Better Lasik, Better Vision

CLEVELAND, Ohio. (KFSN) -- Lasik correction surgery has revolutionized how doctors treat vision problems. Now there's a new way to personalize the procedure. It's offering results that are easy to see.

Nate Crooks has spent most of his life struggling to see clearly.

"It was pretty difficult. Everything was blurry all the time," described Crooks.

He decided Lasik surgery was his best bet.

"I just didn't want to be restricted with glasses or contacts," explained Crooks.

Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic offered Crooks a new approach called topography-guided Lasik.

Ronald Krueger, M.D., an ophthalmologist at the Cleveland Clinic told Ivanhoe, "It's really been the best outcome of a FDA study of laser vision correction to date." (Read Full Interview)

Before the procedure, doctors map out a patient's topographic eye measurements by using 22,000 data points on the cornea.

"The mapping of what we've captured is downloaded into the laser with all the specifics," explained Dr. Krueger.

The mapping allows doctors to custom treat each unique contour shape of a person's eye. A clinical trial showed about 93 percent of patients achieved 20/20 vision a year after surgery. Almost 65 percent had 20/16 vision or better. About 40 percent actually saw better than with their best pair of glasses.

Dr. Krueger said, "It puts us in a place where we can actually talk about and say we could make you better than your glasses."

Crooks had the procedure a few weeks ago and he's thrilled with the results.

"Absolutely perfect. I can see 20/15. It's pretty incredible to wake up and see everything crystal clear," Crooks told Ivanhoe.

Candidates for this procedure are patients with certain forms of nearsightedness and nearsightedness with astigmatism.

For more information on this report, please contact:

Victoria Vinci

vinciv@ccf.org