About LASIK Surgery
To understand what LASIK eye surgery is, you must first know what the acronym LASIK itself actually stands for: laser assisted in situ keratomileusis. In other words, LASIK is a corrective eye surgery performed on misshapen corneas through the use of lasers. It's these abnormalities of the cornea that cause common visual impairments like near sightedness and farsightedness and astigmatism (an inability to focus). Therefore, reshaping the cornea via refractive surgery can create perfect or near-perfect vision.
When considering the complete history of medicine, LASIK is a relatively new procedure. It wasn't until the 1850s that the medical community began to understand that the shape of the cornea was directly tied to our quality of vision. Dr. Leendert Jan Lans was the first physician to attempt refractive surgeries, and his work late in the 19th century--though largely unsuccessful--would shape the future of eye surgeries.
It would take nearly a hundred years for eye surgeons to master refractive surgery; ultimately it was the utilization of the excimer laser in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s that would make refractive surgery safe and effective enough to be offered to the general public. LASIK became the standard refractive procedure shortly thereafter and was approved by the FDA in 1999. Since then, the procedure has undergone several more improvements thanks to advances in laser technology.
When LASIK was first offered to the general public, the rarity of eye surgeons adept at it and the cost of the laser apparatuses used in the procedure made it a viable option for privileged few. As laser eye surgery became more common, it also became more affordable. Now, nearly 2 million LASIK eye surgeries are performed every year in the
Modern LASIK surgeries are a far cry from the first refractive surgeries. Today, the operation is performed while the patient sits in a chair, and eye-tracking technology gives the laser the ability to operate even while your eye is moving. LASIK patients generally leave their eye surgeon's office within an hour after their operation and will experience improved vision within the first 24 hours following the procedure.