Overview of LASIK

LASIK eye surgery, performed by Thomas E. Clinch, M.D., and Paul C. Kang, M.D., is a quick, safe, and comfortable laser vision correction procedure. With CustomVue™ Custom LASIK and IntraLase® technologies, our patients are seeing better than ever! The LASIK procedure is done in our Chevy Chase, Maryland office and takes a few minutes per eye. Most patients drive themselves to their follow up visits the day after surgery and return to work that day as well. For a more detailed description of LASIK eye surgery, please see the sections below.

History of LASIK

In the 1980s, IBM pioneered the precise excimer laser technology to improve semiconductor capacity. An unexpected benefit was that the specific ultraviolet wavelength emitted by the excimer laser was ideal for reshaping corneal tissue with submicron precision.

By changing the shape of the corneal surface, the excimer laser is used to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Excimer lasers first entered FDA clinical trials in the late 1980s. In the original clinical trials, the lasers were only used on the surface of the eye in a procedure called PRK. While PRK had excellent results and is still performed today, removal of the surface cells of the cornea creates discomfort and several days of blurry vision. In subsequent trials, the excimer lasers were used to perform LASIK eye surgery, in which the corneal laser treatment was placed beneath a corneal flap. Since the surface of the eye is not disturbed, the speed of recovery is much more rapid with minimal discomfort.