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LASIK Home
Learning about LASIK
LASIK is a surgical procedure intended to reduce a
person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The
goal of this Web site is to provide objective
information to the public about LASIK surgery. See other
sections of this site to learn about what you should
know
before surgery, what will happen
during the surgery, and what you should expect
after surgery. There is a
glossary of terms and a
checklist of issues for you to consider, practices
to follow, and questions to ask your doctor before
undergoing LASIK surgery.
LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ
Keratomileusis and is a procedure that permanently
changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of
the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. A knife,
called a microkeratome, is used to cut a flap in
the cornea. A hinge is left at one end of this flap. The
flap is folded back revealing the stroma, the
middlesection of the cornea. Pulses from a
computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the
stroma and the flap is replaced. There are other
techniques and many new terms related to LASIK that you
may hear about.
(Some Photos Copyright © 2000,
Photodisc, Inc.)
From U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for
Devices and Radiological Health Website (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/)
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