Understanding Wavefront Custom LASIK

If you are just starting your research on LASIK and other vision correction procedures, you may have heard the term "Custom LASIK" and wondered what that meant. Over the last several years Custom LASIK has been one of the most significant advancements in laser vision correction procedures.

The most important refinement in laser vision correction is Wavefront LASIK technology and the ability to provide Custom LASIK to patients. Both traditional LASIK and Custom LASIK procedures are performed in the same basic manner - eye measurements, flap creation, laser treatment, and then flap replacement. The biggest difference occurs in the first step of the process with the eye measurements. Custom LASIK uses Wavefront technology using a 3-D camera to collect data about your eye abnormalities and your surgeon customizes your vision correction treatment with the guidance of your data.

Traditional LASIK corrects what's known as lower order aberrations such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism - the same conditions that glasses or contacts can correct. Custom LASIK uses Wavefront technology to diagnose and correct lower and higher order aberrations. Higher order aberrations don't affect how far you can see but how well you can see. Higher order aberrations cause sight problems like double vision, blurriness, ghosts and halos, glare and poor contrast sensitivity.

Preparing for Custom LASIK begins at your very first visit during your complimentary comprehensive evaluation. In addition to many other tests, we take wavefront-optimized measurements with a 3-D camera called the Pentacam. These measurements are the basis of treatment and must be as precise as possible. 20/20 Institute LASIK surgeons utilize the Pentacam to precisely analyze the curvature, structure, and thickness of your corneas. The Pentacam captures 50 images and up to 25,000 individual data points of information to create detailed maps of the corneas.

Wavefront mapping begins with safe light rays shining into your eye through the cornea, the lens and to the retina in the back of the eye. Then that light reflects back to the front of the eye. If your eye were perfect, the image would come back as a flat image. In an imperfect eye, the reflection creates a 3-D map showing all of the lower and higher order aberrations present in the eye.

With the Pentacam 3-D camera, all of the irregularities on the surface of your eye are accounted for and taken into account when your surgeon creates your custom LASIK plan. This extremely accurate information is used by our doctors to determine your candidacy for LASIK, and it is used to customize your LASIK treatment to ensure your most accurate visual result. The Pentacam performs this detailed analysis of your corneas in less than two seconds per eye.

• Greater chance of achieving 20/20 vision or better
• Less chance of loss to best corrected visual acuity
• Less chance of post-operative problems with poor night vision
• Less chance of post-operative problems with glare, halos

Wavefront technology is nothing short of incredible and we want to share it with you. Where many other LASIK practices consider Wavefront technology an "extra" and charge you extra for it, we consider Wavefront LASIK the only standard of care we can be comfortable giving to our patients. Every LASIK procedure at 20/20 Institute is performed using Wavefront LASIK technology.