LASER THERAPY

• Definition: "Laser therapy” is any

treatment using intense beams of light
to precisely cut, burn, or destroy
tissue. The term laser is an acronym
for "light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation.”
CONSTRUCTION

Principal components:
1.Active laser medium
2.Laser pumping energy
3.Mirror(100%)
4.Mirror(99%)
5.Laser beam
 Working

• A laser is composed of an active laser

medium, or gain medium, and a
resonant optical cavity. The gain
medium transfers external energy into
the laser beam. It is a material which
amplifies the beam by the quantum
mechanical process of stimulated
emission.
 APPLICATIONS
• Consumer electronics, information technology,
science, medicine, industry, law enforcement, and
the military.
Medicine
• In medicine, the laser scalpel is used for laser
vision correction and other surgical techniques.
• Lasers are also now used in dentistry for caries
removal, as well as tooth whitening and oral
surgery procedures.
• To treat some skin conditions, including to remove
tattoos, birthmarks, scars, wrinkles
• To remove tumors
• To prevent blood loss by sealing small blood vessels
 ANATOMY OF EYES

Eye surgery, also known as ophthalmic surgery or ocular surgery, is

surgery performed on the eye, typically by an ophthalmologist.
 Types of eye surgeries
 Cataract surgery
 Glaucoma surgery
 Laser trabeculoplasty
 Iridotomy
 Tube-shunt surgery or drainage
implant surgery
 Refractive surgery
 REFRACTIVE ERRORS

NEARSIGHTEDNESS

FARSIGHTEDNESS

ASTIGMATISM
The first in the line of laser procedures for
vision correction was Photorefractive
Keratectomy or PRK.

PRK is a laser vision correction procedure that uses an

excimer laser to treat mild to moderate levels of
nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.
Rather than making cuts in the cornea, the PRK
process uses an excimer laser to sculpt an area of 5 to
9 millimeters in diameter on the surface of the eye.
Then came in the world of refractive surgery –
LASIK
LASIK, or Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis

The procedure, which is

performed on an
outpatient basis under
local anesthesia, corrects
moderate to high levels
of nearsightedness,
farsightedness, and
astigmatism.
 LASIK Laser Eye Surgery
LASIK is an acronym for LASer In-situ Keratomileusis, which
simply means "to shape the cornea within using a laser."
Preoperative:
Patients wearing soft contact lenses typically are
instructed to stop wearing them approximately 7 to 10
days before surgery.
The day before surgery, you should stop using:
• creams
• lotions
• makeup
• perfumes

After Surgery :

• Your eye may burn, itch, or feel like there is

something in it.
• You may experience some discomfort, or in
some cases, mild pain and your doctor may
suggest you take a mild pain reliever.
• Both your eyes may tear or water.
• Your vision will probably be hazy or blurry.
 Bilateral Treatment (Both
Eyes)
You may choose to have LASIK surgery on both eyes at the same
time or to have surgery on one eye at a time.

Possible Side
Effects/Complications

A subconjunctival hemorrhage is a common and

minor post-LASIK complication.
• The flap can be dislodged by any direct injury to the eye
after treatment. 
• Clarity and quality of vision can de diminished if flap
conditions occur. 
• Poor night vision is the most common side effect. 
• Light sensitivity

 Factors affecting surgery

 Low oxygen-permeable contact lenses reduce

the cornea's absorption of oxygen, which
sometimes results in the growth of blood
vessels into the cornea, a process known as
corneal neovascularization.
 Advantages of LASIK

 a pain free recovery.

 quick restoration of eyesight and
 better results for severe short sight.
 The inner eye is not pierced during the procedure and
stitches are not required.
 Clarity of vision within hours of surgery
 Extremely predictable
 No more daily cleaning rituals or recurring costs as
with visual aids
 Increases self-confidence
 Broad range of treatable prescriptions
 Both eyes treated on the same day
 INTRALASIK
• The Intralasik technique is very similar to Lasik but
utilizes a laser, rather than a blade, to create a
corneal flap. For Intralasik, its only advantage is
consistency of flap depth and reduced risk of flap
complication. It may be advertised as a "bladeless"
procedure, but it is certainly not "flapless" or
without an incision!
Epi-LASEK Laser Eye Surgery
Epi-LASEK involves lasering the surface of the cornea
under the epithelium.  It is a combination of surface
PRK and Epiflap. 
The Treatment

After Treatment

Bandage Lenses

Possible Side Effects

 But now, a new approach to refractive
surgery- Wavefront Guided Custom LASIK-

Instead of just correcting

defocus (spherical and
cylindrical) errors, we can
now take a wavefront image-
literally a 'fingerprint' of each
person's optical pathway- and
use the information to reduce
or even eliminate higher
order aberrations.
 Glaucoma
• Definition: Glaucoma is a group of diseases
affecting the optic nerve that results in vision loss
and is frequently characterized by raised intraocular
pressure (IOP).
• There are four major types of glaucoma
 Open angle (chronic) glaucoma
 Angle closure (acute) glaucoma
 Congenital glaucoma
 Secondary glaucoma

A normal range of vision. The same view with advanced vision loss
from glaucoma
 TREATMENT

 Laser trabeculoplasty

 Laser Iridotomy
 Peripheral iridoplasty and Pupilloplasty

 Laser ciliary body

 Complications :
• A brief period of inflammation of the colored part of
the eye (iris).

• Cloudiness of the clear covering (cornea) over the

iris. This usually does not last long.

• Blockage of the drainage angle when the cornea and

the iris stick together.

• Pain.

• Decreased vision.
 Cataract surgery
 Cataract A cataract is an opacification or
cloudiness of the eye's crystalline lens due to
aging, disease, or trauma that typically
prevents light from forming a clear image on
the retina.

 Cataract surgery

Light passes
through the clear
lens implant
• Capsule
thickening

LASER TREATMENT

Laser makes a small

hole in the capsule.
Light can then pass
directly onto the
retina, without being
scattered.
• After laser

Floaters after laser capsulotomy

Complications :

• Less often, the laser can disturb the retina.

• Very rarely a little fluid can build up in the retina.
• flashes of light during the daytime
• floaters in your vision (it is normal to have these in the
weeks after the laser)
Laser Treatment Highly Effective
in Treating Diabetic Retinopathy
 Laser photocoagulation for diabetic retinopathy

• Laser photocoagulation uses the heat from a laser to

seal or destroy abnormal, leaking blood vessels in the
retina. One of two approaches may be used when
treating diabetic retinopathy:

 Focal photocoagulation
Focal treatment is used to seal specific leaking blood
vessels in a small area of the retina, usually near the
macula. The ophthalmologist identifies individual
blood vessels for treatment and makes a limited
number of laser burns to seal them off.

Focal treatment uses the laser to seal up tiny bulges in capillaries near the
fovea
  Scatter (pan-retinal) photocoagulation :
Scatter treatment is used to slow the growth of new
abnormal blood vessels that have developed over a
wide area of the retina. The ophthalmologist may
make hundreds of laser burns on the retina to stop
the blood vessels from growing

Panretinal treatment reduces growth of new capillaries throughout the retina.

Risks

 Laser photocoagulation burns and

destroys part of the retina and often
results in some permanent vision loss.
 Treatment may cause mild loss of
central vision,
 reduced night vision
 And decreased ability to focus
 Pain in or around the eye
 Retinal bleeding
 Watery eyes
 Dilated pupils
 Mild headache Double or blurry
vision
What are the advantages of laser
therapy?
Less pain, bleeding, swelling, and scarring.
 With laser therapy, operations are usually
shorter.
In fact, laser therapy can often be done on
an outpatient basis.
 It takes less time for patients to heal after
laser surgery, and they are less likely to get
infections.
 What are the disadvantages of
laser therapy?

 Laser therapy is expensive and requires

bulk equipment.

 In addition, the effects of laser therapy

may not last long, so doctors may have
to repeat the treatment for a patient to
get the full benefit.