Our Laser Technology
The Laser Center for Vision Care at UT Southwestern has an extensive array of state-of-the-art technology to assess patients before and after surgery, in order to tailor the best treatment to your eyes. Our physicians continually review data to help you determine if LASIK is right for you.
WaveScan® — This is the first three-dimensional "mapping" of the eye that takes place before the start of the education seminars. A short and painless exam, a WaveScan helps the surgeon assess the size of the pupil and the dimensions, or terrain, of the cornea. The scan will also detect an astigmatism.
Once you decide to move forward with surgery, you will be asked to undergo approximately three to four hours of measurement exams. For example, the doctor will use a Pentacam to conduct a rotating Scheimpflug analysis, so s/he can view the back of your cornea.
An Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) can screen corneas for subtle abnormalities that cannot otherwise be detected.
• INTRALASE iFS 150 Laser -
provides the first step in vision correction surgery. This computer-controlled laser creates the flap on the cornea, eliminating the use of a microkeratome (blade).
Learn more about Intralase.
• VISX Star S4/IR Excimer Laser System -
VISX was a pioneer in the development of excimer laser systems and remains an industry leader. With CustomVue treatments using the WaveScan aberrometer and FDA approval for wavefront guided ablations, our physicians have the ability to evaluate data received from the entire eye, not just the refractive error. VISX was granted FDA approval for the first-ever wavefront-guided treatment of monovision, providing safe and effective custom improvement for near and distance vision. VISX technology minimizes the amount of corneal tissue removed during surgery and creates a smooth, even ablation.
Learn more about VISX.
• ALLEGRETTO WAVE® Excimer Laser System -
approved by the FDA with the widest treatment range ever initially granted to a new laser. The Allegretto Wave enables us to offer patients with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism treatments optimized for corneal curvature. This means that patients who did not qualify for treatment with other lasers may now be LASIK candidates.
As the fastest laser system in the U.S. today, the Allegretto Wave also features unique safety technology. PerfectPulse Technology accurately controls every laser move, and ensures that the Wave is directed at the desired location.
With its ultra-fast eye-tracking system, small spot beam, and wavefront principle technology, the Allegretto Wave keeps the cornea's natural, pre-operative shape, and provides the cornea with a smoother finish than non-wavefront technologies.
Learn more about the Allegretto Wave
Your physician will send you home with antibiotic eye drops; you will be asked to take it easy. Follow-up visits are required at 24 hours, and one week, then 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.