Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale Area LASIK Surgery & Custom LASIK Services
At the Cohen Laser and Vision Center, we provide residents of Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and all of South Florida with exceptional LASIK surgery and custom LASIK services. As a leader in the field of ophthalmology, Dr. Cohen has performed thousands of vision correction procedures, including intraocular lens implantation, NearVisionSM CK® and more. Additionally, whereas most LASIK surgeons are general ophthalmologists, Dr. Cohen is a fellowship trained cornea and refractive specialist, granting him special qualification to perform surgical procedures such as LASIK and custom LASIK.
LASIK Surgery
LASIK, or Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, is the most common of a group of surgical procedures collectively referred to as refractive surgery. These procedures are designed to improve the eye’s ability to focus images on the retina, which in turn transmits the images to the brain. However, the cornea - the front portion of the eye responsible for refracting light onto the retina - is not always perfectly shaped to do so. This can cause various forms of blurred or distorted vision, including myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism (blurred peripheral vision). LASIK surgery has been found to be an effective treatment for all three disorders.
The LASIK Procedure
The process of LASIK surgery is accomplished in a few short steps. A local anesthetic is first applied to the eye(s). A thin flap is then carefully created on the surface of the cornea, using a highly precise instrument called IntraLase®. The flap is pulled back, revealing the middle section of the cornea. A cool ultraviolet light beam, produced by our VISX S4™ laser, is then applied, removing tiny portions of the cornea in an effort to reshape it and improve visual acuity. Each pulse of the laser removes approximately .25 microns of corneal tissue. By comparison, the diameter of a human hair is about 50 microns. Because the laser used in LASIK surgery removes corneal matter in such small increments, extreme precision is achieved in the process. Once the cornea is corrected, the flap is replaced and the procedure is complete.
Following LASIK surgery, patients usually experience a rapid recovery due to the fact that only a tiny portion of the eye is actually operated on. Most of our patients are able to drive themselves back to our facility the day following their surgery to meet with Dr. Cohen for their follow-up appointment. Because of its efficiency and effectiveness, LASIK surgery is the most popular form of refractive surgery. It is estimated to account for 95 percent of the laser vision correction procedures that are performed today.
If you live in the South Palm Beach County area, near Boca Raton or Fort Lauderdale, and would like more information on LASIK surgery, or if you would like to schedule a complimentary evaluation, please contact the Cohen Laser and Vision Center today. At our office near Fort Lauderdale in Boca Raton, LASIK surgery patients have access to a specialist who has performed thousands of refractive surgeries since 1985. At CLVC, you can be sure that your laser vision correction is being performed by one of the most accomplished and experienced eye care teams in the profession.
iLASIK™
G. Richard Cohen, M.D. has performed over 10,000 refractive surgeries using LASIK technology, restoring vision to patients who thought they would have to wear glasses and contacts for the rest of their lives. Nearly 32 million LASIK procedures have been performed to date, making this procedure the most common elective vision procedure in the U.S. All branches of the U.S. Military and NASA recently approved LASIK for servicemen and women thanks to studies of the use of iLasik™ technology.
IntraLase®
Dr. Cohen chooses to use the IntraLase® laser to create the corneal flap because of its unparalleled precision. IntraLase® creates pulses of laser energy at a rate of one pulse every one quad-trillionth of a second. Each pulse creates a microscopic bubble of water vapor and carbon dioxide just beneath the surface of the cornea. Thousands of these bubbles are placed next to each other to separate the corneal tissue at the molecular level. Once the flap is complete, Dr. Cohen gently lifts the flap out of the way so he can shape the cornea using the VISX® laser.
IntraLase® represents a vast improvement over the handheld microkeratome; a microkeratome is a small blade that was previously used for flap creation. Although complications in LASIK surgery are very rare, most of the problems that do occur are associated with the use of the microkeratome.
Another advantage of IntraLase® is that patients report fewer side effects such as dry eye and the need for repeat treatments after their initial LASIK surgery. Moreover, IntraLase® allows a wider range of patients to enjoy the benefits of LASIK; Dr. Cohen can now treat people using IntraLase® who were previously not candidates for LASIK surgery. Visit www.improveyourvision.com for more information about Blade Free LASIK.
Custom LASIK
Individuals with certain conditions may not be good candidates for LASIK surgery. Qualifying patients in or near Fort Lauderdale or Boca Raton may elect to have custom LASIK instead.
With conventional LASIK surgery, Dr. Cohen corrects the patient’s vision by sculpting their cornea according to their eyeglass or contact lens prescription. Custom LASIK is a second-generation LASIK procedure, which relies not on an eyewear prescription, but on a highly detailed three-dimensional map of the patient’s cornea as generated by WaveScan™ technology. The CustomVue™ procedure allows the ophthalmologist to detect irregularities of the cornea that would be overlooked with other methods. After inputting the topographic map directly into the VISX® S4 excimer laser, our LASIK surgeon is able to precisely re-structure your cornea so that it is able to focus light properly and generate clearer images.
CustomVue™ individualized laser vision correction is renowned for producing amazing results. In a study conducted by the FDA, patients were tested a year after undergoing the CustomVue™ procedure. Of these, 98 percent were able to see 20/20 or better, and 70 percent could see 20/16 or better.
The CustomVue™ Advantage
With other lasers used in refractive surgery, it is often required that patients focus on a small light positioned in front of their eyes during surgery so that the laser can ablate (remove) corneal matter as effectively as possible while avoiding any mistakes in the process. With CustomVue™ technology, any eye movements are automatically tracked, and the laser is re-positioned accordingly, so that it remains trained on the treatment area.
The CustomVue™ WaveScan™ system is also superior to previous technology in that it allows for the correction of what are known as higher-order aberrations. Such deviations in the surface curvature of the cornea, untreatable with conventional LASIK surgery and other procedures, can lead to visual impairments such as glares, halos, and diminished nighttime vision.
At our office in Boca Raton, near Fort Lauderdale, custom LASIK evaluations are provided free of charge. If you would like more information about this state-of-the-art procedure, or if you would like to schedule a complimentary evaluation, please contact the Cohen Laser and Vision Center today.
If you live in or around Fort Lauderdale or Boca Raton and would like to learn more about custom LASIK surgery, please contact the Cohen Laser and Vision Center today.