ARE ALL WAVEFRONT LASERS THE SAME?

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Wavefront technology allows surgeons to measure and treat the imperfections (aberrations) in a patient’s visual system that cannot be corrected by traditional methods (i.e., glasses and contact lenses).

Two types of lasers exist in Anchorage: “wavefront-guided” and “wavefront-optimized.” VISX Star S4 IR and most other lasers are wavefront-guided. Only one laser exists in the United States that is wavefront-optimized: the Allegretto Wave (manufactured by Wave Light). "Wavefront-optimized" is a relatively new term that refers to a software program that is designed to assist the laser in correcting the vision. It does this by using pre-programmed corrective factors that are based on data of what the average eye should be. A wavefront-optimized PRK or LASIK procedure is not a customized surgical treatment. No wavescan measurement is even done on your eye with wavefront optimized Allegretto laser treatment. The Allegreto laser company used other manufacturer’s wavefront devices to measure the wavefronts of many people before and after Allegreto laser treatments and calculated the average spherical aberration induced for several amounts of Myopia. They then constructed a computer program to add extra peripheral pulses for given amounts of Myopia. If your cornea does not have the average spherical aberration that the Allegreto laser has in its program data base then you will be either under corrected or over corrected in spherical aberration. There is a reason why the Wave Light company is trying to develop a true custom treatment with their laser. The obvious reason is because the custom treatment based on the individual’s eye wavescan measurement gives better results. All the Allegretto laser does is merely place extra pulses of laser treatment in the peripheral part of the cornea to attempt to reduce laser induced spherical aberration of the cornea. This is not based on measuring the individual eye that is going to be treated with a wavescan. The Allegretto laser adds peripheral pulses based on the amount of myopia you have and does not take into account your preexisting spherical aberration you already have. This is a one size fits all approach. There is a significant difference between “wavefront-guided” and "wavefront-optimized." It is important to know what laser is going to be used on your eye.

We at Grendahl Eye Associates use the VISX Star S4 IR laser and its satellite wavescan device to provide you with true Custom LASIK and PRK treatments. A wavefront-guided procedure, as used by Grendahl Eye Associates, is a truly customized treatment based upon the individual imperfections and aberrations of a patient's eyes. A wavescan measurement is made on each eye and a custom treatment is calculated and formulated for each eye.

For more information, see:
http://www.lasikinstitute.org/ and http://www.refractiveeyecare.com/.

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