Custom Micro-LASIK®
Custom Micro-LASIK®, a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent Office, describes a technique that Dr. Robert Lin helped to pioneer in 1999 to improve the results and safety of your LASIK eye surgery. The Custom Micro-LASIK® technique creates an ultra-thin corneal flap during laser eye surgery in order to gain access to the corneal stroma for laser treatment. Currently, Custom Micro-LASIK® utilizes a specially-designed microkeratome or a femtosecond laser to create an 80-110 micron flap that is almost 50% thinner than traditional flaps and preserves more corneal tissue strength, which allows laser treatment of patients with higher prescriptions and thin corneas. Dr. Lin's Custom Micro-LASIK® technique is featured in numerous publications, both nationally and internationally, and practiced by ophthalmologists all over the world. I Want a FREE CONSULTATION.
Who is a candidate for Custom Micro-LASIK®?
Good candidates for the Custom Micro-LASIK® technique include patients who:
- Have stable vision, with less than half a diopter of change in their vision within the past 12 months.
- Have overall healthy corneas with no major vision-related issues.
- Have NO active eye diseases or viruses
- Are over 18 years of age and are in good general health.
- Are not pregnant or nursing, as hormonal shifts can cause fluctuations in prescription. Typically, a patient may be a candidate after at least 2 menstrual cycles after nursing has been discontinued.
Other factors which may impact your laser eye surgery that should be discussed during your consultation include:
- Lazy eye (amblyopia)
- Muscle imbalance (strabismus)
- Severe dry eyes
- Previous eye surgery
- Previous eye injury
- Eye scarring
- Any recurring or pre-existing eye concerns you may have
Determining if you are a candidate for Custom Micro-LASIK® starts with your personalized consultation. The consultation is completely free with no obligations. This enables us to perform a few optometry exams to understand your current vision issues. Once that is determined your vision correction options can be presented and discussed with you. At IQ Laser Vision, we understand vision is very important and our number one goal is to provide high-quality care and service so that you can see 20/20 without the need for glasses or contacts! I Want a FREE CONSULTATION.
CONSULTATION – FREE with no obligations
- During the consultation a number of examinations will be performed to get a thorough understanding of your overall eye health.
- Based on these exams and your individual conditions (age, eye health and visual needs) your Patient Relations Manager will go over your vision correction options. During this time feel free to ask as many questions as you would like. We are here to guide you through the process and ensure that you feel comfortable about the procedure and the steps involved. You will also have an opportunity to meet Dr. Robert Lin, our surgeons, to personally discuss your laser eye surgery and further answer any questions you may have.
- Contacts should not be worn at LEAST 3 days PRIOR to your LASIK eye surgery.
- Make sure you eat a good meal prior to your LASIK surgery, you will need to go home and sleep immediately after your procedure to begin the recovery process.
What are the benefits of Custom Micro-LASIK®? Affordable $199 per month
- The #1 reason for most individuals: Freedom from the limitations and inconveniences of glasses and contact lenses, not having to remember your glasses, looking for your glasses, remembering your contacts and to take them off or clean them each and every day
- Eliminate the cost of constant maintenance for glasses, contact lenses, contact lens solution and cleaners, in the long-term, LASIK will be less expensive than daily-use contact lenses and/or glasses
- Decrease the chance of eye infection and corneal abrasions associated with handling contacts, the CDC released a recent study linking contact wearing to higher risks of eye infections
- Improve self confidence
- The procedure is quick, with the surgery itself taking approximately 15 minutes total with only a few seconds of actual laser treatment
- Increased cornea strength and stability compared to conventional LASIK
- Speedy recovery, nearly all of our patients return back to work after 1-2 days post-surgery with the Custom Micro-LASIK® procedure
When the pupil is large, a larger optical zone should be used and therefore, more corneal tissue will be removed. Currently most surgeons agree that the residual cornea should be at least 250 microns (µm=1/1000th mm). With conventional LASIK a 180 micron flap is usually created. This makes it difficult to safely utilize the 6.5mm optical zone. To err on the side of caution, Dr. Robert Lin at IQ Laser Vision prefers a residual cornea of 275 microns. Through Custom Micro-LASIK®, a 100 micron flap can be created enabling use of the 6.5mm optical zone in a safe manner. More residual cornea is available to give the cornea strength while reducing side effects using Custom Micro-LASIK®.
FAQs about Custom Micro-LASIK®
A: As our body’s age, usually after 40 years old, we experience a decline in the quality of our vision, typically up close (reading) vision is affected. This age-related problem is called Presbyopia, which is due to a weakening of the lens within the eye. Click here for more information on Presbyopia and vision correction options. By age 60 many individuals may experience Cataracts, a condition in which clouding of the natural lens inside of the eye affects our overall vision. Individuals affected by Cataracts require a special lens procedure to correct their vision. Those affected by cataracts typically experience vision issues like decreased visual clarity, cloudy vision or find it difficult to drive at night. Click here, for more information on Cataracts and correction options.
Your vision will change later in life regardless of whether you have had laser eye surgery or not. The goal of laser eye surgery is to provide clear vision and eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses for your current vision impairment. Laser eye surgery is very effective in providing clear vision by permanently correcting myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. After your laser eye surgery, it can take about 3 to 6 months for your eyes to heal and completely adjust to your new vision. Included with each laser eye surgery is our 1-year Commitment Promise, which includes 1 year of follow-up appointments to monitor your vision during your healing process and to ensure your vision stabilizes at its best corrected visual acuity. Also included is an enhancement procedure, if necessary. We find that our statistics at IQ Laser Vision, less than 1% of laser eye surgery patients require more than one procedure to achieve their best corrected visual acuity.
A: At IQ Laser Vision it is our goal to ensure that our patients have a very comfortable experience during and after their procedure. Anesthetic drops and medicated eye drops are administered for the procedure itself. You may feel some slight pressure, but will not experience any pain during your laser eye surgery. Once the procedure is complete, some patients may experience some mild stinging and tearing of the eyes by the time they get home. This occurs as the numbing drops wear off. We recommend going to sleep as soon as you return home after your surgery and going to sleep for the next 4-6 hours as instructed will minimize discomfort and provide rest for your eyes to recover. Most patients are able to return to their routine activities the very next day.
A: During the procedure, we will ask you to focus on a blurry, blinking red light. Immediately after the procedure the red light should become much clearer, and you should notice an improvement in your vision.
A: This is a common fear many patients have and we are very aware of this. At IQ Laser Vision, we use the latest vision correction technology to reduce the actual laser treatment time required and therefore minimizing the time you need to remain still. Focusing on the laser light is also important and Dr. Lin will talk you through the entire process. Many patients only require a few seconds of treatment. If for any reason there is eye movement, our lasers are equipped with laser eye trackers that follow your eye during the procedure to deliver the treatment accurately. They are also designed to stop instantly if necessary. To minimize blinking, your eye will be numbed by an aesthetic drop and a small device called a speculum is gently placed to hold your eye lids open. We welcome you to come observe an actual procedure at our viewing room to ease any additional fears you may have and to also witness how simple and quick the actual process is.
A: At IQ Laser Vision, we offer Custom Micro-LASIK®, this flap technique can be created with either a microkeratome or an all laser method using the Zeimer Z6 Femtosecond LASER. Both techniques create a flap between 90-110 microns and use the same custom laser for treatment. Our experience in using either technique for our patients have provided similar and excellent results.
A: Over 20 million people worldwide, including our surgeon Dr. Lin, have had laser eye surgery since it was introduced decades ago. Long-term side effects are very rare, but understanding the risks of laser eye surgery is important. As mentioned above, there are a few common side effects associated with laser eye surgery but are typically short-term, including dry eyes and halos/glare. In extremely rare cases where the stromal bed is below 250 microns (0.25mm), the cornea can become unstable and require other procedures to strengthen and reshape it. At IQ Laser Vision, we measure the corneal thickness during the surgery to ensure that we maintain at least 275 microns in the stromal bed. With the Custom Micro-LASIK® thin flap technique we usually have more than 350 microns in the stromal bed for greater stability and decreased potential for any long-term side effects.
A: Yes, with our Custom Micro-LASIK® technology we are able to treat up to -6.00 diopters of astigmatism.
Laser eye surgery is an extremely safe and common procedure best suited for individuals who are thoroughly educated about the procedure, enough to make an informed decision after a thorough evaluation and examination from a reputable, experienced surgeon. Our surgeon, Dr. Lin has personally performed over 50,000 refractive procedures in his 18+ years of being an ophthalmologist/LASIK surgeon. He has had the procedure himself more than 20 years ago. By being a patient himself, he understands the importance of such a big decision and the concerns prior to making such a decision. To this day Dr. Lin still continues to enjoy 20/20 vision. Since 1999, not only have patients entrusted their vision to Dr. Lin but he has performed Micro-LASIK® on countless staff members of IQ Laser Vision, his own parents and brothers.
Dr. Robert Lin is a nationally recognized surgeon who operates with his patients' safety as his top priority, which is why he developed the Micro-LASIK® technique—which aims to minimize risks associated with LASIK eye surgery and increase the quality of the results. The most common concerns associated with laser eye surgery may include:
- Major loss of vision, including blindness.
- This is extremely rare in laser eye surgery in general because of where the eye is being treated and has never occurred at IQ Laser Vision in the more than 18 years of operating.
- Dry eyes
- Unassociated with laser eye surgery, dry eyes are a very common issue amongst many people. Factors such as contact lenses, personal hygiene, occupation, make-up, allergies, weather conditions and computer-use are just a few things that impact one's severity of dryness.
- Discussing pre-existing dry eyes at your consultation with the doctor is very important to reduce potential long-term risks after your procedure.
- Some patients may experience dryness for a short period of time, typically 3 to 4 weeks, occasionally longer, following laser eye surgery, as the eye heals and re-establishes its balance of tear production over the healing period.
- IQ Laser Vision offers a wide-array of dry eye treatment options, if needed, before and after laser eye surgery which you can expect to be discussed during your free consultation.
- Glare/Halos
- Glare/Halos are caused by a number of factors but is essentially the scattering of light as it passes through the cornea. Factors such as eye fatigue, dry eyes, and astigmatism can cause this distortion which is typically more noticeable in lights at nighttime.
- Some patients may experience a degree of glare/halos following laser eye surgery as the cornea heals, but typically resolves after 3 to 6 months. However, procedures like ICL do not induce glares and halos.
