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LASIK surgery is the best known vision correction procedure available today. We hear about it on the radio, see it on television, and read about it in newspapers and magazines. But LASIK isn't for everyone. For medical reasons or because of occupational considerations, many people need an effective alternative to LASIK.
Aloha Laser Vision is a top provider of LASIK, but we are also proud of our expertise in achieving excellent results through alternative procedures. If LASIK isn't appropriate for correcting your vision, Dr. Alan Faulkner can evaluate your situation and advise you about the results that many of our patients achieve through PRK, phakic IOLs, or NearVisionSM CK®. Please contact Aloha Laser Vision today to learn more about the alternatives to LASIK.
PRK (photorefractive keractectomy) was the forerunner to LASIK, gaining approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995. In PRK, the laser treats the surface of the cornea, rather than deeper tissue. Our Honolulu practice offers PRK as an alternative to LASIK for those whose corneas are too thin for the creation of a corneal flap, who suffer from defects of the epithelium (the surface cells of the cornea), or whose pupils are too large to allow LASIK surgery. It is also the logical choice for those who want a flapless procedure.
PRK is appropriate for patients who have mild to moderate myopia (nearsightedness). More severe myopia usually responds better to LASIK, in which deeper corneal tissue is treated. There is a bit more post-operative discomfort with PRK, and healing takes longer for some patients, but by about six months after surgery, the results are comparable. Some employers, most notably the U.S. military, will not accept LASIK patients for certain assignments, but will accept PRK patients.
Contact Aloha Laser Vision in Honolulu, Hawaii, to learn if PRK is right for you.
In more extreme cases of myopia, in which LASIK or PRK may not achieve an acceptable result, Aloha Laser Vision may recommend the phakic intraocular lens (IOL) to our Hawaii patients. A phakic IOL is one which supplements, rather than replaces, the eye's natural lens.
Laser surgeries adjust vision by changing the shape of the cornea, which gathers light and directs it to the lens, which, in turn, provides the fine focus needed to create an accurate image on the retina. The advantage of laser surgery is that it is less invasive than IOL surgery. However, when adjusting the cornea isn't enough to provide accurate focus, the surgeons at our Honolulu practice may recommend that a phakic IOL be implanted between the cornea and the lens.
Unlike lens replacement surgery, implanting a phakic IOL leaves the natural lens in place, so that the eye can still focus. As a result, glasses may not be required for many patients. In cases of a later significant change in vision that requires another solution, the phakic IOL can be removed. Just as with laser surgery, placement of a phakic IOL is an outpatient procedure; however, we normally treat one eye at a time.
At Aloha Laser Vision, we offer our Hawaii patients the Visian ICL™. During your vision correction consultation, your eye surgeon will help you determine if it is the appropriate myopia solution for you.
Our Honolulu practice is pleased to offer the Visian ICL™ as one of the latest variations on the intraocular lens (IOL). Because of its unique composition and design, it is foldable, allowing it to be placed behind the iris, and requiring a smaller incision that other lenses.
In addition to phakic IOL, the term "implantable contact lens" (ICL) is another used to describe IOLs that supplement, rather than replace, the natural lens. Staar Surgical, producers of the Visian ICL™, describe it as an "implantable Collamer® lens," because it is made of a proprietary material that combines polymer plastic with collagen, an organic material found in the human body.
The use of Collamer® allows the Visian ICL™ to be more flexible. It can be folded, so that it can be inserted through an incision only 3.0 mm (1/8 inch) in length. As a result it is possible to place the Visian ICL™ behind the iris, where it is completely invisible to even the closest inspection. No one will ever know that you have an implanted lens. Collamer® also makes the Visian ICL™ highly biocompatible. Our Hawaii patients are virtually guaranteed not to experience any complication as a result of implantation surgery.
Contact Aloha Laser Vision, serving all of Hawaii from our Honolulu practice, for more information about the Visian ICL™ and other alternatives to LASIK and PRK for severe nearsightedness.
As our patients from the "baby boom" generation enter middle age, they notice that their ability to read small print declines. This is a natural part of aging that affects everyone. Now with the NearVisionSM CK® procedure, offered at our Honolulu, Hawaii Aloha Laser Vision office, our patients who have experienced an age-related decline in their near vision can turn back the clock and once again read newspapers, menus, and the like without squinting or reaching for their reading glasses.
The "CK" of the NearVisionSM CK® procedure offered in Honolulu, Hawaii by Dr. Alan Faulkner stands for conductive keratoplasty. In a CK procedure, Dr. Faulkner uses controlled radio waves to reshape the eye's cornea to restore accurate focus. CK involves no cutting of the eye. In 2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CK for the treatment of presbyopia, the decline of near vision in middle age. You're a possible NearVisionSM CK® candidate if you're over 45, have had good distance vision most of your life, and are tired of those annoying reading glasses. NearVisionSM CK® offers our Honolulu "baby boomer" patients a safe, quick, and easy way to have near vision similar to when they were younger.
On the day of your NearVisionSM CK® procedure, our Honolulu, Hawaii eye surgeon, Dr. Alan Faulkner, will seat you comfortably and answer any questions you may have. He'll apply anesthetic eye drops to your eye, and then he'll perform NearVisionSM CK®. In the procedure, Dr. Faulkner gently applies radio waves to the corneal tissue covering the white part of your eye. The radio waves heat the corneal tissue, which causes it to shrink. This action reshapes the curvature of the eye so that near vision is once again in focus.
The entire procedure takes about three minutes, and most patients report immediate beneficial results after NearVisionSM CK®. We advise our CK® patients that complete vision correction may take several weeks to manifest itself. After surgery, there may be some mild discomfort, which can be alleviated with drops and/or analgesics. Dr. Faulkner will thoroughly discuss NearVisionSM CK® with you and provide you all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about the procedure.
After having your NearVisionSM CK® procedure at Aloha Laser Vision, you'll most likely find that you are better able to focus on near objects without any drastic effect on your distance vision. After having CK®, 87 percent of patients were able to read newspaper print and had 20/20 distance vision. Seventy-five percent of patients could read telephone book print and had 20/20 distance vision. And 96 percent of patients were satisfied with the outcome of their CK® procedure. Because your eyes will continue to age, additional CK® or another form of vision correction may be necessary in the future.
Contact Aloha Laser Vision today for a free vision screening and to learn more about the benefits of the NearVisionSM CK® procedure now available to our Honolulu, Hawaii patients.
During the course of providing NearVisionSM CK® treatment at his Honolulu, Hawaii office, Dr. Alan Faulkner has compiled a list of frequently asked questions about CK® treatment. Please take the time to browse through the questions and answers below to learn more about CK®. If you have a question that isn't answered here, you can contact our office and Dr. Faulkner or one of his knowledgeable staff will answer any question you may have.
The sensation most often reported by patients during the NearVisionSM CK® procedure is the slight pressure of the speculum, which is the instrument that holds a patient's eyelids open. Most patients report feeling no pain during their NearVisionSM CK® procedure. Some patients may experience mild discomfort after the procedure. This is treated with eye drops and/or analgesics. Some patients report the feeling of having a foreign body in their eye, but this usually subsides within a day of the procedure.
NearVisionSM CK® is usually performed on one eye only. A NearVisionSM CK ® procedure can be done on both eyes during the same appointment, however, if required by the patient's prescription.
Most of our patients who have had the NearVisionSM CK® procedure at our Honolulu, Hawaii office have returned to work the following day. If your job requires intense use of your eyes, you should allow your eyes extra rest time.
After having NearVisionSM CK®, you should not expose your eyes to any water that may be unclean, such as ocean, lake, and swimming pool water. When bathing or taking a shower, keep your eyes closed to keep soap and shampoo from getting into them. In the first week subsequent to the procedure, be sure to keep sweat out of your eyes, and do not rub your eyes forcefully for two weeks following the procedure.
Many doctors in the United States and abroad now use CK® as an "off-label" procedure for the treatment of presbyopia after LASIK and cataract surgery. "Off-label" means that after the FDA has approved a procedure for one use, doctors may use the treatment for other related conditions. Since 1997, in the United States nearly 5 million people have had LASIK surgery. Roughly 44 percent of these people are at an average age of 42 and are suffering the effects of presbyopia. NearVisionSM CK® is a safe way for our Hawaii patients to avoid the frustration of having to wear glasses again.
Unfortunately, NearVisionSM CK® technology cannot be used for the treatment of myopia, or nearsightedness. Rather, CK® is used to treat presbyopia, which is the decline in near vision most people experience as they enter middle age.
Monovision is a technique for correcting presbyopia in which only one eye is treated for near-vision correction. Within four to six weeks of the treatment, the brain automatically adjusts to the change and the eyes focus in concert without any blur. Contact lens patients have been treated successfully for more than 20 years with monovision. Monovision can be achieved with laser surgery or NearVisionSM CK®. When done with NearVisionSM CK®, the technique is called "blended vision."
Our NearVisionSM CK ® patients in Honolulu who are considering monovision should know that it is a compromise. Vision is not perfectly sharp after monovision, and it is not a complete remedy for presbyopia. It gives our patients an additional five to eight years of being able to accomplish most tasks without reading glasses. We recommend that patients try monovision first on a trial basis with glasses or contact lenses to see if their eyes are able to adjust to focusing at different distances.
Patients who want near vision correction and are experiencing the early stage of cataract development may want to consider lens replacement using advanced technology intraocular lenses. Please visit our cataracts page to find out more.
Non-surgical remedies would include reading glasses, bifocals, or monovision contacts. Presbyopia can sometimes be corrected with monovision LASIK, in which one eye is corrected for distance and the other for near vision.
All of these options to restore your near vision are available at Aloha Laser Vision. Dr. Faulkner can help you choose which remedy will help you the most depending on your occupation, lifestyle and hobbies.
Contact Aloha Laser Vision today to learn more about alternatives to LASIK, including PRK, phakic IOLs, and NearVisionSM CK® available at our Honolulu, Hawaii office.
Aloha Laser Vision
1100 Ward Avenue, Ste# 1000
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Phone: 866-564-2524
Fax: 808-599-4818