A Look at Custom Blade-Free LASIK (iLASIK™)

(100% Blade-Free Custom LASIK)

iLASIK™ is the most advanced and safest form of LASIK performed in the world today.

"Cutting Edge Technology, without the Cutting Edge"

Blade-free Custom LASIK

Blade-free LASIK with IntraLase® laser technology is the first "all laser" LASIK procedure. At his St. John’s offices, Dr. Bense performs laser eye surgery using blade free IntraLase® LASIK for the safest and most effective laser vision correction possible.

Custom Blade-Free LASIK (iLASIK™) has been a decade in the making. iLASIK™ is the name given to the procedure whereby Custom LASIK is done by the Advanced CustomVue™ Ablation Method, and is performed Blade-Free by the IntraLase™ Laser. The laser ablation is performed by the most advanced excimer in the world the STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser™ which is also the most popular laser in North America by a margin of over 2:1.

Blade-Free iLASIK™ is our most popular laser procedure. 95% of our all our LASIK patients choose Custom Blade-Free LASIK (iLASIK™) over all other forms of LASIK.

Custom Blade-Free LASIK (iLASIK™) is today the ‘Premium LASIK Procedure in the world with results that are uniquely precise, safe and effective. The level of safety and accuracy in particular, is unprecedented over earlier and more conventional technologies like Basic blade LASIK. This combination of technologies is used for military pilots and astronauts, who demand the clearest, most precise vision possible.

To learn more about the benefits of blade-free LASIK using IntraLase® technology, or to experience the next generation in laser vision correction, simply call today to schedule your complimentary Blade-Free iLASIK™ consultation: Call 1-709-722-2020

A Look at iLASIK™

The very first step in any LASIK procedure involves the creation of a corneal flap. The dimensions of the flap, its thickness and its overall configuration are all critical elements in the overall success of your LASIK procedure.

The iLASIK procedure

1. Anaesthetic drops are applied to the eye.

2. A protective flap is now created by the blade-free IntraLase™ laser (Historically, in Standard LASIK as well as in Custom LASIK, the first step was always performed using a hand held steel blade in a microkeratome device. This flap is then gently lifted by the surgeon, revealing the inner corneal tissue).

In modern day iLASIK™, patients are upgraded to a far safer and superior way of creating the protective flap. IntraLase™ is a Blade-Free thus 100% safer method of creating the protective flap, using a precision femto-second laser. For over ten years standard mechanical methods have provided excellent outcomes. However, through blade-free IntraLase™ precision laser technology we can now offer our patients a much safer alternative to the mechanical blade LASIK method used in Standard LASIK and Custom LASIK.

How it works

The IntraLase™ laser is precisely focused to a point within the cornea, where thousands of microscopic bubbles are formed.
IntraLase™ enables the surgeon to precisely design and control many aspects of the flap–its thickness, its circumference, and the angle of its edges–effectively tailoring the protective flap to the eye.
The surgeon then gently lifts the flap to allow for the excimer laser treatment.

Noteworthy

While flap creation with a blade has proven to be a safe and successful procedure in most cases, the majority of complications seen in Basic and Custom LASIK, have been associated with use of these steel blades housed in the microkeratome. Creating the flap with IntraLase™ laser used in iLASIK™, eliminates these blade-associated risks.

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.

4. The procedure is complete when the protective flap is securely repositioned on its bevelled edge after the surgeon has gently replaced the flap in its original position. It heals naturally and securely.

Examples of Blade Complications Avoided by using Blade-Free iLASIK:

Although advancements are made in laser eye treatment every year, the introduction of 100% blade-free technology is the biggest leap in technology since the introduction of Standard LASIK in the late 1990's. It is even a bigger advancement than the introduction of Custom LASIK (by way of Wavefront guided technology) that we and other clinics use to customize the laser treatments. This blade-free technology forms an integral part of the iLASIK™ procedure done at Bense Vision, the only centre offering Blade-Free LASIK in this province.

Benefits of Blade-free iLASIK™

With IntraLase® “All-Laser” LASIK (iLASIK) our patients have no need to worry about the steel blade-related side effects that can result from conventional Standard LASIK surgery. Studies have also shown that the quality of vision achieved with blade-free LASIK is superior to that of Standard LASIK. The computer-controlled lasers utilized in blade free LASIK enable the surgeon to make more precise incisions and corrections than when using a hand held blade..

This "No Blade, No Cutting" 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 regular LASIK procedures using a microkeratome. This results in many benefits to our patients.

More patients achieve vision 20/20 or better
Better quality of vision overall, particularly in low light such as at dusk or at night. For all indications submitted to the FDA, satisfaction with night vision improved after the CustomVue procedure.
IntraLase™ enables even faster healing and recovery rates than when using a blade.
IntraLase™ can improve the precision and visual results of LASIK, whether you choose to have a Basic or Custom procedure.
IntraLase™ allows surgeons to tailor the corneal flap for each individual patient and each individual eye.
IntraLase™ is of particular benefit to patients with steep, flat, or thin corneas, some of whom are not eligible for Basic or Custom LASIK/PRK surgery when performed with a blade.
Laser eye surgery has a complication rate of less than 1%. However, these complications are even further reduced by choosing the blade-free option called IntraLase™

Unique Safety of Blade-Free LASIK

If you’ve been waiting for the right motivation to undergo LASIK surgery because of possible safety issues, the blade-free LASIK procedure is your reason to act.
Offered mostly by leading eye surgeons the world over, blade-free iLASIK is the result of over a decade’s worth of technical refinement.
iLASIK™ (Custom Blade-free LASIK) eliminates the blade and combines all of the best all-laser technologies currently available in the most advanced LASIK procedure performed today.
The iLASIK™ procedure has changed laser vision surgery forever, and your wait for better vision-and all that goes along with it, is over.
In September 2007, iLASIK™ was considered safe enough by the US Government to be approved for use by NASA astronauts and the US Military.
If you’re a little afraid of the use of a blade in LASIK (Basic and Custom LASIK), you’re going to love our new Blade-Free, all-laser Custom IntraLase™ iLASIK™ procedure. With no cutting or blades, it’s at least 200 times safer than LASIK done with a blade, and offers patients superior results.

Advantages of using the Intralase™ Blade-Free Laser

Improved Safety:
Eliminates the most severe microkeratome-related complications, including invasive corneal incisions and button-hole flaps.
Better Vision:
Patients achieve statistically better vision when IntraLase is used in the LASIK procedure. In comparison with microkeratome-initiated LASIK, more patients achieved 20/20 vision and those with a preference preferred the post-operative vision of their IntraLase treated eye 3-to-1.
Highest Degree of Predictability and Precision:
Micron-level precision creates significantly more predictable and accurate flap dimensions, including, most critically, reproducible flap thickness, within ± 10 microns, whereas variability with microkeratomes has been reported up to ± 40 microns. This increased precision preserves valuable corneal tissue and improves the predictability of the LASIK treatment.
Fewer Re-treatments:
The number of LASIK re-treatments (or enhancements) is significantly lower for laser-created corneal flaps, avoiding the patient inconvenience of subsequent surgeries and the increased surgeon costs entailed with re-operations.
Reduced Dry Eye Symptoms:
In several clinical studies, standard tests performed to diagnose dry eye show a significant reduction in symptoms, the largest of which shows patient symptoms were reduced by 72 percent. This lower occurrence of dry eye symptoms may be due to the uniform and typically thinner flap, creating less disruption of nerves in the cornea.
Individualized Flaps:
The laser flap can be tailored to the individual patient’s needs, allowing physicians to individualize all steps in the LASIK procedure: custom diagnosis with wavefront; personalized flap creation with IntraLase, and, custom laser treatment with custom ablation.