Dr. Colby Stewart has always invested in the industry's finest LASIK technology for his patients. Dr. Stewart's commitment to find ways to provide better results drives him to constantly compare the latest refractive surgery technology on the market.
This search recently led him to invest in the industry's most significant technology breakthrough in more than a decade: the AlconWavelight® Refractive Workstation.
The Wavelight's revolutionary approach to laser eye surgery technology minimizes problems associated with older generation lasers, such as night vision reduction, glare, and halos. As the first LASIK center in the area to invest in this technology, we hope you are as excited about this advance in technology and the results it will produce for you.
Featuring the world’s fastest flap creation times, the 200 kHz WaveLight FS200 Femtosecond Laser delivers precise, predictable outcomes:
The EX500 takes proven Allegretto Wave technology to the next level of laser vision correction. The Allegretto Wave Eye-Q Laser System is designed to work in tandem with a wide range of surgical and diagnostic tools from the WaveLight line of products to provide superior accuracy and reliability.
Featuring a 1050 Hz repetition rate, the WaveLight EX500 Excimer Laser delivers one of the world's fastest ablation times at only 1.9 seconds per diopter (at 6.5mm optical zone), resulting in consistent outcomes.
The WaveLight’s Wavefront Optimized approach uses state-of-the-art technology, Wavefront Optimized ablation profiles, that are only utilized by Allegretto Wave lasers to produce superior results. Spherical aberrations are reduced or are prevented all together with the Wavefront Optimized ablation resulting in better night vision and reduced sensitivity to glare. Human corneas naturally have an aspheric shape so that all light rays meet at a focal point. The Allegretto Wave laser performs an ablation with the goal of maintaining a natural postoperative corneal shape, and preserving corneal asphericity. Every treatment is customized to the patient’s individual refraction and corneal curvature.
Using the Allegretto Wave Eye-Q 400 Hz Laser with Custom Wavefront Optimized technology a “map” is created of your eyes with their specific contours and unique characteristics to help with creating your personal vision profile. This map will also help locate and guide the eye’s exact treatment position, one of the most important factors in achieving a more naturally shaped cornea and excellent refractive outcome.
One of the most important factors in obtaining an excellent refractive outcome is finding the exact treatment position and alignment of the head and eye’s, and avoiding displacement caused by cyclotorsion. The Allegretto Wave Eye-Q's integrated cross line projector provides the exact alignment of the eye’s position that is needed. A target diode generates a red light cross hair on the patient's face. This illustrates the correct positioning in coordination with the manual marks. Many difficult cases or patients with a high cyclotorsion value up to 15% may be treated and still produce excellent results. (The FDA demonstrated this in clinical trials having a cornering predictability from ± 0.5 D.)
The PerfectPulse System is comprised of three parts to optimize overall outcomes: Active Fast-Track Eye Tracker, gaussian beam laser, and high pulse frequency.
The video-based tracker can follow even the fastest eye movements and adjust in less than 6ms, re-aligning more than 400 times a second. It tracks movements in the pupil within 1.8mm to 8mm and then automatically centers to ensure perfectly aligned ablations. A closed-loop tracking system reconfirms the eye’s alignment again before each pulse is placed on the cornea so that every pulse goes to the desired location. Three infrared light sources are used to monitor the patient’s eye. If the eye moves too far the tracker turns the laser off until it becomes re-centered before the laser picks up where it left off.
As opposed to flat top beam lasers that leave a rough, notched surface on the cornea, the gaussian beam is an ultra fine laser with a beam size of only 0.95mm and a WaveFront to smoothly reshape the cornea with a curved smooth profile. By maintaining the eye's natural shape night-vision disturbances, glare, and halos are dramatically reduced or eliminated.
By operating at high speed of 400 pulses per second with short bursts and combining with an ultra-thin beam the Allegretto Wave Eye-Q can sculpt corneal surface with the utmost precision. The Allegretto Wave Eye-Q 400Hz is up to 100 times faster than other lasers leading to much shorter procedure times and optimal post surgery results.
Stromal dehydration is a condition during laser eye surgery after the superficial flap has been created and opened and the water between the collagen fibers in the cornea begin to evaporate from the exposed tissue. As the stroma becomes relatively dehydrated it gains a greater collagen fiber density so each laser pulse removes slightly more collagen tissue per pulse than it would if it was fully hydrated. Although the effects are minor final results may become affected. The faster the surgery, the less stromal dehydration takes place, the better the results, and the Allegretto Wave Eye-Q 400Hz is one of the worlds fastest with a speed of only 1.4 seconds per diopter.
Overall, the final outcome with the WaveLight FS200 Femtosecond Laser and the WaveLight Eye-Q 400Hz Excimer Laser result in a reduced risk of post-LASIK complications and superior results.
The possibility may also exist for custom LASIK to treat people who have previously lost best-corrected vision from any past refractive surgery.
