SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS NOW CAN BENEFIT FROM SAME LASIK TECHNOLOGIES APPROVED BY NASA FOR USE ON ASTRONAUTS

Advanced CustomVue™ LASIK with the IntraLase™ Method

– Available at Medical Center Ophthalmology Associates–

Proves Ready for the Rigors of Space Travel and Even the Most Extreme Everyday Life

San Antonio residents considering vision correction have another reason to be confident in LASIK, now that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has approved the new advanced, all-laser LASIK technologies for use on U.S. astronauts. 

The recent NASA decision was made following review of extensive military clinical data using Advanced CustomVue LASIK with the IntraLase Method, which showed the combination of technologies provides superior safety and vision.

“Even your most-extreme lifestyle is nothing compared to being ejected from an F16 or the G-Forces of atmospheric blastoff,” says MCOA.  “With today’s advanced LASIK technologies -- which feature the use of two lasers, instead of one as with earlier forms of the procedure -- patients can be confident that they will have improved vision, but also that the procedure has proven to be extremely safe as well.” 

Approved for use on consumers almost a decade ago, more than 11 million LASIK procedures have been performed to-date, making it the most-common elective surgical procedure in the U.S.  But it wasn’t until LASIK developed into an all-laser procedure that NASA approved it for use on pilots, mission and payload specialists who face extreme, physically demanding conditions in space.

The all-laser LASIK technologies, which utilize wavefront guided and femtosecond lasers, have also been cleared for U.S. military personnel, including most recently Air Force pilots. MCOA has offered this highly advanced combination of LASIK technologies to its patients for more than 5 years.

TODAY’S ADVANCED LASIK USES ALL-LASER TECHNOLOGY

LASIK is a two-step procedure.  In advanced LASIK, the computer guided, ultra-fast IntraLase FS (femtosecond) laser is used in the first step to create the corneal flap, virtually eliminating almost all of the most severe, sight threatening LASIK complications related to hand-held microkeratome blade historically used to create corneal flaps. 1 The IntraLase FS laser also provides an optimal corneal surface below the flap, allowing better visual outcomes from the second step of the procedure.

In the second step of advanced LASIK, wavefront-guided technology maps, and then custom-corrects vision based upon the unique characteristics of an individual’s eye.  This sophisticated measurement provides 25 times more precision than measurements using standard methods for glasses and contact lenses, taking patients to 20/20 vision and beyond. 2   

LASIK’S FINAL FRONTIER

Concerns about the harsh aviation environment prevented the earlier forms of LASIK from use in the military and NASA. To date, aeromedical professionals have been cautious of employing the procedure on military aviators who frequently encounter environmental extremes such as high altitude, dry air, wind blast and “G” forces.  In space, these and other conditions add even higher levels of concern due to the extreme precision needed during flight and space walks.

Some notable results of the many clinical trials conducted for the Department of Defense include:

• An evaluation of Custom LASIK in 100 military personnel showed that 95 percent achieved 20/20 uncorrected vision or better; these patients, on average, were previously only able to read the first line (the big “E”) of the vision assessment chart.3
• In a study of different methods to create the LASIK flap, 370 naval personnel underwent bilateral wavefront-guided LASIK with either the femtosecond laser or microkeratome blade.  One week after surgery more than 76 percent of femtosecond laser patients achieved an uncorrected visual acuity of at least 20/16 (better than 20/20) compared to 58 percent of microkeratome patients.4
• In an evaluation of 785 aviators, 89% of Navy pilots rated their ability to land on an aircraft carrier as moderately to significantly better after laser vision correction.  None said it was worse after surgery.5
• A separate study determined that over 90 percent of marksmen had improvement in marksmanship skills after laser vision correction; a significant result given the visual precision of marksmen.6

In the U.S. laser vision correction market, Advanced CustomVue LASIK with the IntraLase Method is the new standard, rapidly becoming the most widely performed laser vision correction procedure. In fact, the majority of premier ophthalmic teaching institutions, including Duke University Medical School, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at University of Miami, and Stanford University, totaling over 16 domestic and international teaching institutions, use Advanced CustomVue LASIK with the IntraLase Method to train the next generation of LASIK surgeons.

Advanced CustomVue LASIK with the IntraLase Method

The Advanced CustomVue laser vision correction procedure stands in a class of its own with the broadest range of FDA-approved indications. When combined with the power and precision of the IntraLase Method, the Advanced CustomVue procedure represents the most-advanced LASIK procedure available to patients today. 

# # #

1. Source: Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, “Refractive Surgery in the Navy”, Presented at the Aerospace Medical Association annual meeting; May 17, 1999; Detroit, Michigan.
2. Source: Binder PS: “One thousand consecutive IntraLase laser in-situ keratomileusis flaps” Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. V32. June 2005.
3. Source:  Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, “US Navy study:  Custom PRK versus custom LASIK”.  Presented at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons annual meeting; September 8, 2006; London, UK.
4. Source: Tanzer DJ, Schallhorn SC. Comparison of visual outcomes with femtosecond and mechanical microkeratomes for wavefront-guided LASIK. Presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting; November 13, 2006; Las Vegas, NV.
5. Source:  Schallhorn SC, Tanzer DJ, ’Refractive Surgery in Naval Aviation’, Presented at the Aerospace Medical Association annual meeting, May 15, 2006, Orlando, FL
6. Source: Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, “Refractive Surgery in the Navy”, Presented at the Aerospace Medical Association annual meeting; May 17, 1999; Detroit, Michigan.