Laser Treatments > All-Laser LASIK

intraLASIK™ (iFS™ Femtosecond Laser)

The term IntraLASIK® is derived from IntraLase®, the name of the first manufacturer to achieve FDA approval of a femtosecond laser for use in the United States almost a decade ago, and the surgical procedure 'LASIK' where the flap was created in a much safer, computerized, and blade-free fashion.

At Bense Vision, home of the only iFS™ Femtosecond Laser in Atlantic Canada, we use this 5th generation IntraLase laser to create the flap (instead of using a handheld steel blade that we no longer use. The flap is turned over, and then another Laser (The VisX Star S4 IR excimer laser used in iLASIK™ is also used for intraLASIK™ at Bense Vision) is applied to change the curvature of the cornea in order to correct the vision.

Benefits of intraLASIK™

This wonderful procedure produces a flap in a much safer fashion, that is much more precise in depth, is cleaner, more accurate and is thinner than the hand held steel blade used in Standard and Custom LASIK procedures. This results in many benefits to our patients that include:

  • IntraLASIK™ produces a planar flap (as opposed to a meniscus flap produced by blade LASIK), and therefore causes less dry eye problems afterwards because less nerves are severed in this process compared to blade LASIK.
  • Studies confirm that LASIK surgery is safer with intraLASIK™ and vision is better.
  • Better Night Vision: intraLASIK™ helps reduce higher-order aberrations responsible for nigh vision problems. More patients achieved 20/20 vision or better in both standard and custom LASIK surgery when IntraLASIK™ was used for Step One.*
  • A large patient population readily adapted to intraLASIK® citing fear as the reason for not having LASIK. The bottom line is that IntraLASIK™ provides superior outcomes.
  • More predictable refractive outcomes eliminating all of the risks associated with flap creation with mechanical microkeratomes. Increases patients’ satisfaction.
  • 78% of patients, when given a choice, chose to have Step One performed with IntraLASIK™ over a hand-held microkeratome blade.***
  • intraLASIK® delivers better results than the leading microkeratome in Standard LASIK*
  • intraLASIK™ delivers better results in Standard LASIK with the IntraLase™ than the leading microkeratome delivers in custom LASIK*
  • IntraLASIK™ can be offered to those clients who have a thinner cornea. These clients with thin corneas are not good candidates for the Standard LASIK treatment procedures using a blade.

The intraLASIK™ Procedure

At Bense Vision, we combine the 2 most advanced laser technologies currently available in intraLASIK®

  • iFS™ Intralase Laser (The only such laser in NL is at Bense iLASIK Centre)
  • Star S4 IR excimer Laser

IntraLASIK™ creates a flap of precise size, shape and depth. To achieve such precision, your doctor uses the laser to rapidly separate micro-thin layers of the cornea as he creates a self-sealing flap. It is all a part of an efficient process that helps to assure you that Step One of LASIK eye surgery will be accurate, safe and a first step towards giving you the best LASIK result possible.

Leading doctors believe in intraLASIK. They use it for Step One in both standard and custom LASIK eye surgery because clinical studies confirm that LASIK surgery is generally safer with intraLASIK and vision is usually better.

One prospective randomized study, for example, compared intraLASIK to the leading microkeratome. In this study, more patients achieved 20/20 vision or better in both Standard and in Custom LASIK surgery when intraLASIK was used done in Step One.*

Another study comparing LASIK results with IntraLASIK versus the two leading microkeratomes demonstrated that IntraLASIK performed better in three areas important to LASIK results and safety—flap thickness, induced astigmatism and abrasions.** Now, so many doctors believe in IntraLASIK that the number of LASIK surgery procedures that begin with IntraLASIK grows dramatically each year.

Summary:

  • The increased accuracy of the blade-free intraLASIK™ flap provides a big added margin of safety and predictability along with greater patient assurance.
  • The thinner flaps created blade-free, provide outcomes superior than a thicker LASIK flaps made by a blade with greater accuracy and predictability.
  • Evidence from multiple peer-reviewed studies and over 1,000,000 clinical cases show that the intraLASIK™ procedure using the IntraLase laser, can create a safer flap than the mechanical steel blade, and can provide more patients with better than 20/20 vision.