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LASIK Technology

The physicians at our Kaiser Laser Vision Correction centers have access to some of the best eye surgery technology available. Patients from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and other areas of Northern California trust us for LASIK and other refractive procedures because our state-of-the-art software and equipment enable our surgeons to achieve remarkable results.

Offering some of the most advanced technology in the field, our highly-trained providers each work toward the goal of helping you see clearly without corrective lenses. When you’re ready to see what LASIK can do for you, request a consultation with a provider near you.

Wavefront

Wavefront is an advanced software technology for laser vision correction that incorporates our understanding of complex optics in the visual system. With this additional knowledge of fine imperfections in the eye, laser vision correction with Wavefront technology can treat nighttime glare and halos better than laser vision correction with traditional software. This approach also allows you to see well in dim lighting.

Femtosecond LASIK

During the first step of a traditional LASIK procedure, the surgeon creates a corneal flap — a micro-thin flap of tissue on the outer layer of the cornea — using a mechanical device called a microkeratome. Femtosecond LASIK is different because it uses a computer-guided femtosecond laser to create the corneal flap. Once your surgeon has made the flap, he or she uses a different laser, called an excimer laser, to contour the cornea’s curvature, adjusting its focusing power and correcting your vision. This means that this version of LASIK is completely bladeless.

Femtosecond LASIK can be up to 100 times more accurate than traditional LASIK, resulting in fewer complications and offering patients a more comfortable experience.

The safety and accuracy of femtosecond LASIK enables treatment of a broader range of people. Even people who aren’t good candidates for traditional LASIK — perhaps due to corneal thickness or dry eyes — in some cases can be safely and effectively treated with femtosecond LASIK.

Surface Ablation (PRK, LASEK, and EPI-LASIK)

Using the precision and accuracy of the excimer laser, surface ablation changes the shape of the cornea to improve the way light is focused or refracted by the eye. This approach can treat both myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness) with or without astigmatism. You can learn more about these and other vision conditions on our Understanding Your Vision page.

During a surface ablation procedure, your surgeon places a bandage contact lens over your eye. This lens will need to stay in place for 3 to 5 days in order to protect your eye while it heals. Surface ablation typically has a lengthier healing process than LASIK. Patients may report some discomfort after the procedure until the epithelium heals, usually within 48 to 72 hours. Patients with stronger prescriptions before surgery often see a dramatic improvement in their vision within the first week, with the overall healing process continuing over the course of the next few months.

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