Myopia+&+Laser+Eye+Surgery

Myopia and Laser Eye Surgery

By Grace Runcimantoc

//__Myopia background-__//
creating a blurred image. Myopia has been proven to be a **hereditary** disease that effects around 30% of the Canadian population. It occurs most often in young adults after a period of rapid growth. The sudden growth spurt causes the eye ball to grow quickly resulting in a more oval shaped eye which makes the cornea longer creating the visual impairment called myopia. The cornea is the part of the eye ball in charge of bending the light rays that enter the eye, and when it is altered the rays are changed making the image out of focus when it is farther away.
 * Myopia** is also known as nearsightedness. It is a vision impairment that the person can see things clearly only when they are close up but once the object moves back the image becomes a blur. Myopia occurs when the **cornea**of the eyeball is too long and as a result the reflections of the light rays entering the eye converge at a point in front of the retina

Society:
Myopia has had a great effect on society because it is a disability that effects around 30% of Canadians and many more all over the world. People will pay a lot of money in order to re-adjust their eyes, with glasses, contacts and laser eye surgery. Laser eye surgery also has a great effect on society because it is the only way to permanently fix eye problems like myopia.

[[image:2012grade10/nearsightedness.jpeg align="left"]]
-With a myopic eye your focusing mechanism is actually stronger than in an eye with 20 - 20 vision. It is actually too strong so it can only focus on objects closer but has trouble with objects further away.

What is Myopia?
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Types of laser eye surgery
Many people don't realize that there are actually different types of laser eye surgery. -Lasik ( laser-assisted insitu keratomileusis) - this is the most common procedure that doctors recommend. This procedure involves lasers that are focused on your cornea in order to re-shape it and improve vision. -Lasek (laser epithelial keratomileusis) - has the same procedure as lasic but less cornea is pealed back, this is mostly recommended to patients with thinner corneas. -PRK - was the main laser eye surgery before lasic was introduced. It uses the same laser procedure but the layer of the cornea was never replaced after it was removed creating a longer recovery. There are also many other older procedures which are not available anymore.

Laser Eye Surgery (Lasik)
If you are considering LASIK eye surgery here are some steps that you should take __before the __ __surgery__ ...   __ What to expect during the procedure -  __ 
 * Your first step is to choose a laser eye surgeon .
 *  Next consult an ** optometrist ** to decide whether Lasik is a good option for you. Your eye doctor will perform an eye exam to determine if your eyes are healthy enough for the procedure, what kind of vision correction you need and how much laser ablation is required.
 * Your doctor also will look for signs of dry eye disease, which must be treated and cleared up before LASIK can be performed. Even if your eyes have a normal tear film, your eye surgeon as a precaution may recommend treatment to reduce your risk of developing dry eyes after lasik.
 * Also, a **corneal topographer** usually is used; this device measures the curvature of your eye and creates a kind of "map" of your cornea. With new wavefront technology associated with custom LASIK, you also are likely to undergo a wavefront analysis that sends light waves through the eye to provide an even more precise map of aberrations affecting your vision.
 * Finally, the doctor will asses your current health problems you have or medications you take.
 *  The pre- operation procedure for laser eye surgery is first numbing eye drops to numb the eye to reduce pain or discomfort during the incision or laser procedure.
 * You will be lying on a chair directly under the laser (only one eye is operated on at a time.) A retainer is placed under your eyelids to keep them open.


 * The surgeon uses a computer to adjust the excimer laser for your particular prescription. You will be asked to look at a target light for a short time while he or she watches your eye through a microscope as the laser sends pulses of light to your cornea.

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Definitions:

 * Myopia || - a condition of the eye in which parallel rays are focused in front of the retina, objects being seen distinctly only when near to the eye; nearsightedness (opposed to [|hyperopia] ). ||
 * **Cornea** || - <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the transparent part of the coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and pupil and admits light to the interior ||
 * **hereditary** || - conferred by or based on inheritance ||
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> optometrist || - one who practices the profession of examining the eyes for visual defects and prescribing corrective lenses. ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">corneal topographer || - is a non-invasive medical imaging technique for mapping the surface curvature of the c ornea, the outer structure of the e ye . Since the cornea is normally responsible for some 70% of the eye's r efractive power , its topography is of critical importance in determining the quality of incision. ||