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Eye surgery arises based on the need for a treatment of the eyes inorder to avart blindness.The days in which eye glasses and contact lenses were the onlyoption to those with impaired vision came to an end in 1991when Lasik eye surgery was first performed in the UnitedStates. Today, with more than a million patients havingundergone the procedure, Lasik has become commonplace among eyepatients who wish to minimize the long term expense andinconvenience associated with eye care. Lasik is something of amiracle for those who have struggled with compromised vision.And while it may be something that is relatively new to us, itutilizes technology that has actually existed for quite sometime. Lasik eye surgery focuses on the reshaping of the eye's cornea– the transparent tissue that covers the iris (the coloredsegment of the eye) and the lens (the part that rests behindthe iris). The lens is the part of the eye that bends orrefracts light to the retina – cells that exist in the liningof the back of the eye. The retina's job is to then take thatlight and convert it to messages that can be received by theoptic nerve in the brain. When the eye experiences refractive difficulties – such as whatis experienced in nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism,and a host of other issues – the light that our eye receives isnot refracted properly and the message that our brain receivesis that of a blurry image. Traditionally, eyeglasses andcontact lenses have been utilized to correct how light isrefracted by our eye. But modern times have seen the rise inpopularity of Lasik eye surgery – that makes such correctionswith the aid of a laser. Experimentation with surgically correcting the cornea firstbegan in the late 1940s when a Columbian ophthalmologist wasable to successfully treat patients by removing over half oftheir cornea, freezing it, resurfacing it once it was frozen,and then replacing it in the patient's eye. In the 1960s, anophthalmologist in Russia was able to elevate the technology bymaking adjustments to the cornea while it remained in thepatient's eye; such adjustments were made using a scalpel. In 1990, Lucio Buratto and Ioannis Pallikaris developed Lasikeye surgery; the first of which was performed in the UnitedStates in 1991. Lasik stands for Laser-Assisted In SituKeratomileusis and makes correction to the cornea to improvelight refraction. During Lasik eye surgery, the patient isfirst given numbing drops to anesthetize the eye. The patientlies down and the eye is held open with a speculum andimmobilized with a cornea suction ring. The surgeon who is a specialist in eye surgery then cuts athin flap into the top layer of the cornea. The flap is foldedback to reveal the underlayer of the cornea – the stroma. Usinglow-powered laser technology, the surgeon then resurfaces thestroma to improve light refraction. When the procedure iscompleted – normally in less than 10 minutes – the flap isreplaced over the cornea and allowed to heal naturally. Most patients report virtually no pain during Lasik eye surgery and only mild and infrequent discomfort. Recovery time is short after eye surgery;patients can generally resume normal activities – with a fewsafety guidelines – the day following the procedure.

Eye surgery

Article Published: Thursday 10th May 2007