Surgical Treatments

Laser Surgery

You're on the go. You don't have time to deal with glasses or care for contacts. But seeing well is essential to you. Laser surgery can give you better focus and enhanced vision to free you up for life.

Considering Laser Surgery?

Bausch & Lomb manufactures many of the most innovative and precise tools and technologies currently in use for laser surgery. Read more about B&L's role in pioneering new techniques — and in educating ophthalmologists throughout the world.

What is LASIK?

LASIK is a type of laser surgery that can correct certain types of "refractive errors" — the reduced ability to focus (or "refract") light. The letters L-A-S-I-K are shorthand for the full name of the operation, which is Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. While LASIK isn't a cure-all, it is the state-of-the-art treatment for certain types and degrees of vision correction.

LASIK has been a popular, virtually painless and effective means of vision correction.

How Does It Work?

Under ideal conditions, light that passes through the cornea and then the lens will come to a perfect focus on the retina. But vision rarely remains perfect throughout a lifetime. In some eyes, light comes to a focus in front of the retina. In other eyes, the light isn't focused strongly enough. The retina may be perfectly healthy — it's the light reaching it that's the problem.

In LASIK surgery, a specially trained eye surgeon (an ophthalmologist) uses an extremely precise laser to reshape the cornea of the eye in order to bring the light into focus for most tasks.

To correct nearsightedness (myopia), the surgeon uses the laser to flatten the central corneal surface, enabling light to focus on the retina
To correct farsightedness (hyperopia), the surgeon uses the laser to flatten the peripheral or outer edge of the cornea, causing the central portion to steepen and increase its power
To correct astigmatism, the surgeon uses the laser to selectively reshape some portions of the cornea, flattening the steeper areas in an elliptical pattern

Are You a Good Candidate for LASIK?

A professional consultation is essential to help you decide whether LASIK is right for you. Several important factors influence your ophthalmologist's recommendation. These include:

Your Age — In the United States, treatment is performed on patients aged 21 or older.If you do not meet the lasik age requirement, you might also consider Bausch & Lomb PureVision contact lenses or Vision Shaping Treatment^™ (VST) as an alternative if you do not meet the lasik age requirements.
Your Condition — LASIK treats most refractive errors. However, LASIK cannot correct eye diseases, such as glaucoma or cataracts, or presbyopia (the need for bifocals)
Your Degree of Myopia — Myopia treatment is generally advisable only up to -12 diopters. Older patients may sacrifice some near vision in exchange for dramatically improved distance vision
Your Degree of Hyperopia — Treatment is generally advisable for hyperopia only up to +6 diopters
Your Degree of Astigmatism — LASIK to treat astigmatism up to 4 diopters.
The Stability of Your Refractive Error — The refractions listed above should be within 0.50 diopters of your old prescription from the previous year.