You are cordially invited to our Swisslaser laser vision correction clinic in Krakow, which was established in early 2023.
Laser vision correction is a very precise and empowering way of interfering with the eyeball. Professional laser treatments are preceded by precise qualifying examinations to determine, among other things. Whether the visual defect has stabilized and there are no contraindications to the procedure.
At the Swisslaser branch in Krakow, we perform all vision correction procedures, which are individually tailored to the anatomical parameters of the eyes and the needs of our patients: laser vision correction, phakic lens implantation,
SmartSight micro-lens laser vision correction
. refractive lens replacement; with the help of which we treat:
To the Swisslaser clinic, located at ul. Kluczborska 15/U3, you can easily reach by public transport (Krowodrza Górka loop):
Motorized patients can leave their vehicles in a marked free parking lot, located right next to the clinic.
Below is a map with the location of our laser vision correction clinic in Krakow.
A doctor by vocation, Swisslaser’s chief surgeon in Warsaw and Krakow, with more than 10 years of experience in performing refractive surgery procedures. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna, and learned the profession of ophthalmology from the pioneers of laser surgery: prof. Dr. n. med. Thomas Kohnen (University Clinic of Ophthalmology in Frankfurt) and Prof. Dr. n. med. and Dr. n. atr. Theo Seiler (IROC Institute in Zurich), who performed the world’s first laser vision correction.
Patients particularly praise Dr. Derhartunian’s professionalism and empathy, and appreciate his personalized approach and the thoroughness of the procedures performed.
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The professional ophthalmic laser surgeries we perform at SwissLaser are safe, fast and painless. Treatments take 15-20 minutes, and within a few hours to a few days patients regain perfect vision. We devote maximum attention and care to their individual visual defects.
Before treatments, our patients’ eyes are carefully examined so that we can determine the ideal treatment method for them. The use of modern diagnostic equipment and laser technology, is a guarantee that the procedure is carried out in accordance with high standards of safety, quality and comfort.
Perfect correction of vision defects with either glasses or contact lenses is not possible. The larger or more complicated the defect, the more difficult it is to select adequate glasses or lenses for the patient’s needs. It’s also worth remembering that not every eye tolerates contact lenses, and in the case of significant vision defects, even the best glasses can distort the image and make it difficult to perform certain activities, such as driving.
The solution is laser vision correction, an increasingly popular operation that restores visual acuity. The rapid development of ophthalmic techniques makes laser eye surgery a procedure that is as safe as possible (the number of complications is less than 1% of cases), painless, and offers the possibility of almost immediate return to normal daily functioning.
The decision to perform laser vision correction is made only when the defect is stabilized. This type of treatment is not performed on people under 18. year of life, since until then the eye remains in a phase of continuous development, and during adolescence visual defects tend to worsen rapidly and rapidly.
If the defect progressed during the year before laser vision correction, there is a risk that this will also happen after the procedure. Therefore, if our goal is to permanently eliminate the defect, the operation must be performed on an eye with a stabilized defect. We are then assured that the laser correction of the vision defect will be permanent and there will be no need to repeat the operation in the future.
Eyeglasses and contact lenses help correct vision defects. Laser eye surgery can eliminate it.
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The most common vision impairments undergoing laser correction are nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. It should be noted that astigmatism can coexist with both nearsightedness and farsightedness, and even the best-selected glasses or lenses will not be able to guarantee the patient comfortable vision; they will only minimize the worst effects of such a condition.
A visual impairment where the optical system of the eye incorrectly focuses light rays – instead of on the retina, the rays are focused in front of it. As a result, objects that are significantly distant from the eye appear blurry and blurred. Myopic individuals often squint their eyes, trying to change the curvature of the cornea and “adjust the image” through the tension of the eye muscles. Such a procedure only works in the initial phase of the disease. As the defect deepens, optical correction or wearing contact lenses becomes necessary. The greater the myopia, the more reasonable it is to undergo laser vision correction – not only for health reasons but also for aesthetic ones. Eyeglass lenses with an index, i.e., maximally thin, are expensive. Lenses without an index – so thick that they significantly distort the field of view.
Minimally invasive/minimally invasive micro-lens laser vision correction (lens micro-extraction) using the SCHWIND ATOS® femtosecond laser.
The cornea is incised using a scalpel (microkeratome). The goal is to model the surface of the cornea so that it can properly focus the image onto the retina.
Trans-PRK stands for Trans-epithelial PhotoRefractive Keratectomy. Corneal epithelial and dioptric correction is done simultaneously uniquely with the excimer laser.
The procedure involves removing the upper cell layer of the cornea (epithelium) and then properly reshaping the underlying corneal tissue using an excimer laser. The goal of the procedure is to properly model the central surface of the cornea with a laser beam so that it focuses the image precisely on the retinal surface.
Using a precise femtosecond laser, the surgeon makes a cut in the cornea, creating a thin flap 0.1 mm thick – a flap. He uses an excimer laser to reshape the previously exposed cornea for a few seconds, then the flap is closed back up; it attaches and forms a protective corneal barrier.
A visual impairment where the optical system of the eye focuses light rays behind the retina. A farsighted individual sees distant objects well but has difficulty with precise and clear vision of close objects. Hyperopia is not the same as presbyopia (so-called aging farsightedness). The latter, although it presents with the same symptoms and shares many characteristics with hyperopia, only appears after the age of 40 and requires correction using different eyeglass lenses than hyperopia.
The cornea is incised using a scalpel (microkeratome). The goal is to model the surface of the cornea so that it can properly focus the image onto the retina.
Using a precise femtosecond laser, the surgeon makes a cut in the cornea, creating a thin flap 0.1 mm thick – a flap. He uses an excimer laser to reshape the previously exposed cornea for a few seconds, then the flap is closed back up; it attaches and forms a protective corneal barrier.
RLE (refractive lens exchange) or CLE (clear lens extraction), or refractive lens exchange, involves removing the patient’s own lens and replacing it with a technologically advanced artificial lens to correct the visual impairment.
Many patients looking for an alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses hear in eye doctors’ offices that they do not qualify for laser vision correction surgery.
Presbyopia, also known as aging farsightedness or presbyopia, is not a vision impairment but rather a syndrome of changes that occur with age in the human eye. It is estimated that nearly 10 million Poles struggle with presbyopia, often without realizing it, and consider difficulties reading fine print or seeing clearly in low light as something natural. However, human vision naturally deteriorates after the age of 40 and has nothing to do with any existing vision impairments such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Furthermore, presbyopia can also occur in individuals who have never been diagnosed with any vision impairment.
Monovision involves subjecting each eye to a different refractive power correction in order to prepare one eye for long-distance vision and the other for near-distance vision. In short: one short-sighted and one long-sighted eye is artificially created!
It involves laser-based, multi-curvature modeling of the eye’s surface, modeled on refractive algorithms. The resulting new curvature of the cornea allows the patient to see from different distances.
A vision defect whereby the cornea or lens has undergone stretching and distortion. The optical elements of the average eye are symmetrical about its axis. If the eye has greater width than height, instead of focusing light in a circular area on the retina, the lens and cornea will create a blurred image in one direction. An astigmatic person sees unclearly both up close and at a distance. Ophthalmologists and optometrists make various divisions of astigmatism – due to the distorted element of the eye’s optical system (corneal, lenticular, mixed) or due to the mutual arrangement of astigmatic axes (regular – uncompounded, compounded, mixed, simple, inverse, oblique, and irregular). For the patient, astigmatism always means the same thing: a person with astigmatism will see an unclear image in certain areas of the visual field at any distance. It is worth mentioning that in the case of irregular astigmatism, the defect cannot be corrected optically; only contact lenses can be used.
The cornea is incised using a scalpel (microkeratome). The goal is to model the surface of the cornea so that it can properly focus the image onto the retina.
Using a precise femtosecond laser, the surgeon makes a cut in the cornea, creating a thin flap 0.1 mm thick – a flap. He uses an excimer laser to reshape the previously exposed cornea for a few seconds, then the flap is closed back up; it attaches and forms a protective corneal barrier.
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As already mentioned, an absolute prerequisite for qualifying for laser eye surgery is stabilization of the defect. This means that one year before the qualification tests are undertaken, the defect should remain stable. Breaking this rule can result in the return and worsening of the vision defect already after laser eye correction. Another consideration for the procedure is the age of the patient. It is assumed that until the age of 18 the eyes should not undergo surgery due to the developmental changes taking place in them, although in justified cases laser vision correction procedures are performed on people who are 18 or older. year of life. As part of the qualifying examination, the ophthalmologist conducts an in-depth interview with the patient to get an idea of whether there are any contraindications to the procedure.
It is worth remembering that while there is a lower age limit for a doctor to undertake laser vision correction, there is no upper limit.
Among the contraindications to laser vision correction surgery are:
Unfortunately, laser vision correction surgery is not reimbursed by the National Health Service and can only be performed at a private facility. The reason for this is that the National Health Fund treats laser vision correction as a cosmetic procedure.
Included in the price of each STANDARD package is a one-year, and in the price of each PREMIUM package is a ten-year warranty, which includes free corrections if the intended goal of correction is not achieved (due to the healing process, measurement errors, variation of leserotherapy). Vision correction must be medically safe and performed according to international standards and guidelines. The warranty does not cover eye diseases such as glaucoma or cataracts and progressive presbyopia.
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As mentioned, the number of complications after laser eye-rests is estimated at 1% of treatments.
As a result of the procedure, in-growth or displacement of the corneal flap (flap) may occur, which can be corrected with a quick procedure.
The phenomenon of corneal protrusion (keratectasia) is extremely rare (1 in 10-40,000 cases), but when it does occur it is easy to strengthen the cornea with the CXL method.
Due to the variability of the healing process and the power of the laser, undercorrection or overcorrection of 20% of the desired visual acuity may occur, but this can be corrected within 3-8 months after surgery.
Laser vision correction is performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Depending on the method chosen, the patient may experience more or less, but short-term discomfort. None of the laser vision correction methods are associated with painful sensations AFTER the operation.
The first phase of the operation always looks the same: it is the precise preparation of the operation area. The patient’s face is washed with a special disinfectant, and his eyes are anesthetized through eye drops. The patient’s eyelids are painlessly immobilized with dilators. Further treatment depends on the method chosen. The management procedures are different in each case, as is the recovery time to normal function and full visual acuity.
After laser eye surgery, there may be pain, which is relieved with ordinary painkillers.
Shortly after FemtoLASIK surgery, patients may notice that they can see more clearly, but their eyes should remain protected for the rest of the day. After FemtoLASIK surgery, patients may experience some discomfort from burning or stinging in the eye. Regeneration of the cornea takes several hours, and the patient can see very clearly the day after the procedure.
In the case of the Trans-PRK smart surFace method, it takes another 4-5 days for the ability to see to recover, and ideal vision is regained after 3-4 months . In a small number of cases, treated patients complain that the healing process is sometimes a bit painful, and some patients also experience a sense of corneal haze/scarring (haze effect). This usually causes a temporary deterioration of vision. Eye drops help in this case for a short time, but this haze is not permanent. It is essential that the patient always attend the follow-up appointment scheduled by the ophthalmologist after the procedure.
With the LASEK/PRK method, the patient notices an improvement in vision, but the eyes should remain protected for the rest of the day. Cell regeneration after surgery takes place in the first 2-3 days and can cause severe pain as the upper layer of the cornea is removed. The pain can be relieved with painkillers. Keep in mind that the quality of vision may still change in the first weeks and months after the procedure.
After laser vision correction surgery, it is recommended:
on the day of the surgery, avoid driving – the operated eye is hypersensitive to light (this sensitivity may be only temporary or may persist permanently), may tear, and may burn;
In case of any doubt, pain or the appearance of inflammation, the patient should immediately see a doctor.
Depending on the method used, from 1 – 7 days after the operation, the patient begins to function normally, and after a month he can see perfectly.
SwissLaser is Schwind’s laser reference center. We are laser vision correction experts with international experience. We use modern, certified technologies that allow you to be free of glasses for good!
Our SwissLaser clinic has an intensive scientific collaboration with Schwind. Dr. Victor Derhartunian trains physicians around the world in laser vision correction using high-tech devices from SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions.
Each surgical procedure involves certain risks and side effects, which the patient has the opportunity to learn about during a visit to SwissLaser Warsaw Krakow.
The rate of complications in laser vision correction is low; depending on the method chosen, the patient may experience various unusual sensations. With most laser correction methods, the pain disappears after just a few hours, and the patient can enjoy good vision the day after the procedure.
Laser vision correction is a well-established method, and the procedure itself is one of the more commonly performed types of surgery in the world. The associated risks can be described as very low – largely due to the detailed preliminary research and extensive experience of our staff.
The creation of SwissLaser is Dr. Victor Derhartunian’s return to his Polish roots – bringing European knowledge, experience, quality and the famous Swiss precision to our country, so that every patient who needs vision correction receives everything in terms of technology, knowledge and care.
Our current goal is to advance knowledge in the field of refractive surgery, lenticular and laser surgery, so that Polish patients can receive quality treatment in this area.
Dr. Victor Derhartunian received the Patients’ Choice Award from 2012 to 2023.
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