The Excimer Laser

In the field of refractive surgery, the laser treatment shapes the cornea in a way that changes its refractive power, correcting an existing refractive error.

This requires extreme precision, because for every corrected dioptre 10-15 micrometer of tissue is removed, in other words approximately a hundredth of a millimeter. Not even the most gifted surgeon with the finest scalpel would be able to accomplish such precision. Only a laser will be able to. The basis for such a precise material processing was already established by Albert Einstein in his work with the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. With the construction of the first laser back in the 60's of the last century, this principle
became technically useful.


The excimer laser was developed in the late 70's, and its radiation showed ideal qualities for shaping the cornea.

The term Excimer is a coinage derived from "Excited dimer", referring to transient molecular compounds that are created under pressure and high voltage, e.g. between inert gases and halogens. The Excimer laser used by ophthalmologists is practically an Argon-Flourid-Laser, who's dimers send out 193 nm ultraviolet radiations. When the laser light pulses meet the cornea, the light energy of this radiation will be absorbed in a layer of tissue no thicker than one micrometer. Here it will cause molecular compounds to break, thus the tissue immediately vaporizes without compromising the underlying layers of tissue. This enables a very precise shaping of the cornea. The laser pulses are formed through special computer controlled optics, and are distributed on the cornea in a way that allows the reshaping of the originally shortsighted, longsighted or astigmatic eye. A reshaping can also correct higher-order visual disorders (Aberrations).


The Excimer laser is used in all our refractive laser procedures, such as LASIK, Femtosecond LASIK, and PRK/LASEK.

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