Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
The nature and severity of the problem, the skill of the surgeon performing the procedure, and the patient's general health and realistic expectations are among the factors that influence the outcome of laser surgery. Successful procedures can enable...
patients to feel better, look younger, and enjoy longer, fuller, more active lives.
A patient who is considering any kind of laser surgery should ask the doctor to provide detailed information about what the outcome of the surgery is expected to be, what the recovery process will involve, and how long it will probably be before a normal appearance is regained and the patient can resume normal activities.
A person who is considering any type of laser surgery should ask the doctor to provide specific and detailed information about what could go wrong during the procedure and what the negative impact on the patient's health or appearance might be.
Lighter or darker skin may appear, for example, when a laser is used to remove sun damage or age spots from an olive- or dark-skinned individual. This abnormal pigmentation may or may not disappear over time.
Scarring or rupturing of the cornea is uncommon, but laser surgery on one or both eyes can:
- increase sensitivity to light or glare
- reduce night vision
- permanently cloud vision, or cause sharpness of vision to decline throughout the day
Signs of infection following laser surgery include:
- burning
- crusting of the skin
- itching
- pain
- scarring
- severe redness
- swelling
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This narrated animation describes the function of the major structures of the eye, namely the pupil, iris, lens, cornea, and retina.
Cosmetic laser surgery in progress. The wavelengths of the laser's light can be matched to a specific target, enabling the physician to destroy the capillaries near the skin's surface without damaging the surrounding tissue. (Photograph by Will & Deni McIntyre, Photo Researchers, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)
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Other Information
Laser surgery is surgery using a laser to cut tissue instead of a scalpel. Examples include the use of a laser scalpel in otherwise conventional surgery, and soft tissue laser surgery, in which the laser beam vaporizes soft tissue with high water content. Laser resurfacing is a technique in which molecular bonds of a material are dissolved by a laser.
Laser surgery is commonly used on the eye. Techniques used include LASIK, which is used to correct near- and far-sightedness in vision, and photorefractive keratectomy, a procedure which permanently reshapes the cornea using an excimer laser to remove a small amount of tissue.
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