IMPORTANT REMINDER: WHAT IS REFRACTIVE SURGERY?
Refractive surgery includes interventions aimed at correcting refractive disorders, using medical devices or devices such as lasers or implants, as well as surgical instruments.
INDICATIONS FOR REFRACTIVE SURGERY
All ametropia (visual defects) are currently correctable (entirely or in part) by refractive surgery.
To be eligible, the patient must be at least 21 years old and have a visual defect (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism) that has been stable for at least 2 years. If these conditions are met, the surgeon will carry out additional examinations to eliminate a contraindication to surgery.
THE PRE-OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT AND PROGRESS OF REFRACTIVE SURGERY
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Pre-operative assessment
The surgeon will carry out a careful history and clinical examination in order to rule out associated corneal or ocular pathology. Additional corneal examinations must be carried out to eliminate a contraindication to corneal surgery, in particular keratoconus frustus. These examinations include a measurement of the thickness of the cornea (corneal pachymetry) and a corneal topography assessing the regularity of the cornea. Wearing lenses must be stopped several days before this assessment.
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Progress of the intervention
Several operating techniques are currently available that allow you to obtain the best result for your eyes. The most common are corneal surgery techniques: PKR (photo-keratectomy), LASIK, SMILE. They use modern and specialized lasers. The procedure takes place on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia (instillation of drops) and both eyes are operated on at the same time. Wearing lenses must be stopped several days before the procedure.
The PKR technique uses the Excimer laser only, after manual ablation of the corneal epithelium. LASIK uses 2 different lasers: the femtosecond laser to cut a flap (called a flap), then this is lifted manually in order to apply the Excimer laser, and the test flap is finally put back in place. SMILE only uses a femtosecond laser which cuts a lenticule within the cornea, which is then removed manually.
THE FOLLOW-UP OF THE INTERVENTION
I WANT TO REMOVE THE GLASSES, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
After refractive surgery it is very important not to rub your eyes and to instill the drops that your surgeon has prescribed for you.
In case of PKR, moderate pain may be present for a few days (a dressing lens is generally placed on the eye to reduce pain while it heals) with visual recovery later; on the other hand, the complications linked to the presence of a flap do not exist.
If the technique chosen was LASIK, visual recovery will generally be rapid (the next day) without pain. After a SMILE, vision will take a few days to improve.
If you want to regain clear vision while eliminating the need to wear glasses or contact lenses, the office of Dr Mehdi Batras, specialized in refractive surgery, can help you with your treatment.
Ophthalmologist in Casablanca specializing in the retina
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