LASIK Eye Surgery – Improving Vision in Chesterfield and St. Louis, Missouri

Dr. Bruce Cohen has been performing LASIK eye surgery in the Chesterfield and St. Louis, Missouri area since 1994. He has also developed a successful radial and astigmatic keratotomy practice. Dr. Cohen was one of the first LASIK surgeons in Chesterfield or St. Louis trained to use the excimer laser for laser refractive surgery after its approval by the FDA in 1995. Dr. Cohen was honored as one of TLC Laser Vision Centers’ top one hundred laser vision surgeons in the country for 2002.

As it has grown in popularity, LASIK refractive surgery has become a common alternative to glasses and contact lenses for both nearsighted and farsighted people, as well as those with astigmatism. It is now a common alternative to glasses and contact lenses for both nearsighted and farsighted people, as well as those with astigmatism. Dr. Cohen’s longstanding expertise gives his patients peace of mind and confidence that they will soon be enjoying sharper, clearer vision.

• How LASIK Works
• The LASIK Process – Before, During, and After LASIK Eye Surgery
• Ideal LASIK Candidates

How LASIK Works

Clear vision occurs when light rays enter the eye through the cornea, or front layer of the eye, and then refract, or focus, to a single point on the retina. The retina collects this optical information and sends it to the brain, where it is processed as an image. When the eye is too short, too long, or irregularly shaped, the light rays are not able to focus correctly on the retina. The following list details the refractive errors that can be corrected through LASIK eye surgery at our St. Louis and Chesterfield, Missouri offices:

• Farsightedness (hyperopia): Patients with hyperopia have eyes that are too short. Images do not have enough space to focus properly on the retina. These people can see objects that are far away, but have trouble with close-up things like reading and sewing.
• Nearsightedness (myopia): Patients with myopia have eyes that are too long. The light rays entering the eyes focus at a point in front of the retina and, as a result, are unfocused again by the time they reach the retina. These people can see objects that are close up, but objects farther away are blurry.
• Astigmatism: Patients with astigmatism have eyes with irregularly curved corneas (the front layer of the eye). Images tend to focus on the retina in two places, causing blurred or double vision.

During LASIK eye surgery, our Chesterfield and St. Louis surgeon uses a laser to reshape the cornea so that light rays can focus correctly on the retina, thereby producing clear vision.

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The LASIK Process – Before, During, and After LASIK Eye Surgery

During the patient evaluation, Dr. Cohen will measure your cornea using WaveScan™ technology. This creates a detailed "map" of your eye, allowing him to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, as well as to identify higher order aberrations that cause bothersome effects such as glare and halos around lights at night. Dr. Cohen will then integrate the WaveScan™ map into your LASIK eye surgery. After such careful preparation, Chesterfield, St. Louis, and other Missouri patients can be sure of receiving extremely accurate results.

LASIK, or laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis, is a two-step outpatient procedure that takes about 15 minutes. Dr. Cohen will apply topical anesthesia to the eyes, then create a very thin flap in the surface of the cornea with a specialized tool called a microkeratome. This flap is lifted so that Dr. Cohen can use the VISX Star S4™ laser to reshape the cornea. In cases of nearsightedness, the cornea is flattened so the overall eye is shorter. For farsighted patients, the cornea is steepened so the incoming light rays can focus properly. Astigmatism is treated by adjusting the curvature of the cornea.

When the desired shape has been achieved during LASIK eye surgery, Dr. Cohen will replace the corneal flap, which will reseal to the eye without the aid of sutures. Patients will need to wear a shield for a day or two, but in most cases will be able to return to work and normal activities after that. Dr. Cohen will be able to provide more specific post-operative LASIK instructions according to patients’ individual lifestyles.

Before undergoing LASIK eye surgery at our Chesterfield or St. Louis office, patients will learn about possible complications of surgery. These include poor night vision, dislocated corneal flap, and inflammation underneath the flap. These issues, as well as under-correction or over-correction, can generally be treated by our LASIK surgeon with excellent results.

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Ideal LASIK Candidates

It is essential that patients’ refractive errors be stable at the time of LASIK eye surgery. This means that their eyeglass prescription should not have changed for at least one year. For this reason, Dr. Cohen requires that his patients also be over the age of 18; refractive errors are rarely stable before then.

Pregnant women and those who are nursing should also delay LASIK until after they have finished nursing, as these conditions can cause refractive error to change significantly.

During your evaluation, you should inform Dr. Cohen of any current or previous eye diseases or injuries to ensure that the correct treatment option is selected. Contact Cohen Eye Associates today to find out if you are a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery at our Chesterfield and St. Louis, Missouri practice.

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