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LASEK (Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy) Laser Eye Surgery

Procedure Time: minutes

Recovery Time: 1-2 weeks

Results Duration: 3-6 months adjustment. Vision improvement is permanent depending on the individual

Cost: Approx. £500 to £1,300 per eye

Anaesthesia: Local anaesthesia

For a full list of FAQs please .

LASEK (Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy) is a laser eye surgery procedure used for the correction and improvement of vision conditions such as astigmatism, hyperopia (long-sightedness), and myopia (short-sightedness). It is a surgical procedure intended to reduce a person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses. LASEK, like other vision correction surgeries, such as LASIK, uses a laser to alter the shape of the cornea allowing the person to view images in focus again. LASEK differs from LASIK in how the cornea is accessed initially for the laser treatment to take place. The ideal candidate for LASEK should be over 18, have had stable vision and an prescription for at least the last two years. Those with only mild long-sightedness, or astigmatism may not be suitable candidates. LASEK eye surgery is better suited to patients with very thin or steep corneas, as thin flaps make it difficult for the surgeon to create a suitable flap for a LASIK surgical procedure. LASEK eye surgery prices are from approximately £500 to £1,300 per eye.

LASEK (Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy) Laser Eye Surgery FAQs

LASEK eye surgery (short for Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy) is a type of corrective laser eye surgery, used to improve vision and reduce the need for glasses or contact lenses in people with astigmatism, long-sightedness and short-sightedness.

Laser eye surgery is one of the most common elective surgeries in the world, with the number of people electing to have the more commonly methods of , LASEK or PRK laser eye surgery increasing year on year. Those who have it done can expect their vision to drastically improve following surgery, with over 90% of patients experiencing their "ideal vision" within around two weeks following surgery.

The very first LASEK procedure was in America in 1996 by ophthalmologist and refractive surgeon Dimitri Azar. 

LASEK eye surgery can permanently improve eyesight, provided that you are the right candidate. If you are considering LASEK eye surgery, the following information should give you a basic understanding of the procedure. It can’t answer all of your questions, as the outcome of the procedure depends on the individual person and practitioner. Please ask an ophthalmic surgeon about anything you don’t understand.

LASEK is a type of corrective laser eye surgery that is designed to treat and improve eyesight conditions and vision problems. 

Local anaesthetic eye drops will be dropped into the eye before treatment, that the treatment itself is virtually painless. The procedure involves the outer layer of the cornea (the epithelium) being detached from the cornea following weakening or loosening of the epithelial cells with a 20% alcohol solution. (This differs from where a knife blade or femtosecond laser is used to cut a flap much deeper into the layers of the cornea). The epithelium is then lifted or rolled back to allow access to the corneal tissue below. An excimer laser is then used to permanently alter the shape of an area called the anterior central cornea by removing a small amount of tissue from the corneal stroma through ablation or . Once complete the epithelium can be lowered back down or pushed back over and will completely heal within a few days. 

With LASEK eye surgery the laser application is at a more superficial level than with procedures, making it more suitable for those people with higher degrees of vision errors.

The process of the laser altering the shape of the anterior central cornea allows light to travel through it to the retina at the back of the eye, improving and focussing the vision. The actual laser part of the procedure takes less than 60 seconds per eye, although the pre-surgical evaluations of the eye and the correction needed will actually take longer. 

LASEK aims to correct the vision in people with various eyesight conditions, including short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. 

Short-sightedness is a condition also known as myopia which means that a person may have difficulty seeing objects that are in the far distance; in other words they can clearly see objects that are right in front of them whilst objects in the distance could become increasingly blurry the away they are. 

Long-sightedness is a condition known as hyperopia, which means that a person may have difficulty in seeing objects that are close in front of their eyes such as the words on a page in a book or magazine or the images on a television screen. 

People with astigmatism, which is an optical defect caused by the shape of the eye, tend to also experience blurry vision. 

You can expect a great improvement in your eyesight within the first few weeks following the surgery, although it might take around one to three months to achieve a final result. Some patients experience vision of 20/25 or even greater, once their eyes are healed.

It cannot however treat or prevent presbyopia which is the situation whereby with age there is a progressively ability of the ability of the eye to focus on near objects, meaning that as may people age they start to require