LASIK is a surgical procedure that can reduce a person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses by permanently changing the shape of the cornea (the delicate clear covering on the front of the eye). For clear vision, the eye's cornea and lens must bend (refract) light rays properly, so that images are focused on the retina . If the light rays aren't clearly focused on the retina, the images you see are blurry. This blurriness is referred to as a "refractive error." It is caused by an imperfectly shaped eyeball, cornea, or lens. LASIK uses an Excimer Laser (an ultraviolet laser) to precisely remove corneal tissue to correct the shape for better focusing. LASIK eye surgery is performed most often on people who have myopia ( nearsightedness ), which means that they only clearly see nearby objects; anything far away is blurry.

Alternative Names

Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis; Laser vision correction