Blade Versus Bladeless LASIK Eye Surgery: What Is The Difference?
Patients considering LASIK eye surgery may come across medical jargon, such as “blade” and “bladeless” LASIK. To a layman, such terms might appear overwhelming. However, as a patient you must know the difference between the two surgery types, and the rewards and risks associated with each.
Traditional LASIK makes use of a microkeratome to cut a thin hinged flap in the cornea. The flap is then folded back to reveal the stroma the middle layer of the cornea. A high precision laser, called the excimer laser, is used to reshape the corneal surface so as to correct any refractive error. The flap is then repositioned to act as a natural bandage. Since the microkeratome used to create a flap is in fact a surgical blade, the procedure is also known as blade LASIK.
A more recent innovation, introduced in 1999, makes use of a high energy laser (IntraLase or femtosecond laser) to create a flap during surgery. As opposed to traditional LASIK, IntraLase does not employ a surgical blade, and hence the procedure is often marketed as “bladeless” or “all laser”...