Wavefront LASIK Customizes Vision

Custom LASIK surgery, also called Wavefront LASIK, analyzes the way light travels through your eye. This data is compared to the way light travels through an eye with perfect vision and a 3-D map is created of your vision. The surgeon, then, uses your Wavefront map to customize your LASIK surgery.

The Wavefront analyzer, also called an aberrometer, was introduced to the world of LASIK eye surgery in 2003. Doctors say it can result in you having clearer and sharper vision than ever before. It analyzes the way light travels through your eye, compares that data to the way travels through an eye with perfect vision, and creates a 3D map of your vision, demonstrating aberrations in your vision.

That map is programmed into the laser, and then the laser can treat your eye based on that custom map. You may be a good candidate for Custom LASIK if you have mild to moderately high degrees of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, combined with what is called "higher order aberrations" in your eye. These are small imperfections in the eye that are linked to halos, visual glare and other problems such as poor contrast sensitivity, that are not treatable with today's eyeglasses, contacts, or conventional LASIK. It is even likely that night vision will improve.

Pupil size and the thickness of the cornea may indicate a procedure other than Wavefront. Also, if your higher order aberrations are not pronounced, you may be better off having the less expensive Conventional LASIK surgery.

The actual procedure is identical in Wavefront LASIK and Conventional LASIK. It is in the pre-operative testing and the technique for programming the computer with your individual treatment parameters where the two procedures differ. Surgeons who use the Wavefront analyzer say that it brings a whole new level of accuracy to the surgery. The Wavefront system provides information on more than just the surface of the eye and refractive error. It demonstrates how the whole optical system processes light. It is said that the difference in results with the two surgeries is like the difference between standard television and high definition television.

Wavefront LASIK is still a very new procedure, as it was just approved in 2003. The medical profession understands a lot about the eye's lower-order aberrations and their stability, but far less is known about higher-order aberrations. So, not even the most skilled surgeon can predict how higher-order aberrations will change over the years.

You have to understand that this is still surgery and complications are still possible. Although it is possible that you will not ever need glasses or contact lenses again, it is by no means guaranteed. It is even possible that your quality of vision will diminish.Not everyone is eligible for Wavefront or Custom LASIK eye surgery. But for those who are, this new technology improves the possible results, diminishing complications and giving new hope to those with halo, glare and contrast sensitivity issues that cannot be corrected with standard LASIK or corrective lenses.
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