A new level of precision – Advanced Wavefront laser eye treatment

Since the advent of laser eye surgery, technology has continued to evolve and advance, with new treatments becoming available to patients looking to correct their vision. Wavefront laser eye treatment is one such example. We talked to experienced ophthalmologist Dr CT Pillai, who explained this treatment.

What is Wavefront laser eye treatment?

Wavefront laser eye treatment is an exciting type of laser eye surgery that recognises that the “one size fits all” approach of traditional surgery isn’t best for everyone because everyone’s eyes are different.

First, a machine is used to analyse the patient’s eyes, particularly the prescription and any imperfections. The machine sends the light into the eye and, since light travels like a wave, the light is reflected back by the eye.

When the light is reflected back, it bounces off certain structures of the eye, such as the lens, the sides of the pupil and the cornea. This allows the eye doctor to build a picture of these structures, meaning that the reflected light not only gives you the prescription of the eye, but also gives you details about various imperfections or aberrations. These could be problems with:

• The shape of the cornea
• The size of the pupil
• The position of the pupil
• The position of the lens
• The shape of the lens
• The length of the eyeball.

The Wavefront treatment not only corrects the prescription, but also corrects all the imperfections of the eye and also the pupil diameter. Since it is highly precise, and there’s a great opportunity for patients to achieve more than 20-20 vision (driving standard vision).

How does Wavefront laser treatment work?

In Wavefront laser treatment, the laser precisely removes the tissue where there is an aberration, meaning that the laser treatment is not uniform, but is tailor-made for the imperfections of each eye, and also the prescription. The laser moves in a different pattern for each individual case.

How does Wavefront compare with standard laser eye treatment?

Standard laser eye treatment cannot treat large pupils. Large pupils have imperfections, and if you don’t correct the imperfections and the pupil size, the patient will end up with more problems, including haloes and glare at night time. That is why Advanced Wavefront treatment is preferred for patients with higher prescriptions, astigmatism and larger pupils.

Which patients is Wavefront most suitable for?

Wavefront laser treatment is most suitable for both short-sighted and long-sighted patients with higher prescriptions and astigmatism as well as patients with larger pupils. Wavefront is a standard treatment for everybody now, regardless of factors such as age.