5 Most Common Eye Corrective Surgeries You Should Know About

Wearing glasses or contact lenses can become cumbersome, especially if you are in a job where you need to wear masks every day. Those who are into contact sports also find wearing spectacles and lenses quite uncomfortable. But thanks to incredible advancements, vision correction surgery is now more popular than ever. Most of these surgeries reshape your cornea to let light pass through and focus on your retina. Here are some of the most common eye corrective surgeries that can fix your vision in no time:

1. Lasik

A Lasik surgery means reshaping your underlying corneal tissue so that it focuses light in your eye and then reaches your retina. This surgery is ideal for people with farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism. Lasik involves a unique method where the surgeon creates a tiny flap on your cornea's outer layer to access the underlying tissues. This process requires tremendous precision and high-quality computer imaging to create detailed corneal images.

2. PRK

Also known as photorefractive keratectomy, this procedure involves reshaping your cornea. Many people say that Lasik and PRK are similar, but that's not the case. If you see PRK vs Lasik, you will notice that PRK only reshapes your cornea's surface. Lasik, on the other hand, reshapes the underlying corneal tissues. This keeps Lasik slightly ahead of PRK. The latter is suitable for mild to moderate farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism. 

3. ALK

ALK means automated lamellar keratoplasty. It helps to correct the vision of people with severe nearsightedness. During this procedure, your eye surgeon will create flaps in your cornea to access its underlying tissues. This method doesn't require lasers. Instead, the surgeon makes a tiny incision in the cornea's sub-layer to reshape the cornea and improve your vision. 

4. RLE

Refractive lens exchange is a method to correct cataracts. The eye surgeon starts by making a small incision to remove your eyes' natural lens on the edge of your cornea. He will then replace the lens with a plastic or silicone lens. Many surgeons call this method CLE or precise lens extraction. Unlike ALK that can only correct severe nearsightedness, RLE can correct both severe nearsightedness and farsightedness. Surgeons also use this procedure to fix dry eyes, thin corneas, and various other eye problems. 

5. EpiLasik

EpiLasik is quite similar to PRK. Your eye surgeon will first separate the cornea's thin layer, reshape it, and place it again on the cornea. If the surgeon finds that the coating cannot reshape, he will replace it with a new layer. The procedure ends after the surgeon applies a soft contact lens to protect the operated area until it heals completely.

Eye specialists recommend these corrective surgeries to patients who don't want to wear glasses or lenses. Although the surgeries are expensive than wearing glasses, they ensure long-lasting effects so that you don't need to worry about changing your specs or visit the ophthalmologist frequently due to issues with your vision. But make sure you contact an experienced surgeon to consult which surgery is suitable for you.