A Look at Custom LASIK
Blade used during surgery
Custom LASIK is a More Advanced form of Standard LASIK
Performed by Dr. Bense at his St. John’s LASIK centre, Custom LASIK represents a giant step forward from Basic conventional LASIK. Custom LASIK is an advanced form of LASIK surgery that allows for even more accurate vision correction and has the ability to treat a wider array of eye irregularities. Custom LASIK utilizes new Wavefront™ technology that creates a topographical map of your eye before surgery. After examining this map, Dr. Bense is able to program the excimer laser to finely craft a type of high resolution telescopic lens on your eye surface, fine-tuning your treatment for the unique corrections you need to achieve a higher definition of day as well as night vision.
The clinical studies presented to the FDA show that Custom LASIK by the Advanced CustomVue™ procedure can potentially produce better vision than is possible with glasses or contact lenses. These results are possible because of the combination of technology and mathematical formulas that VISX Technology™ uses to design an individualized Advanced CustomVue™ treatment.
Custom LASIK vision correction with advanced WaveFront™ technology is one of the safest and most precise vision correction procedures available. With custom LASIK, Dr. Mike Bense can map the contours of your eye and design a corrective procedure tailored to your unique visual needs. This technology allows for vision correction that is ultimately safer and more exact. Where conventional or Standard LASIK can correct such common defects as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, the advanced WaveFront™ technology used in the Advanced CustomVue™ LASIK procedure allows us to successfully treat our patients in Newfoundland and Labrador for more complicated eye irregularities that affect vision quality.
Over 97% of our customers customize their Standard LASIK procedure using WaveFront™ technology borrowed from NASA where it is used to develop powerful telescopes like the Hubble™ telescope. This provides a degree of high definition day and night sight, which is impossible to obtain using Standard LASIK.
At Bense Vision, we can customize Standard LASIK by using an ‘Advanced CustomVue WaveFront™’ treatment to help you obtain High Definition Day and Night Sight?
Imagine buying a new colour TV at Wal-Mart™. Do you choose a regular colour TV or a HD colour TV? I guess you would choose the HD-TV as would over 95% of current shoppers. Why?
Standard LASIK provides 20/20 Spectacle Day Vision but ignores night vision. In fact, Standard LASIK more often than not, will worsen one’s Night Vision performance like night driving. Not so with Custom LASIK.
Examples of poor night vision after Standard LASIK.
Custom LASIK provides High Definition Sight, Day and Night.
Due to demanding visual requirements and rigorous standards of vision, all service members in the US Navy who require laser vision correction are customized using the most advanced Technology – the VISX S4IR with WaveFront™ (our technology).
The Custom LASIK procedure
1. Anaesthetic drops are applied to the eye.
2. A protective flap is still created by a steel blade as in Standard LASIK to cut a sliver of cornea from the front of your eye which is then gently lifted by the surgeon, revealing the inner corneal tissue.
3. Computer-controlled pulses of cool laser light are applied to the inner layers of the cornea. As the laser pulses, it makes a ticking sound.
The inner corneal layer is now reshaped with the laser to correct more complex prescriptions like low, moderate and high degrees of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism in your eye. This reshaping of the cornea is designed to work by individualizing and personalizing every patient’s treatment to their own specific needs.
The irregularities of the front of the eye are measured with sophisticated WaveFront technology which are then entered into our laser which smoothes out the surface of the eye like a good telescopic lens free of optical aberrations. Unlike Standard LASIK, it does not simply attempt to duplicate one’s spectacle prescription on the cornea. It is designed to improve one’s day and night vision. In fact, Custom LASIK invariably improves one’s night vision performance like night driving.
This procedure adds the sharpness and clarity of VISX S4IR™ Fourier Wavefront Analysis with Iris Registration to the Standard LASIK procedure. Iris Registration assures that your Advanced CustomVue wavefront treatment is lined up and centered on your eye even if your eye rotates. Only the VISX Star S4 IR laser like the one at Bense Vision has Iris Registration (First and only centre in NL)
Our WaveFront technology uses the Advanced CustomVue™ system with a difference. Most other LASIK companies, who do Custom LASIK, use the Zernike Wavefront Analysis System, which uses only 16% of your wavefront data. Our Advanced CustomVue™ system uses the Fourier Wavefront Analysis System that uses 100% of your wavefront data for your laser treatment.
5. The Surgeon gently replaces the flap in its original position. It heals naturally and securely.
Contact Us for Custom LASIK Vision St. John’s.
The best way to know whether you are a good candidate for Custom LASIK surgery is to contact our St. John’s office to schedule your FREE no-obligation consultation.
FAQ's about Custom LASIK
Q: Tell me why I should customize my laser vision correction procedure?
A: Advanced CustomVue WaveFront™ laser vision correction is an advanced form of excimer laser technology.
Conventional Standard LASIK is still an effective option for laser vision correction and can improve your vision and eliminate or reduce your need for prescription lenses. However, advancements in technology now allow surgeons to perform vision correction that is even more precise than is possible with Standard LASIK.
Conventional Standard LASIK is very successful in correcting farsightedness, astigmatism, and nearsightedness, but the precision mapping of the eye that can help you attain a higher definition sight, is only possible in Custom LASIK which allows surgeons to correct even more complicated and irregular vision problems.
Before the recent advances in laser technology, surgeons would perform LASIK using standard measurements to correct vision and achieve excellent results. Now the new WaveFront™ technology can measure and correct the unique imperfections of each individual’s vision in order to provide them with the potential to experience better day and night vision than they had with glasses or contact lenses.
This technology was originally developed for use in high-powered telescopes to reduce distortions when viewing distant objects in space. Now surgeons can identify, measure, and correct imperfections in the eye 25 times more precisely than with conventional methods used for glasses and contact lenses.
Q: Does NASA allow their jetfighter pilots and astronauts to have Standard LASIK?
A: No. Due to demanding visual requirements and rigorous standards of vision, all service members in the US Navy who require laser vision correction are treated using the most advanced Technology–the VISX S4IR with Advanced CustomVue WaveFront™.
Q: How Does Custom LASIK Correct Complex Prescriptions That Conventional LASIK Does Not?
A: We use Advanced CustomVue Wavefront™ technology to do Custom LASIK. This technology has been borrowed from astronomy. It analyzes the entire human optical system and is 25 times more accurate than the usual method of measuring vision. It is capable of measuring both simple prescriptions and complex imperfections, making a "fingerprint of the eye." This data is transmitted directly to our Star S4 IR excimer laser for individualized treatment on a given individual. The WaveScan analysis is so unique that no two treatments are exactly the same. Hence, Advanced CustomVue™ LASIK is personalized just for you. New VISX Fourier Analysis uses 100% of your wavefront data for your laser vision treatment compared to only 16% of wavefront data points used by some other LASIK companies.
Q: Are There Any Disadvantages to Customizing LASIK by the Advanced CustomVue™ Method?
A: Advanced CustomVue™ LASIK is more expensive than Basic blade LASIK. Still, over 97% of our clients choose a customized form of LASIK over Standard LASIK.
Q: Is Custom LASIK done with the “Advanced CustomVue Method” Available on All Excimer Lasers?
A: No. It is only available on the VISX Star S4™ laser system.
Q: What are the Benefits of Custom LASIK over Standard LASIK?
A: The outcome of WaveFront™-guided custom LASIK is more often than not quiet remarkable compared to those obtained in Standard LASIK. Custom LASIK can improve the quality of your vision. Custom LASIK not only delivers 20/20 visual acuity but also improves significantly upon one’s perception of derail and contrast as well as night vision.
The Benefits of Custom LASIK include:
- More patients see 20/20 vision than with Standard LASIK
- More than 50% of patients are able to see better than 20/20 vision
- Improved night vision
- Minimization of common LASIK complications such as nighttime glare
- Reduction in shadow and halo effects
- Less need of touch up surgery
- Provides a superior quality of vision
Q: Who is an Ideal Candidate for Custom LASIK?
A: Almost anyone who is considered a good candidate for conventional Standard LASIK surgery but who desires a more up to date approach to correcting night vision problems as well can undergo Wavefront™-guided custom LASIK at our Bense Vision™ offices in St. John’s.
Q: Tell me again, why is Custom LASIK by the Advanced CustomVue Method™ so important to consider?
A: The Advanced CustomVue™ procedure offers a level of accuracy, safety and customization never before possible with laser vision correction. Special high-technology tools allow us to precisely measure and correct the imperfections in each eye, which means treatment is uniquely tailored to the individual. We’re delighted to be able to offer the Advanced CustomVue procedure. With the FDA approvals to treat so many vision conditions, we look forward to helping people who may have been waiting for this day to arrive.
Q: What Are Some Considerations in Choosing between a VISX laser and other excimer lasers?
A: Our VISX Star S4 IR laser is preferred 2:1 by laser vision surgeons in North America over all other lasers combined including Technolas with Zyoptix. It is the most popular laser in North America and treats more LASIK patients than any other laser in North America where most of the lasers in the world are done.
‘SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT’
We would like to set the record straight, as some LASIK clinics seem to claim that they have the ‘latest excimer laser’, and are ‘world leaders’ in laser vision correction technology.
There is no evidence for this claim!
Experts agree that the Star S4IR™ is now considered by most refractive surgeons in North America, to be the best LASIK laser available anywhere, especially when combined the with Advanced CustomVue Method™ to customize Standard LASIK. The outcomes are far superior to older LASIK technologies, technologies that were FDA-approved 5-10 years ago. Some of these older technologies include Zyoptix™ (approved in 2003) and the Zero compression Hansatome (keratome) which was approved in 2001 which is used by a minority of surgeons.
Our technology, namely ‘Advanced CustomVue WaveFront™ LASIK’ on the other hand, was only FDA approved in 2007 and is a superior technology compared to older approved treatments. Remember, with yesterday’s technology, you get yesterdays results.
As mentioned, over 60% of laser surgeons in North America (where most laser procedures in the world are performed) prefer and use the VISX S4IR™ laser as opposed to other lasers.
FDA Clinical Study Results: VISX is the best and safest laser available!
| Manufacturer | Wavefront LASIK System | % 20/20 or better after 6 months |
| Alcon | LADARVision 4000 “CustomCornea” | 79.9% |
| Bausch & Lomb | 217Z Technolas 217z “Zyoptix” | 91.5% |
| VISX S4 IR | VISX Star S4 IR “CustomVue” | 98% |
A significant result was that one year after the FDA trials, the VISX CustomVue™ procedure (our laser platform) showed up as the laser with the best results:
- 100% could pass a driving test without glasses or contact lenses
- 98% could see 20/20 or better without glasses or contact lenses
- 70% could see 20/16 or better without glasses or contact lenses
- Also, 4 times as many patients expressed "very satisfied" night-time vision after CustomVue LASIK as they had expressed preoperatively with their glasses or contact lenses.
- No re-treatments were performed in the FDA studies.
- Re-treatment is less likely after CustomVue LASIK than traditional blade LASIK.
To check these facts, a simple visit to the official FDA websites is needed, where FDA Wavefront approval letters for each laser manufacturer can be downloaded, citing the 20/20 or better data (plus safety data) cited above.
Personal Experience
Bense Vision offers the entire range of laser options from Basic blade LASIK to Custom Blade-free LASIK (iLASIK™).
Choice of procedure by our patients:
Standard PRK and LASIK: 1%
Custom PRK and LASIK: 4%
Custom Blade-Free iLASIK™: 95%
