Corneal ablation is an eye procedure that reshapes the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped front surface of the eye, to improve vision. This reshaping alters how light enters the eye, allowing it to focus correctly on the retina. The procedure offers a path to reduced dependence on glasses or contact lenses for many individuals, precisely correcting common vision imperfections.
Understanding Corneal Ablation
The cornea serves as the eye’s primary focusing lens, bending most of the light that enters the eye. It is a transparent, curved layer that lacks blood vessels to maintain its clarity. Light rays must be precisely focused by the cornea and the eye’s natural lens to form a clear image on the retina, a light-sensing layer at the back of the eye.
Corneal ablation addresses vision irregularities by physically reshaping the cornea’s curvature. This process involves an excimer laser, which precisely removes microscopic layers of corneal tissue. By altering the cornea’s shape, the procedure changes its refractive power, ensuring that light focuses sharply onto the retina.
What It Corrects
Corneal ablation primarily corrects common refractive errors, conditions where the eye does not bend light properly. These include myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Myopia, or nearsightedness, makes distant objects blurry as light focuses in front of the retina. To correct this, the laser flattens the central cornea, reducing its focusing power.
Hyperopia, or farsightedness, causes near objects to appear blurry because light focuses behind the retina. The procedure steepens the central cornea, increasing its focusing power. Astigmatism results from an irregularly shaped cornea, causing blurred or distorted vision at all distances. The laser creates a more uniformly curved surface by selectively removing tissue in specific meridians, correcting the uneven focusing.
The Procedure
Before the corneal ablation procedure, anesthetic eye drops are applied for comfort, and a lid speculum gently holds the eyelids open. The surgeon guides the patient to focus on a target light, which helps stabilize the eye for precise laser application.
The specific steps vary slightly depending on the technique, such as LASIK or PRK, but both use an excimer laser to reshape the cornea. In LASIK, a thin, hinged flap is created on the corneal surface, either mechanically or with a femtosecond laser, and then gently lifted. The excimer laser then reshapes the exposed underlying corneal tissue.
Once laser reshaping is complete, the corneal flap is carefully repositioned, adhering naturally without stitches. In PRK, the outermost layer of the cornea, the epithelium, is gently removed before the excimer laser reshapes the surface. The entire laser application process is quick, often lasting less than a minute per eye.
Life After Corneal Ablation
Following corneal ablation, patients can expect a recovery period where vision gradually improves and stabilizes. Immediately after the procedure, common sensations include a gritty feeling, light sensitivity, and tearing. These are a normal part of the healing process.
Initial blurriness subsides over a few days to a week, with vision continuing to clear over the following weeks. While many achieve clear vision quickly, full visual stabilization can take several weeks to up to six months, depending on individual healing and correction extent. Regular follow-up appointments are important to monitor healing progress and ensure optimal outcomes. Patients are advised to avoid strenuous activities and protect their eyes from dust and water during the initial recovery phase.