard 20/20 Snellen eye chart), but also the quality of how well you can see (i.e. visual acuity measured in terms of contrast sensitivity and fine vision). This may translate into a reduced risk of post-LASIK unwanted side-effects, such as difficulty with night vision.
Due to the advanced technology and additional equipment required to perform wavefront-guided LASIK, this customized procedure typically costs several hundred dollars per eye more than conventional (non-wavefront) LASIK, especially if the custom LASIK is an all-laser procedure. Discuss with your surgeon the exact costs associated with a LASIK procedure during your consultation. It is important to understand all the services that are included as part of the LASIK eye surgery cost.
Like conventional LASIK, wavefront LASIK is a surgical procedure and has risks associated with it. It’s important to discuss its applications and potential complications with your eye doctor to determine if you are a good candidate for this procedure.