Lasik Details

LASIK Basics

LASIK, short for laser-assisted in situ keratomleusis, is one of the safest and most popular refractive surgeries performed and is used to treat conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. LASIK re-shapes the cornea, at the front of the eye, so that light coming through focuses properly on the retina, allowing for dramatic improvements in vision. The cornea is the part of the eye that focuses light to create an image on the retina. In nearsightedness, light coming through the eye is focused in front of the retina; and in farsightedness light is focused behind the retina. During LASIK surgery, micron amounts of the cornea (or corneal tissue) are removed with an excimer laser allowing light to properly focus on the retina, thereby allowing the patient to see clearly. The procedure is quick and virtually painless – there are no actual blades or needles involved! The main benefit of LASIK surgery is improved vision and a reduction or elimination of your dependence on glasses and contact lenses. If you are young and nearsighted, LASIK should keep you out of glasses and contacts until your mid 40s. At that time, you may need reading glasses, just like other 45+ year olds with good distance vision. Eyeglasses can be inconvenient, depriving you of peripheral vision and making it hard to wear sunglasses—many of which don’t have prescription lenses. Contact lenses need daily cleaning and can usually only be worn for several hours each day before they start to dry out and irritate the eyes. Contact lenses are not without risk either. For example, did you know that people who sleep in contact lenses are 20 times more likely to develop an infection on their cornea? Even people who don’t sleep in their contacts can develop sight threatening corneal ulcers! After LASIK surgery, most people can resume their exercise routine and other physical activities within a few days. Swimmers can look forward to not worrying about breaking or misplacing their glasses, swimming with blurry vision, or losing their contact lenses in the water. Think of all the money you’ll save not having to constantly buy contact lens cleaner for daily cleaning or having to replace the lenses daily, weekly, or even monthly. You also won’t have to invest in a new pair of glasses and frames every couple of years! The stability and quality of vision that LASIK can give you more than pays for the procedure both in terms of the money and time you’ll save in the long run. To find out how much you would save on glasses and contacts, use our LASIK Savings Calculator.

LASIK Process

Our process is centered around you. Throughout your experience, we focus on achieving the best possible results all while ensuring you are comfortable with our personalized care.

At Feinerman Vision Center you will first be introduced to your eye care advisor, who will perform a complete series of eye scans. Next, you will receive a complete eye examination and consultation with Dr. Feinerman. During this time, you will have an opportunity to meet with Dr. Feinerman and address any of your questions or concerns. Dr. Feinerman will discuss your particular situation and help determine the best course of action.

On the day of the LASIK procedure, our staff will ensure you are reclined comfortably in a chair. Once you are comfortable, Dr. Feinerman will administer some anesthetic eye drops to your eye. When you are ready, he will then gently start the LASIK procedure.

After the procedure, Dr. Feinerman personally calls his patients to ensure they are doing well and to address any questions. During your actual in-person post-op visit, Dr. Feinerman will perform a final examination to ensure recovery is complete.

LASIK Procedure

LASIK surgery a two step procedure, reshaping the cornea to match your vision correction needs. First, the surgeon uses a highly focused femtosecond laser beam to create a corneal flap on the surface of the eye that is gently lifted. Secondly, an excimer laser beam is focused on the corneal stroma to precisely reshape the cornea. The Ziemer femtosecond laser is unique because it creates the corneal flap at a higher pulse rate with lower pulse energies than IntraLase. The lower energy released with each pulse using the Ziemer laser gives patients increased safety, more comfort, and faster healing time than any other technology in the world. Not only is this laser technically better than Intralase; but it also allows a thinner more precise LASIK flap than what can be achieved with a mechanical blade-driven microkeratome. In additional to these patient-advantages, the Ziemer system is one of the fastest lasers on the market making the procedure complete within minutes, generally without pain.

LASIK Technology

At Feinerman Vision, we use only the best technology and equipment to achieve the highest standard of quality and safety for our patients. We have access to multiple laser technologies, allowing us to choose the optimal soution for each individual patient.

FEMTOSECOND LASER: ALL LASER LASIK

We are proud to use the Ziemer femtosecond laser for Z-LASIK – an advanced type of LASIK procedure that is completely blade-free. The femtosecond laser is used to create the corneal “flap”, which is temporarily lifted to make the necessary adjustments to the corneal shape.

Z-LASIK is unique because it uses extremely small and rapid laser pulses to create the corneal flap (essential to the LASIK procedure). The lower energy released with each pulse using Ziemer technology is the main factor in improved overall safety and allows for faster healing time and better visual recovery.

Dr. Feinerman was the first surgeon on the West Coast to perform LASIK with the Ziemer femtosecond laser after FDA approval in 2008. He currently uses the Ziemer Z8 – the most advanced and precise femtosecond laser for LASIK and cataract surgery.

EXCIMER LASERS

After the corneal flap (created by the Ziemer femtosecond laser) is temporarily lifted in the LASIK procedure, an excimer laser is used to remove micron amounts of corneal tissue to reshape the cornea. This corrects refractive errors and ultimately improves vision.

Allegretto Wave® Eye-Q

The Allegretto Wave Eye-Q customizes every treatment based on the patient’s individual prescription and the shape of their cornea, aiming to reduce glare and halos and improve night vision.

One of the most innovative features of the Allegretto Wave is the way it uses wavefront technology to automatically compensate for the curvature of the cornea. In earlier laser correction systems, the “optical zone,” or area of correction, was centered on the front of the cornea; the result was a flattened circular area that ended with an abrupt edge, causing unwanted side effects like poor night vision, glare, and halos.

Wavefront Optimized® LASIK was developed to consider the unique curvature of the eye, preserving the natural, aspheric shape of the cornea, for less induced spherical aberration. This provides improved quality of vision and eliminates or reduces the spherical distortions that can cause glare and may affect night vision.

CONTOURA Topographic guided LASIK was recently released, which provides a newer and more customized treatment. Dr Feinerman offers both wavefront optimized and CONTOURA LASIK, and will determine which technology is best suited for the individual patient.

NIDEK Quest

Feinerman Vision Center is one of the first vision centers in the US to offer the new CATz (Customized Aspheric Treatment Zone) LASIK technology that takes Custom LASIK to a whole new level. This system is a unique combination of the fully-integrated Quest excimer laser, the OPD-Scan III, the OPD-Station software. This system is extremely technologically advanced, providing outstanding clinical performance and clinical outcomes.

CATz provides detailed topographic maps – one of the cornea prior to surgery, and another of the cornea as it should appear after correction with LASIK. These before and after images enable Dr. Feinerman to correct nearsightedness and astigmatism with unparalleled precision, as well as smooth out even minor irregularities.

Topography-Assisted LASIK provides a newer and more customized treatment. As in conventional LASIK it uses measurements of your nearsightedness and astigmatism to plan the treatment for your eye. In addition, it uses your eye’s unique corneal topography map to treat small irregularities that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses. The main benefit of topography-assisted LASIK is improved quality of vision at night.

Financing

Feinerman Vision offers patients financing for procedures not covered by insurance, such as LASIK or Premium Intraocular Lens options. We accept a variety of payment options including CareCredit. Patients should not be limited in their vision correction options because of financing. Our staff will work together with you to determine which financing option will work best for you. If you have questions about financing with CareCredit or would like more information please contact our office at (949) 631-4780.

There is an easier way to pay for your LASIK. We’re pleased to accept the CareCredit credit card, North America’s leading patient healthcare financing program. CareCredit lets you begin your procedure immediately — then pay for it over time with monthly payments that fit easily into your monthly budget. Whether you’re considering LASIK or need cataract surgery, CareCredit can help you see clearer, sooner. CareCredit is the credit card exclusively designed for healthcare services. CareCredit offers special financing on purchase of $200 or more* for healthcare procedures not commonly covered by insurance, including LASIK and Premium-IOLs. Why put off improving your vision tomorrow, when you can see clearer today?