LASIK eye surgery improving, doctor says
By VICKI ROCK
Barry Ohler, 48, Markleton, and Breiann Howsare, 26, Somerset, had something in common: Both have worn glasses or contacts for years.
Now they have something else in common: They underwent LASIK eye surgery on Friday at Somerset Hospital. Dr. Daniel Vittone, who has offices in Somerset, Latrobe, Mount Pleasant and Johnstown, performed the procedures.
Vittone has been performing LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, surgery for 12 years. He is now using a second-generation surgical laser, the FEMTO LDV manufactured by Ziemer Ophthalmology in Switzerland. The femtosecond surgical laser is portable and is taken from hospital to hospital by technicians. (A femtosecond is one-millionth of a nanosecond, a measurement used by lasers.)
Vittone has been using the laser for four months, he said, and was one of the first ophthalmologists in the nation to use it. Because it is a new device, Ohler's surgery was videotaped and Howsare's surgery was broadcast live to ophthalmologists in Brazil, Switzerland, Mexico, California and Florida.
LASIK is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the eye, using a laser, Vittone said. The laser cuts a flap in the cornea, leaving a hinge at one end of the flap, and the flap is folded back. Pulses from the laser reshape the front surface of the cornea, and the flap is then put back.
Howsare, who works at Twin Lakes, has worn glasses since she was 9.
"I'm nearsighted; it's hard to drive without glasses or contacts," she said. "I'd like to see without them."
Ohler, who works at Gilmour Manufacturing, has worn contacts for eight to 10 years.
"I'm looking forward to getting up in the morning and being ready to see without them," he said.
It takes longer to set up for the surgery than the actual surgery takes, Vittone said. Measurements were taken ahead of time and programmed into the computer. As the procedure began, drops were put in the eye to numb it, but the patient was awake. The LASIK procedure takes 25 to 40 seconds per eye.
The eye not being operated on is covered with a patch. Vittone told Ohler that his vision will go dark for 35 seconds from the machine.
"Keep looking at the red light," Vittone said.
The laser created a clicking noise. The surgery could be seen on a screen above the doctor's head. Vittone flushed each eye with cool water. Both eyes were done within minutes.
Lyle Ford, technician, helped Ohler to sit up. His eyes were red.
"Even right now, I can see better," Ohler said. "I can see your eyes and I never could have done that without my contacts. I'm glad I had it done already."
The new FEMTO LDV is better than the older LASIK machine because it allows the ophthalmologist to be more accurate, Vittone said. The old machine used a microblade; the new one uses a laser.
"It is very precise - it could cut through a human hair," Vittone said. "We can personalize the size and thickness of the cut for each person. It takes the scalpel out of the picture."
LASIK can be used for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. When surgery was done with the older machine, it took several days to heal. With this machine, it only takes a few hours or one day at the most.
"By tomorrow, it will be 99 percent healed," Vittone said. "There may be a little swelling, but the patient can drive the next day."