How does laser eye surgery actually work? Which part of the eye are they working on and how is a laser the tool of choice?
In: Technology
Your eye works kind of like a camera. It’s got a lens system that focuses light onto the retina, the part of the eye that senses light. If the lens system is out of whack, the light doesn’t focus right, and your eyesight is blurry.
One way to correct this is to put another lens in front of the whole thing. That’s glasses or contacts.
Another way to fix it is to change the lens system of the eye itself. The shape of a lens is very important in determining how it will focus light. Change the shape, change how it focuses light.
With laser eye surgery, they don’t change the lens itself. They change a layer of tissue in front of the lens, called the cornea. To the best of my knowledge, the laser very precisely burns away parts of the cornea to change its shape.
Here’s a link with lots of information: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/lasik-eye-surgery/about/pac-20384774
You may be most interested in the section called “During the procedure”.
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