Refractive surgery is surgery that improves vision by correcting refractive errors such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.   A refractive error means that the shape of your eye does not bend light correctly, resulting in a blurred image.  Refractive surgery encompasses a number of different surgical procedures, which are listed in the links below.

Clear vision results when light rays pass through the  cornea, pupil, and lens and focus directly upon the retina.  Your eye works like a camera: light rays enter the eye through the cornea, or the "window" of the eye.  Ideally, the cornea bends the light rays to create a focal point that equals the length of the eye.  If the cornea is not round or is too steep or too flat in relation to the length of the eye, light rays focus either in front of or behind the retina.  This condition results in refractive errors. 

Refractive surgery works by altering the shape of the cornea so that light rays can be focused directly on the retina.  In many cases, the patient's need for glasses or contact lenses is eliminated or dramatically reduced by the surgery.

What Happens During Refractive Surgery?

During refractive surgery, a laser is used to gently sculpt and mold the cornea.  The computer-guided laser beam gently pulses to remove a microscopic amount of tissue (less than the thickness of a human hair) to flatten the curvature of the cornea.  This allows images to be more sharply focused on the retina.

Types of Refractive Surgery

Refractive surgery comes in several forms.  Listed below are some of the types of refractive surgery practiced by the specialists at Thomas Eye Group.  Click on the links to learn more about each type.

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
LTK (Laser Thermal Keratoplasty)                                  
LASIK (Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis)

If you would like to discuss these procedures with one of our eye-care specialists, please call us for an appointment, or use our online appointment request form.

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