LASIK and Your Retina

Some patients think that because they are having LASIK, issues with their retina will also be corrected.  This is a misconception.  The work we do in LASIK is on the cornea, outside and at the front of the eye, and not on the retina, which is inside and at the back of the eye.

Light is reflected off objects and is refracted by the cornea of your eye.  When the cornea is perfectly shaped, this light will focus directly onto your retina. If the cornea is misshapen, the light will not focus perfectly onto your retina.  This imperfect focus is called refractive error - nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism - and causes doubled vision, blurry vision, or fuzzy images.

LASIK works by reshaping the cornea so that the light will be more perfectly focused onto your retina.  An advanced laser guided by a skillful surgeon removes corneal tissue and changes the cornea’s shape to improve its focus.  The laser affects only the cornea and not the retina; therefore, LASIK does not correct any retinal issues you may be experiencing.  If you have a problem with the retina that affects the quality of your vision, LASIK is almost certainly not the correct option to help that problem.

A board-certified surgeon should carefully analyze your eyes prior to approving you for LASIK surgery. Most of the risks associated with LASIK have been markedly reduced by advances in technology.   The risk of negative effects, such as doubled vision, blurry vision, halos or starbursts, may be increased by operating on less than excellent candidates, but negative effects will occur occasionally despite the best patients, surgeons, equipment, and intentions.  Everyone will experience a degree of dry eye, which resolves in most people without significant difficulty through careful screening and by thoughtful and cooperative management of the postoperative process. EyeClinic of Austin has recently become an accredited Dry Eye Center by using tear osmolarity as the most advanced way to diagnose and manage dry eye symptoms.  We use tear osmolarity to screen for unsuspected dry eye preoperatively and to help us resolve postoperative dry eye more successfully.

To learn more about LASIK and how to find out if you’re a good candidate for laser vision correction, please visit our website.

How Optomap Helps Eye Clinic of Austin Provide Better Eye Care

A Word from Dr. Thomas Henderson

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the health of the eye and the visual system.  As a physician and a patient, the more I can see, the better I can understand, the better the solution to a problem.

Optomap is a unique, high definition, digital imaging system which combines scanning lasers with a specially shaped (ellipsoidal) mirror to create a panoramic 200 degree image of the retina inside the eye.  The effect of the wide field is like sticking your head inside a doorway and looking at the walls instead of peeking through a keyhole.

Dr.Melanie Prosise often uses the Optomap as a convenience for her patients so that she can see most of the retina without having to dilate pupils.  Dr. Clayton Falknor and I frequently use it to document the important medical details of a particular abnormality of the retina.  The most common photographs are of the optic nerve head for glaucoma, the central retina for dry or wet macular degeneration, the whole retina for diabetic retinopathy, a particular pigmented “freckle”, and other areas of interest.  It is much better to compare detailed photographs after 3 months to detect change quickly, or after a number of years to prove hoped for stability, than to rely upon vague descriptions or drawings in the medical record.  We will soon receive an upgrade to the Optomap image management software that will make this even easier.

The most important use of the Optomap is to improve care by helping me improve my communication with the patient.  For example, in “wet” macular degeneration, I can describe how a new blood vessel has formed under the retina near the line of sight, is leaking blood, causing scar tissue and possible loss of sight.  It is better if I can make a drawing or use a model.  It is the by far the best if I can show a patient a photograph of their eye so they can see the reality of the blood under their central retina, causing distortion and threatening their sight.  In this way we can understand the problem better and develop a better plan together—and ultimately have a better chance for a better result.

The next time you are in, we might use the Optomap to help provide you with better eye care.