Laser refractive surgery: have we arrived?
- Correspondence to Professor Jorge L Alio, Avda de Denia s/n, Edificio Vissum, Alicante 03016, Spain; jlalio{at}vissum.com
Excimer laser surgery was applied to the corneal correction of refractive errors 25 years ago. When Buratto et al1 and Pallikaris et al2 created the idea of cutting a corneal flap, which was elevated on a temporary basis for the purpose of ablating the stromal surface directly, followed by flap reapplication, the procedure was taken to a new dimension. The procedure, based on the concepts of keratomileusis, was termed ‘lasik in-situ keratomileusis’ (LASIK).
Due to its relatively simple surgical complexity and its systematic reproducibility with small intersurgeon variability, the procedure soon not only became a gold standard for the correction of myopia and other refractive errors, but also for the first time in ophthalmology opened the possibility for massive corporate application due to the high demographic incidence of low to moderate refractive errors and the potential business involved in their surgical management.
Over the …
