Laser eye surgery

Laser eye surgery has no long-term effects on cornea

Washington, Nov 10  : A research team, including an Indian-origin boffin, has found that laser eye surgery that corrects vision does not lead to later problems with the cornea – at least not after nine years.

Two types of laser surgery—photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)—are often used to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness.

However, little is known about how these procedures affect the cornea, the transparent membrane covering the eye, on the cellular level over the long term.

Sanjay V. Patel, M.D., and William M. Bourne, M.D., of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., studied 29 eyes of 16 patients who had undergone LASIK or PRK. Photographs of the cells lining the cornea (endothelial cells) were taken and analysed before and nine years after surgery.

The annual rate of corneal endothelial cell loss in the eyes of patients who had had surgery was compared with those of 42 eyes that had not undergone either procedure.

Nine years after surgery, the density of cells lining the cornea had decreased by 5.3 percent from their preoperative state.

However, the average annual rate of cell loss (0.6 percent) was the same in corneas of eyes that were operated on and those that were not.

“Our results support the findings of numerous short-term studies that found no significant endothelial cell loss after LASIK and PRK,” the authors said.

They added: “The importance of the findings in our study relates to using corneas that have undergone LASIK or PRK as donor tissue.”
The study has been reported in the November issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals

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How Much Are Laser Eye Treament Costs?

Laser eye surgery is a permanent procedure to alter your cornea with the ultimate aim of improving your vision so that you rely less or not at all on prescription glasses or contact lenses. There are many different treatments around and laser eye treatment cost differs depending on what procedure you use.

The most common procedure is known as the LASIK procedure (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis). It is used mainly to treat long and short sightedness. In this treatment a flap is cut in the cornea of the eye and a laser is used to treat the tissue underneath, with the flap being replaced once the procedure is finished.

The next most common is the LASEK treatment (laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis). This is similar to LASIK surgery, with the main difference being a finer tool is used so that less damage is caused to the cornea. It’s really only used if the LASIK procedure isn’t suitable for you.

Another treatment is known as photreactive keratectomy or PRK. This involves no cutting a flap into the cornea at all. Instead, a very small layer is scraped off altogether before a laser is used. Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds; that small layer grows back itself.

The costs of any one of these treatments can vary greatly depending on what surgeon you use and the technology involved. On average you can expect to pay anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500 per eye. The downside is most health insurers don’t cover it, but having said that most people who have the treatment only sing its praises.

Written by Troy Johns