How to Get Rid of Glasses?

The ability to see clearly in people's daily lives is of great social and professional importance. Refractive errors occur if the lens system, which undertakes the task of creating a clear image of the eye organ, does not function properly. As a result of the corneal layer and the natural intraocular lens refracting the light coming into the eye more or less than it should be or focusing it at two different points, disorders such as Myopia, Hyperopia or Astigmatism occur.  

If there is at least one of these refractive errors in the natural lens system of the eye, a clear image cannot be formed on the nerve layer and various treatments are needed. With today's technology, the treatment of refractive errors in the eye can be eliminated with the use of various apparatus or surgical operations.

Although the symptoms of most refractive disorders can be eliminated with the use of glasses or contact lenses, patients need to sacrifice the comfort of daily life. Glasses and contact lenses are special devices that require additional care and cleaning, and they cannot provide uninterrupted clear vision because they cannot refract close to natural. For this reason, surgical operations performed with laser technologies and popularly known as "eye reshaping surgery" have marked the last thirteen decades. With the surgical methods reinterpreted with current technologies, "getting rid of glasses" has become a painless, fast and economical reality.

Excimer Laser: Excimer Laser, which has been successfully applied on millions of patients all over the world for the last 30 years, is an effective treatment method. First, the degree of refractive error in the eye is calculated and the corneal structure is examined. With Excimer laser, the corneal structure is reshaped with computer-aided reshaping and the patient gets rid of glasses.

The laser procedure is applied to the stroma layer under the epithelial layer of the cornea. According to the method applied to reach this layer, the Excimer Laser technique has different sub-names.

PRK or No-Touch: If the epithelial layer is removed with a spatula or alcohol and excimer laser is applied to the underlying stroma layer, it is called PRK; if it is removed by laser method, it is called No-Touch method. After the operation, the epithelium regenerates itself within 4-5 days and the person does not feel pain during the operation. There may be a stinging sensation or pain for 1-2 days and it may take a few months for the vision to sharpen.

LASIK: In this method, a flap is created in the cornea. While this flap was previously created using a knife, today it is realized with a femtosecond laser system. The flap is removed and Excimer Laser is applied to the underlying tissue and the cornea is reshaped. Apart from the standard method, in the method called iLASIK, the cornea of the person is mapped and the person is provided to get rid of glasses with personalized treatment. Since the epithelium is not peeled off in LASIK, pain and discomfort are minimal and short-lived. Visual acuity after laser treatment reaches its maximum level within a week in most patients.

SMILE: In the SMILE method, known as the 3rd generation laser technology, a piece of tissue is prepared inside the cornea with the femtosecond laser used to create the flap in LASIK. The surgeon removes this piece of tissue through a 2 mm incision and adjusts the curvature of the cornea as needed. The advantage of the SMILE Laser method is that there is no risk of post-operative flap complications since no flap formation is performed, it significantly reduces the complaint of dry eye and can be applied to medium-high degrees. After a successful procedure, it is possible for the person to get rid of glasses.

The most critical point in the process of getting rid of glasses is whether the person is suitable for laser treatment. Depending on the eye structure of the person, there are different steps in the process of selecting the laser suitability and the method to be applied. After measuring the degree of refractive error that needs to be corrected, the patient's corneal thickness and structure are examined to see if they are sufficient for this correction. In addition to the corneal thickness, the patient's age, lifestyle and other conditions, if any, are evaluated.

Intraocular lens implantation (ICL): This procedure is generally used for patients with high degree of myopia whose eye structure is not suitable for laser. The patient's natural lens is preserved and a new intraocular lens is implanted in front of it. This intraocular lens remains in the eye for life and allows the patient to get rid of glasses.

Intraocular lens replacement (Smart Lens): It is mostly applied for hypermetropic patients who have difficulty seeing both near and far, or for patients over the age of 40 with near vision difficulties. During this procedure, the natural eye lens that has lost its function is removed and replaced with a multifunctional artificial intraocular lens that provides clear vision at near, intermediate and far distances. These smart lenses refract the rays according to their distances and function according to the needs of the person.

It should not be forgotten that we cannot call any method the best in glasses removal surgery. Each technology and method has advantages and disadvantages depending on the person. The critical point is to determine the most suitable procedure for the patient