LASIK Elgin

Pre-LASIK Surgery Examination
If you are having LASIK surgery to correct your nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, you will need to undergo thorough examination by your surgeon and a qualified technician. The exam is to accurately measure the parameters of your eye so that the surgeon will know exactly what area of your cornea to work on and how much tissue will need to be ablated.

Equipment Used to Study Your Eyes
During your exam you will be asked questions about your medical history, your eyes, etc. This is to determine whether you are allergic to any medications, if you have a propensity to bleed, are subject to infections, etc. The doctor must take all precautions for each patient to ensure the best results.

The doctor will use a device to measure the parameters of your eye with either an auto Refractometer  or an Abberometer.  An auto refectormeter can measure the average optical quality of your eye, but an aberrometer can also measure many detailed differences in local optical quality. Since eyes are not homogeneous in shape, this technology is important for providing greater accuracy.

An aberrometer is a machine that scans your eye, and is used with a technology called Wavefront-guided technology. The arborrometer is a diagnostic tool that is a visual field analyzer and is able measure small local aberrations that the refractometer cannot.

Abberation is a term that refers to irregular shaping of the cornea, or optical imperfections.  Doctors have classified abberations into higher and lower orders.  Although most people have lower order abberations that can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, about 10% of people with vision errors have higher level abberations. This system creates a topographical map of the eye - an arborrometer  with Wavefront   can measure  the total refractive power of your eye.

The Surgery
During the short LASIK procedure (15 min to ½ hour) the doctor will use a device to cut a shallow flap of your cornea over the area to be etched.  The surgeon will use either a special blade called a keratome or a laser to make the corneal flap.  The keratome is an instrument made for cutting very thin layers of the cornea.  After the corneal flap is folded back, the surgeon applies an excimer laser to small areas of the cornea to re-shape it.  This laser is not only accurate, but is able to ablate tissue without harming any surrounding tissue.

Elgin, IL
A suburb of Chicago, Elgin is located 40 miles outside of the Windy City.  It is locally known for many historical landmarks and architecture from the Victorian era.  In Elgin, you will find Queen Anne type homes as well as Sears Catalog houses that were built from kits in the period between 1908 to 1940.  Earlier homes were constructed with cobblestone, some of which were built by early settlers.  Elgin is thought to have the most densely concentrated cobblestone homes after Rochester, N.Y.