Types of eye surgery to correct vision – LASIK, EpiLasik, SMILE surgery, PRK – various advanced laser eye surgery to choose from.
The human eye is a fascinating yet one of the most complex organs in our body. Caring for your eyes is as important as any other part of your body. If you are someone who spends a lot of time in front of the screen, you can experience dryness, blurriness, itchiness – since continuous screen time puts strain on your eyes. Wearing contact lenses and glasses can get burdensome if you lead an active lifestyle. With medical science getting so advanced corrective eye surgeries like SMILE have become very popular. More and more people are opting for corrective laser eye surgeries to cure their vision-related issues in a more permanent way.
In this comprehensive guide to types of eye surgery, you will find what are the common types of laser eye surgery and different kinds of corrective eye surgery that you can choose for yourself.Â
The Common Types of Eye Surgery, depending on your condition, are:
#1 Cataract Surgery:Â
The most common type of eye surgery among older patients is cataract surgery. A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of your eye that makes it hard for you to see anything clearly. Tiny tools are used to remove the cloudy lens from your eye, and an artificial lens is placed.
It is quite a safe surgery where the patient is released the same day and the recovery time is short upto 4 weeks. Â
#2 LASIK Surgery:
LASIK (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis) is a laser eye surgery where the ophthalmologist uses a strong beam of light (laser) to change the shape of the cornea making the vision clearer. This surgery can be done in adults who are suffering from nearsightedness, farsightedness or blurred vision.
#3 PRK
PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) is also a kind of laser surgery that reshapes the cornea. However, unlike LASIK, PRK is used only to reshape the surface of the cornea. Choose this surgery if you have mild to moderate near-sightedness or farsightedness.
#4 EpiLasik
EpiLasik is a procedure that’s very similar to PRK, where the surgeon will separate a thin layer of the cornea and then reshape it. This layer can be removed or replaced. The procedure is finished by applying a soft contact lens to protect the area until it fully heals.
#5 PRELEXÂ
PRELEX (presbyopic lens exchange) is a type of eye surgery that is done on patients with presbyopia. Presbyopia is a condition when the eye’s lens loses its flexibility. As a result, these patients have difficulty focusing on close objects. In the PRELEX procedure, the surgeon implants a multifunctional lens to improve flexibility and repair focus.
#6 SMILE
SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) is an innovative eye surgery for vision correction that the FDA has approved. It is a kind of laser surgery that can correct the vision of people with higher degrees of short-sightedness. It is a minimally invasive bladeless procedure.Â
Most types of eye surgery are done on an outpatient basis, and the hospital time is very less. Patients can go home the same day. But you must have someone attending you since you cannot drive after release from the hospital.  Â
You must ensure you are taking proper post-operative care to prevent any kind of infection. The recovery time of any laser eye surgery is quite quick, especially SMILE. Good eye health is important for everyone because the eyes are your windows to the world.Â
16 comments
Need not to say what does eyes/vision means to us. Some of these terms were new to me such as SMILE. But it is necessary to know the difference between these terms for our knowledge.
This is really an informative post, and new to me. We all should be aware of these different types of surgeries. I was totally unaware of SMILE. Thanks for sharing.
My eye surgery is due for long but some how I am too scared as it us one of the most complex and sensitive organ. Thanks for sharing such an informative post.
Surgeries are no more an option only in life threatening conditions .The medical world is finding surgical treatments for things that were considered incurable once like myopia. This is an informative introductory post that can help patients choose their options.
Eye care is most important yet we tend to ignore it and with the increase of screen time for all one need to be more careful towards it. All the procedures mentioned here are informative and forms a clear understanding towards eye surgery.
Eye is most important and delicate organ and it is great that nowadays various surgery options are available to cure different eye problems. I had heard about few of these surgeries before but few were new to me. like SMILE. it sounds like a great option to correct the vision of people with higher degrees of short-sightedness. and it is also great that It is a minimally invasive bladeless procedure.
Good to know about these different types of eye surgeries. The technology is advancing and lots of noninvasive eye corrections are possible. SMILE could help so many people.
Epilasic and prelex are two surgical techniques that I have never heard of. The technology has developed so much that now a days any issues with the eye can be cured. Eyesight is the most precious. Thanks for sharing the info Tina.
Very informative this is. I haven’t heard of the PRK treatment, but the first two have been common in our friend’s circle and family.
This is a very informative post. Eye is the important part of our body. I have heard about the first two surgeries as these are common . Rest of the surgeries I was not aware of.
My dad went for a cataract surgery a few years ago, so I know about the process a lil bit. I didn’t know about the other types of eye surgeries you mentioned in your post, which is insightful to say the least!
This is a very informative post. Was not aware of so many of these types of eye surgery. Only knew about the common cataract surgery. The Lasik surgery though is quite popular these days.
I and glad you chose to spread awareness on this buddy i had no clue about some of them and they can come lun really handy in times of need
Wow other than Cataract surgery, I had no idea of the other surgeries. Such a great post providing the details and explanation of other surgeries. Eye is definitely one of the important organs and it is important to understand everything before going into a surgery.
There are so many types of eye surgery, I did not have any idea about. I had heard about Lasik though. This is a very insightful post.
This is a comprehensive post around the options of eye surgery and how we should go for them and also the post operative care. I will suggest this to my father inlaw as well since he is looking to get this cataract operation done.