Alternatives to LASIK
During your LASIK Consultation , we may identify certain vision or medical conditions that might make LASIK too risky for you. Conditions like age, overall health, eye health and corneal thickness are all taken into account to ensure that you are a good candidate for LASIK.
If you are not given the “green light” for LASIK, the surgeons at the Eye Care Center of Northern Colorado offer LASIK alternatives, including:
- PRK/ASA
- Refractive Lens Exchange
- Implantable Contact Lens (Phakic Intraocular Lens)
PRK/ASA
If your cornea is too thin for LASIK, PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) or ASA (Advanced Surface Ablation) may be more suitable. During these procedures, no corneal flap is created. Instead, a small area on the corneal surface cells is gently polished away to give access to the layer below so the corneal reshaping can be performed.
The visual outcomes are comparable to LASIK; however the recovery times are longer and the healing process may be slightly more uncomfortable.
Refractive Lens Exchange
This is a non-laser corrective procedure where the eye lens is replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). This is a permanent and maintenance-free option with a quick recovery time. This option can provide both near and far vision while also preventing cataracts from forming in future years.
Implantable Contact Lens (Phakic Intraocular Lens)
In this procedure, a permanent intraocular lens is implanted in front of the eye’s natural lens, leaving the eye’s natural lens in place. This technique is good for people with very strong prescriptions or those with thin corneas. At the Eye Care Center of Northern Colorado, we use the Visian ICL implantable collamer lens to correct myopia with great success.