The term which is used to depict surgical procedures to correct common visual problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism and to eliminate dependence on prescription eyeglasses and/or contact lenses is called Refractive Surgery and LASIK laser surgery (Laser in situ Keratomileusis) is the most popular form of vision correction method used. Similar to other laser procedures, LASIK laser surgery also reshapes the cornea that helps to enable the light entering the eye to be properly focused onto the retina for a clearer vision. Laser eye surgery is painless and is completed within a short span of time. A femtosecond laser is used to create a thin and circular flap in the cornea and the flap is then turned back and laser is fired on the exposed inner corneal layer. The basic goal is to flatten the cornea of nearsighted people and to create a steeper cornea for people with farsightedness to achieve correct vision. Laser eye surgery offers abundant advantages in the sense that it just requires topical anesthetic drops and no pain is felt. The fundamental advantage of LASIK laser surgery is that majority of the people accomplish 20/20 vision after surgery. Also, there exists a misconception revolving around LASIK laser surgery that is inappropriate for treatment of astigmatism. This is not correct as excimer lasers which are used in LASIK laser surgery can correct astigmatism by smoothing out the irregular cornea into a more normal shape. These refractive surgeries thus are playing major role in correcting the vision related problems affecting a large number of people.
