Ectasia
A rare condition in which the cornea, after LASIK surgery, becomes progressively irregular, thin and steep centrally and resembles a non-surgically induced condition called keratoconus. There is often a return of nearsightedness that usually corrects poorly with glasses. Hard contact lenses and additional surgery may be necessary to produce good vision. Ectasia is felt to be due to a corneal collagen defect; clues to the presence of this defect can often be seen pre-operatively on modern topography. The incidence of ectasia seems to be falling from what it was several years ago due to our ability to perform a better pre-operative assessment of the corneal shape.

Enhancement
A term usually used to indicate a LVC retreatment.

Epi-LASIK
Similar to LASEK, the epithelial flap is removed by a modified microkeratome (epikeratome) rather than with the use of alcohol. The epithelial flap is less likely to deteriorate during healing, but it is difficult to get the epikeratome to consistently “cut” at the proper depth; too shallow or too deep can lead to problems. When properly performed, healing may be slightly faster than with PRK.

Excimer
A contraction of the term “excited dimer,” a term from physics describing a briefly existing molecule inside the laser chamber that, when it breaks down, releases the energy used to ablate the cornea.

Flapless LASIK
Another term for PRK.

ICL
Intraocular contact lens – a lens that is implanted in the eye for the correction of high refractive errors or for patients who are not good candidates for PRK or LASIK. Two models have been FDA approved. They have a completely different risk/benefit ratio than the excimer-based procedures and patients need to consider these options very carefully. Many patients have reported very good results, but compared to excimer procedures, case volume is small, and long term effects are unknown.

iLASIK
A term coined by Advanced Medical Optics (AMO), the, as of 11-07, parent company of VISX and Intralase, for LASIK performed with a combination of Intralase and CustomeVue Wavefront driven treatment.

IntraLASIK
A term sometimes used to describe LASIK performed utilizing the Intralase for the creation of the flap.