Epi-LASIK is a

refractive surgery Refractive eye surgery is optional eye surgery used to improve the refractive state of the eye and decrease or eliminate dependency on glasses or contact lenses. This can include various methods of surgical remodeling of the cornea (keratomileu ...

technique designed to reduce a person's dependency on

eyeglasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...

and

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

. Invented by Dr.

Ioannis Pallikaris Ioannis G. Pallikaris ( el, Παλλήκαρης Ιωάννης; born November 18, 1947) is a Greek ophthalmologist who in 1989 performed the first LASIK procedure on a human eye. Pallikaris also developed Epi-LASIK. Professor Palikaris was t ...

, the technique is basically an automatic LASEK without

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

; it can be better considered as superficial

LASIK LASIK or Lasik (''laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis''), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism, since ...

. The stromal bed is smoother than that obtained by mechanical methods or brush. Unlike alcohol (LASEK), there is no chance of damaging the limbal stem cells. It is also relatively less painful than LASEK. # A device similar to a

microkeratome A microkeratome is a precision surgical instrument with an oscillating blade designed for creating the corneal flap in LASIK or ALK surgery. The normal human cornea varies from around 500 to 600 micrometres in thickness; and in the LASIK procedur ...

(called epi-keratome) slides over the surface of the

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

, just underneath the epithelial layer of cells while suction is applied. # The result is a hinged sheet of epithelium that is at least partially viable. # It is reflected out of the way so that the

ablation Ablation ( la, ablatio – removal) is removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosion, erosive processes or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, and include spacecraft materi ...

can take place. # The sheet is repositioned and a bandage

soft contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

is placed on the eye. Recent studies show that the surface epithelial layer of the cornea heals faster if the epithelial sheet is removed at the end of surgery. This means that the original rationale for carefully cleaving the epithelium with the aim of replacing it at the end of surgery is flawed. It is better in fact to discard the epithelial layer at the end of surgery, thus making epi-LASIK no different from traditional

photorefractive keratectomy Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser-assisted sub-epithelial keratectomy (or laser epithelial keratomileusis) (LASEK) are laser eye surgery procedures intended to correct a person's vision, reducing dependency on glasses or contact lenses. ...

surgery.

Advantages

# Less damage to corneal nerves, hence safer in dry eyes # If cornea is abnormal for LASIK, epilasik may still be an option

Complications

Although relatively uncommon, the following are some of the more frequently reported complications of Epi-LASIK: * Slower or delayed epithelial healing * Duplication of epithelium * Over/undercorrection *

Visual acuity Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

fluctuation * Halos around light sources * Starbursts around light sources * Decentered ablation * Corneal Haze * Epithelium erosion * Loss of epithelial flap A potentially serious complication which occurs in 0.33% to 2.2% of cases is corneal stromal incursion during the microkeratome pass. When this happens, the blade inadvertently cuts into the collagenous corneal stroma and creates an irregularity. If this irregularity is near the visual axis, permanent visual blurring can occur.

History

The first cases outside Greece were performed in 2003. In September 2003,

Marguerite McDonald Marguerite McDonald is an eye surgeon who in 1987 performed the first excimer laser treatment. In 1993 she became the first to use this treatment to treat farsightedness. In September 2003, she became the first person in North America to perform E ...

became the first person in North America to perform Epi-LASIK.SMILE vs LASIK Surgery: Which One to Choose?
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References

External links

The Difference Between LASIK & PRK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epi-Lasik LASIK