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Eye Health Glossary

Age related macular degeneration – is a degenerative disease of the central retina, occurring most often in people over age 50 years.
Astigmatism – when the front surface (cornea) of the eye is more oblong than round in shape. This prevents the light being focused in the correct way and leads to blurred vision, Astigmatism can usually be corrected with spectacles or contact lenses.
Blindness as defined by the World Health Organization is less than 3/60 in the better seeing eye (see Visual Acuity). Australian population surveys define blindness as less than 6/60 in the affected eye.
Cataract is a cloudiness of the lens inside the eye which reduces the amount of light able to enter the eye, leading to reduced vision.
Colour deficiency, commonly known as “colour blindness”, is the decreased ability to perceive differences in colour.
Cornea is the clear front surface of the eyeball which, together with the lens, focuses light on the retina.
Diabetic retinopathy – a common complication of diabetes and is due to damage to the small blood vessels of the retina.
Glaucoma – a disease that causes damage to the optic nerve at the back of the eye. It is often associated with elevated pressure inside the eye.
Hypermetropia – commonly known as “long-sightedness”, is the ability to see distances better than objects that are close.

Hyperopia – known as “long-sightedness”, is the ability to see distances better than objects that are close.
Intra-ocular means inside your eye.
Macula – the very sensitive central part of the retina, the area at the back of the eye that provides fine vision for daily tasks such as reading, recognising faces and driving.
Myopia – known as “short-sightedness”, is the ability to see close objects better than distant ones. People with this disorder may have difficulty seeing road signs, playing ball games and recognising people in the distance.
Optic nerve – the nerve that carries visual information from the retina to the brain, where what is seen by the eyes is interpreted.
Presbyopia - known as “old sight”, is increasing difficulty focusing on closer objects. It usually occurs over the age of 40 and may signal the need for reading glasses. Symptoms of this problem include a tendency to hold reading materials at arm’s length, blurred vision at normal reading distances, and fatigue, eye strain or headache when performing close work.
Retina – the thin light sensitive film inside the back of the eye. It converts light into electrical signals that travel along the optic nerve to the brain. It has a number of important functions including visual processing of the colour and shape of objects. It also contains the macula.
Refractive Error – the eye fails to focus light correctly and needs a lens (for example spectacles or contact lens) to correct it.
Retinitis pigmentosa – a group of genetic (inherited) eye conditions that cause the light sensitive cells in the retina to degenerate slowly and progressively, with associated discoloration of the retina.
Trachoma is a bacterial infection of the eye that can cause complications including blindness.
This preventable disease is linked to poor hygiene and is often associated with poverty. Lack of facial cleanliness is the key factor that causes the spread of the infection that causes trachoma.
Visual acuity is the measure of how well the eyes can see objects from a set distance

Normal visual acuity is 20/20 and the World Health Organization defines blindness as a visual acuity of less than 60.
Vision impairment – the partial loss of vision that is not corrected by spectacles.

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Capsulotomy

The laser capsulotomy eye procedure is an non-invasive procedure typically performed on a patients eye to move cloudiness (opacification) that has developed on the outside capsule of their eye’s lens after a cataract is extracted.  YAG laser capsulotomy eye differs from anterior capsulotomy that your surgeon would perform during a cataract extraction to remove a cataract and when then implanting a intraocular lens.  The procedure is performed with a nd:YAH laser that operates on a light wavelength to disrupt that patients opacification on the lens. The thicker the membrane being removed the more dramatic your vision improvement will be and the more satisfied you will be with the results.

The procedure image shown above is typically done in the lasik eye clinic and is painless, if necessary anesthesia is administered using eye drops, and the benefit is that following a capsulotomy you can usually resume all normal activities such as driving unless advised by your surgeon or you don’t feel 100%.

There are always risks for capsulotomy but as it is usually effective there is no need for further treatment unless complications occur such as swelling, loss of vision or the retina becomes detached, it is always important to have a follow up eye examination in around 6 weeks after your last laser treatment to check there has been no complications.


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What is Eye Surgery Cost about?

This is a central location for finding out more details about the true pricing of Eye Surgery and what other costs maybe involved in Lasik surgery procedures. Many patients choose LASIK or LASIC surgery as an alternative to wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses. We understand that to many people Laser surgery can also be cheaper than glasses or contact lenses and may even be required for health or employment conditions that prevent people from wearing contact lenses or glasses.
The benefits are long term solutions
Laser eye surgery is often suitable as it is a long term solution to replacement of your glasses & contact lenses but which solution is the most suitable for you?  As there are multiple solutions for Laser Eye Surgery you should speak with more than one eye clinic as all procedures have a similar starting point of the scanning of your cornea but the procedure and followup treatment may differ.
Eye Surgery procedure steps
The second step in the laser surgery process after the eye doctor has created a map of the surface and has determined the shape of your cornea, they will be able to determine the degree of astigmatism or any irregularities in your cornea. Following these initials step of taking detailed eye measurements, you will prescribed a batch of antibiotics to be used several days before the eye surgery procedure.  These antibiotics are a very important step as it helps reduce the chances of you developing an infection after the procedure is completed and reduces possible extra costs associated with complications.
Pre-surgery steps
Another reason that people choose to have laser eye surgery is to reduce or stop the need to wear contact lenses.  One of the more difficult parts for many people to accept is that it is important leading up to any procedure that you stop wearing the contact lenses.  This is important as they restrict oxygen flow to your cornea and can cause the area to become inflamed and may lead to complications or delays for the surgery.  All these important steps need to be followed as they reduce the costs incurred due to complications and can make the healing process longer.
What does Lasik Eye Surgery Involve?
  1. The Lasik Procedure
  2. Lasik Preoperative Preparation
  3. Lasik Operation: Flap Creation, Laser remodeling, Reposition the flap
  4. Postoperative Lasik care

Corrective Eye Procedures
Corrective eye surgery requests several necessary preparations in the preoperative period. The surgery operation itself involves creating a thin flap on the eye, folding it to enable remodeling of the tissue beneath with a laser. The flap is repositioned and the eye is left to heal in the postoperative period. The time taken to recover from such procedures can depend on the patient and method of laser surgery used by the doctor.
What Lasik machines are used?
First Generation Type – Broad Beam
Second Generation Type – Flying Slit Laser
Third Generation Type – Flying Spot Laser
Fourth Generation – Flying Spot with Wavefront Capability

Free Eye Surgery Consultation?
Most quality surgeries offer free consultation services to ensure that you are suitable for corrective eye surgery. This step of consultation should never be skipped as it can highlight issues that can affect the success of the procedure.
While most people understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch, many eye clinics offer pre-consultations to ensure that you are suitable for the corrective Lasik procedure and they can highlight any likely complications.   Cheaper eye surgery quotes do not include this consultation in the price and can add this pre-consultation to the final bill.
Lasik Eye Surgery Communities & Forums
Some of the less commercial websites with more information on the procedure from a Government & Educational perspective.
Trusted Medical Websites
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