Should I wait for a better laser vision correction procedure to be developed? Prospects for the development of laser refractive surgery

The galloping development of new technologies has already accustomed us to the fact that many electronic devices have their “shelf life”.

And it’s not at all that they are malfunctioning and quickly damaged. It’s just that improvements, new features and applications are constantly being developed, and the smartphones, smartwatches, computers, consoles we use are only truly comfortable to use when they are compatible with each other.

It’s a bit like a technological puzzle – when one piece doesn’t fit, doesn’t cooperate, the whole puzzle, the whole system loses its meaning. Do similar principles apply in the field of medical technology?

Rapid and spectacular advances in medical technology

If you’ve been following the news from the world of medicine and robotics, you’re well aware that it’s not just ophthalmic surgery that is now at a very high technological and medical level. An example of this sophistication is, for example, the Swiss Leonardo Da Vinci LDV Z4 femtolaser from Ziemer, a leading Swiss manufacturer of femtosecond lasers, which emits infrared and is used to incise the cornea and create a so-called “flap” (corneal flap), which is lifted and resealed after lasing, or the very precise and technologically advanced laser (high-tech-laser) Schwind AMARIS 1050 RS from Schwind.

This, in turn, is a PREMIUM ophthalmic laser. It has an extremely fast 7D seven-dimensional eye tracking system with a video camera that monitors eye movement without time delay during lasering. With the Schwind AMARIS 1050 RS, both Wavefront and personalized treatments based on individual corneal data (topo guided) are possible.

Just as much attention as modern ophthalmic lasers, for example, has been given by the media to the da Vinci surgical system (commonly known as the robot), which is used in the surgical treatment of prostate or cervical cancer. This system guarantees excellent visualization of the surgical field in 10x magnification and in 3D HD resolution.

These ultra-modern devices are the result of the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, which you can read about on our blog!

Wait, or undergo laser vision correction today?

Observing such rapid and spectacular advances in medical technology in recent years, many ophthalmic patients are wondering whether to opt for surgery today or wait for the next, by implication: newer, better, more precise… laser vision correction technology and procedure to appear.

There is no definite answer to this question, but as you continue to delay the decision to have eye surgery here and now, consider:

• The SwissLaser Clinic is a laser reference center of Schwind, with which we have intensive scientific cooperation. Dr. Victor Derhartunian trains physicians around the world in laser vision correction using high-tech devices from SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions. So if another new laser vision correction technology or procedure is on the horizon, we’ll know about it right away. And if we do – so will you.

• The laser vision correction procedures in use today are already as precise and safe as possible. The number of complications is less than 1% of cases. For any medical procedure, the term “guarantee” is not used, but “effectiveness of the procedure.” The laser vision correction procedure is effective in approx. 95%. Statistics on laser vision correction state that about 95 percent of those operated on achieve a quality of vision safe for driving after the procedure, and the risk of vision loss from laser vision correction performed by an experienced surgeon is too small to measure – it is close to 1 in 5 million.

• One revolutionary procedure for laser correction of myopia, astigmatism and a combination of both is SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction). This is a minimally invasive ophthalmic procedure performed with a femtosecond laser. SMILE, unlike older methods such as LASEK and LASIK, does not require the removal of epithelium from the cornea. During SMILE surgery, therefore, all of the upper layers of the cornea are virtually intact, which guarantees its subsequent stability and means that discomfort is usually minimal during the healing period. SMILE procedures are already being performed at SwissLaser Clinics.

• Another revolutionary procedure available at SwissLaser is monovision with Laser Blended Vision (LBV) methods: Presbyond, PresbyMAX, Supracore. Unlike traditional monovision treatment, LBV treatments solve the problem at all distances and allow you to see objects near, far and even at medium distances. The essence of LBV methods is to increase the depth of field for each eye by using an original nonlinear and aspheric laser ablation profile.

The development of laser vision correction techniques, methods and procedures is not slowing down. We are committed to ensuring that advances in laser technology contribute to the laser eye surgery will be available to more patients at a lower cost.

But already, thanks to the latest innovations we have mentioned above, it is possible to get the eyesight of a fighter pilot in a few minutes 😉

You can wait and watch the development of laser and robotic medicine. But you can also undergo laser vision correction today – you lose nothing, risk nothing, and can really gain a lot.