With modern technology, most vision correction surgeries are done by LASIK surgery. However, in the beginning, most surgeries were performed using a method called PRK. This procedure did not involve creating a flap over the cornea, but was discontinued because it tended to cause the patient a lot of discomfort.

Today, a new procedure emerges that has the best characteristics of both types of surgery. It has been found that SBK causes less dry eyes and does not cause the complications that LASIK occasionally can.

Problems with LASIK Procedures

LASIK has always been very successful as an eye correction procedure. However, in some patients, it has been known to create extreme dry eye and in very rare cases causes a corneal problem called ectasia. This causes a distortion on the cornea and causes it to loose its shape. It is believed that reducing the size of the cornea during the LASIK surgery causes this problem.

The older procedure of PRK, which is not used very often today, did not create a corneal flap. Instead, the procedure involved removing the outer layer of the cornea. This outer layer is called the epithelium. Afterwards, a type of bandage was placed on the eye, until the epithelium could grow back.

Unfortunately, the eye remains uncomfortable until the epithelium heals. Vision is blurred for several weeks, and a patient will not be able to do many things for a long period of time after the surgery. This is the reason the PRK procedure became very unpopular.

In Walks the SBK Procedure!

A new procedure has evolved that takes a little bit of the LASIK procedure and a little bit of the PRK procedure and rolls them into one. Another type of laser is used in the SBK procedure, and this laser creates a thinner flap over the cornea than the LASIK flap. The SBK flaps are about 110 microns thick, and the LASIK flap is about 120 microns thick.

When the flap becomes thinner, then the SBK procedure becomes a much more comfortable procedure, has no dry eye and unlike LASIK, does not cause ectasia.

How does the SBK Procedure Work?

The SBK flap is not only thinner, but it is also smaller. This means that the procedure will not damage as many corneal nerve endings, which is known to cause the dry eye symptom.

How did the New SBK Procedure come about?

It is thanks to new technology that doctors can now perform this procedure. The femtosecond laser is the equipment that has made the SBK process possible.

Since this is a fairly new procedure, many doctors are skeptical about it being the miracle in refractive eye surgery that it purports to be. They believe that cutting into the Bowman's membrane may cause scarring and hazing. These surgeons wonder if the benefits outweigh the risks involved in SBK surgery.

Which Procedure is Better for Me?