Epi-LASIK – Who Can Be Qualified

A qualified Epi-LASIK patient can only be determined by Singapore ophthalmologists and LASIK surgeons, after several eye tests and thorough examinations. If you’ve been examined and told that you’re not a qualified to undergo LASIK surgery, you could still be qualified for an Epi-LASIK procedure.

Cornea should be thick enough

One of key factors in determining a good Epi-LASIK candidate in Singapore is the cornea’s thickness. The corneas are the clear front covering of the eyes and the area where the laser correction is made. The eyes have fluids which puts pressure on the walls of the eyeball. The cornea is one of the parts of the eyeball wall, alongside with the retina and sclera. The wall of the eyeball should be thick and strong enough to endure the pressure without being injured. Remember that laser correction removes little portions of the cornea tissue to be able to reform it. After removing the tissue, there should still be sufficient thickness of cornea to preserve the shape of the eyeball.

Tissues removed from right areas correct the bend of light that enters the eyes.
• For nearsighted, corneas tend to bend the light excessively; the curvature is to steep and causes far vision blurriness. Tissues are removed from the centre to flatten the cornea.
• For farsighted, corneas are too flat and the light bending isn’t enough, which causes near vision blurriness. Hence, tissue from the peripheral area is removed to create steepness.
• For astigmatism, corneas are bending the light two ways and are in elongated shape instead of spherical, which makes vision blurry at any distance. Removing some corneal tissues from all over the eye will it more spherical that helps create a more balanced light bending.

Thinner than the average cornea

One of the tests to check if an individual is qualified for a lasik in Singapore and other LASIK procedure, such as LASEK, Intralase, and Epi-LASIK, is the corneal thickness. The Epi-LASIK procedure was developed to accommodate patients with thinner corneas for LASIK eye surgery. Another option is PRK, which has been widely known before LASIK in Singapore. This procedure doesn’t make a flap at all. Instead, it completely removes the corneal epithelium. Since the epithelium is constantly renewing, the tissue cells that were removed from PRK surgery are replaced eventually.

Epi-LASIK Flap
Epi-LASIK cuts a thin epithelium flap, very thin that it doesn’t include any from the stroma. With Epi-LASIK, sufficient amount of corneal tissue is left for correction and still having enough to preserve the eyeball’s original form.
Other Factors for Epi-LASIK Qualification

A qualified candidate for Epi-LASIK surgery in Singapore doesn’t only have thinner corneas but also some of these factors:
• At least 18 years of age
• Aiming to have lesser dependence on contacts or glasses
• Stable eyesight prescription for the last two years
• Has reasonable expectations after the surgery
• The will to follow instructions from ophthalmologist during recovery period