Since the excimer laser's approval by the FDA in 1995, millions of people have eliminated their nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism and their dependence on glasses and contact lenses.

Excimer lasers differ in a number of ways, but conventional excimer laser treatment uses the same formulas to treat every person with the same optical prescription. With the advent of wavefront optimized and customized treatments, we can now address the unique characteristics of each patient's eye. Today, the Ziemer FEMTO LDVT Femtosecond Laser works in conjunction with these advanced excimer laser technologies to offer our patients the possibility to improve the quality of their vision beyond 20/20.

MAKING THE CORNEAL FLAP

LASIK involves making a flap in the cornea and reshaping its inner tissue. Traditionally, this flap was created using a hand-held mechanical instrument called a microkeratome which contains a metal blade that cuts into the cornea. Although relatively safe, the microkeratome can produce a rough and irregular corneal surface affecting the quality of vision. To eliminate the potential problems caused by a bladed cut, femtosecond lasers have added a tremendous level of safety and accuracy to flap creation with over a million procedures performed to date.

Our Ziemer FEMTO LDVT laser represents the next level of excellence in flap creation with a femtosecond laser. Using its ultra-fast, tightly focused, low energy laser beam, microscopic bubbles are created precisely at the intended depth within the cornea. The laser pulses are delivered through a lens which the surgeon is holding against your eye. This causes the layers of the cornea to separate, thereby creating a LASIK flap of the desired thickness, size, orientation, and location unique to each patient's needs. Unlike other femtosecond lasers, the bubbles created by the FEMTO LDVT disappear immediately after the flap is lifted, creating a smoother surface and allowing the next step of the procedure to begin without any waiting time.

This tremendous level of control and customization makes our Blade-Free Z-LASIK Experience safer, speeds visual recovery, makes our patients more comfortable, and contributes to better visual outcomes.

Z-LASIK COMPARED WITH MICROKERATOME-BASED LASIK

The Ziemer FEMTO LDVT laser is a second generation laser and the fastest technology available. It uses short pulses of invisible light energy to separate the layers of tissue, creating a custom corneal flap, making the procedure very patient friendly.

A microkeratome is a mechanical, razorlike device operated by hand or a motor, that slices through the cornea to create the LASIK flap.

The major advantage of Femto-LASIK over conventional LASIK is that the entire vision correction treatment is performed by Laser. The use of a blade to make an initial cut into the cornea is no longer required. Working on your eye with a blade is a thought that makes many people uncomfortable, even though blade-LASIK is still today performed by many doctors and is also considered a safe and effective procedure

CUSTOMIZING THE LASER TREATMENT

On the day of the procedure, anesthetic drops are placed into your eye. Using the Ziemer FEMTO LDVT laser, a corneal flap is gently created and folded back. Then the cool light from the advanced excimer laser reshapes the inner tissue of the cornea to create a new curvature in a matter of seconds. The flap is repositioned and visual recovery begins.

PATIENT BENEFITS

With the precision of the Blade-Free Z-LASIK Experience with the FEMTO LDVT laser vision correction is now an even safer and more predictable procedure.

• Custom-tailored precise corneal flap creation.
• Less worry about surgical complications.
• More comfortable procedure.
• Quicker visual recovery.
• More likely to achieve 20/20 or better vision.
• Shorter treatment times.
• Larger treatment zones.

We've invested in the FEMTO LDVT laser because our patients are worth it!