Discover the benefits of LASIK laser eye surgery in Melbourne
Dr Anton van Heerden explains the benefits of LASIK
Who can our life-changing SMILE laser treatments help?
If you see yourself in how I describe my ideal patients below, we can certainly help you enhance your every waking moment with amazing natural vision
Your life after LASIK Laser
Every aspect of life becomes more enjoyable when you free yourself from the things that slow you down, hold you back and get in your way
Discover the new you
The best project you’ll ever work on is yourself. With your new vision, we’re sure keeping fit and looking after yourself will be your new favourite past time.
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf
Whether you’re into paragliding, mountain climbing or couch surfing, we hope your new vision will enable you to adapt to any activity you wish to pursue.
See without glasses or contact lenses
Wave goodbye to outdated glasses and contact lenses. After LASIK laser eye surgery, you’ll be taking on 2020 with 20/20 vision.
Look great and feel even better
The best project you’ll ever work on is yourself. With your new vision, staying fit and looking after yourself will be your new favourite past time.
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf
Whether you’re into paragliding, mountain climbing or couch surfing, your new vision will enable you to adapt to any activity you wish to pursue.
Want to start your next adventure today?
Change how you see the world in 3 easy steps
WE’LL MEET
We’ll ensure you’re a good candidate before treating you at our state-of-the-art refractive eye specialist clinic close to Melbourne CBD.
How does it work?
Change how you see the world in 3 easy steps
LASIK Laser Eye treatment explained
Everything you need to know about LASIK eye surgery
As a general rule of thumb, LASIK can correct prescriptions of:
- Myopia up to -10.00 dioptres
- Hyperopia up to +5.00 dioptres
- Astigmatism up to -5.00 dioptres
For patients who fall outside of these ranges, other refractive surgery options may still be available such as PRK, SMILE®, or ICL procedures.
Who is unsuaitbale for LASIK?
Despite having a prescription within the treatable range of LASIK, some patients will still not be suitable for refractive surgery. These are usually patients with eye conditions, such as keratoconus or corneal scarring, that may be exacerbated during the surgical procedures. Other patients who may be best to avoid LASIK are those whose poor vision is due to an underlying eye disease rather than refractive error. Such diseases include eye cataract, macular degeneration, and lazy eye.
We use the most accurate and reliable variation of LASIK surgery to achieve the best results.
A two-step procedure for enhanced accuracy
LASIK eye surgery is a two-step procedure. At Eye Laser Specialists, both steps are laser assisted. This has improved accuracy and reliability compared to another variation of LASIK, which uses a manual bladed instrument for the first stage.
We will anaesthetise your eye with topical eye drops. We can also offer you a mild sedative for additional comfort.
Step 1: We use a femtosecond laser to create a thin flap of corneal tissue in just 15 seconds.
Step 2: We then lift the flap to allow access to the underlying tissue before applying the second laser to the cornea. This is a process known as photoablation. This is where the laser removes selected areas of tissue to reshape the cornea so that light refracting through this tissue will focus perfectly on the retina and form a clear image. Once the excimer laser step is complete, we reposition the flap. The entire process takes about 10 minutes for both eyes.
Advantages
- Precise and highly accurate6
- Painless surgery7
- Rapid recovery
- Excellent visual results8
- Can treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and mixed astigmatism
- Easy to perform enhancement surgery with LASIK
Disadvantages
- Creates a flap which has potential complications such as flap dislodgement; infection and epithelial ingrowth
As with any surgery, there are certain risks.
Some major, but extremely uncommon risks include:
- Loss of best-corrected vision
- Corneal ectasia
- Corneal infection
Minor risks include:
- Dry eye
- Dysphotopsia (night vision difficulties including glare and halos)
- Regression (The need for glasses or further laser correction in the future)
LASIK is an excellent, reliable surgery that has been performed millions of times globally.
However, for those who aren’t suitable, alternative laser vision correction procedures include PRK, SMILE for myopia, and PRK for hyperopia (not recommended).
Alternative lens-based procedures such as ICL and refractive lens exchange are not suitable for corneal laser corrective surgery.
Step 1: Creating the flap
We create a flap using a highly precise femtosecond laser.
Step 2: Relocating the patient
We then move you over to the MEL90 excimer laser.
Step 3: Folding back the flap
We then gently fold the flap back, exposing the inner corneal tissue to be treated.
Step 4: Correcting the error
The MEL90 excimer laser reshapes the corneal tissue correcting the refractive error.
Step 5: Repositioning the flap
The flap is returned to its original position, protecting the eye like a natural bandage.
LASIK surgery using the Zeiss MEL90 laser has a proven track record of excellent visual outcomes:
- 100% within 1 D of planned surgery
- 99% vision 20/25 or better9
LASIK has a very low complication rate:
- Loss of 1 line best corrected visual acuity 2.4%(1:50)
- Loss of 2 lines best corrected visual acuity 0.1% (1:1000) 10
Links to authoritative resources on LASIK
Follow the links below for more information on LASIK
About Eye Laser Specialists
Our eye doctors bring a combined 40 years of eye surgery experience to Armadale, Melbourne
Dr Anton van Heerden, MBCHB; FRANZCO
Ophthalmologist & Laser Eye Surgeon
Based in Melbourne, but with a reputation that transcends borders, Dr Van Heerden sets the highest bar for laser vision correction surgery in Australia. While his skills and experience are second to none, it is his fun, caring and down to earth nature that truly set’s him apart from the rest. You can sit back and enjoy the journey knowing every detail has been carefully considered.
Dr Edward Roufail, PHD, FRANZCO
Ophthalmologist & Laser Eye Surgeon
As an experienced eye surgeon, Dr Edward Roufail has expertise in performing corneal refractive procedures, including SMILE, LASIK, PRK and Presbyond. He’s passionate about improving his patients’ eyesight through laser vision correction. Edward has performed thousands of cataract, retinal and macular surgeries and routinely, performs over 500 intraocular surgeries a year, including MFIOL and ICL. He is passionate about using the latest technology to deliver the best outcomes for patients.
