Refractive Eye Surgery

Many people rely on glasses and contacts to correct their vision, but some find these methods inconvenient, uncomfortable or unattractive. Refractive eye surgery is a general term for surgical procedures that can improve or correct the eye's focus by permanently changing the shape of the cornea. The cornea is the clear, front surface of the eye which bends or refracts light rays as they enter the eye.
For you to see clearly, light rays must be focused by the cornea and lens to fall precisely on the retina, a layer of light sensing cells that lines the back of the eye. The retina converts the light rays into impulses that are sent through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as images.

This process is very similar to the way a camera takes a picture. The cornea and lens in your eye act as the camera lens. The retina is similar to the film. If the image is not focused properly, the retina or film receives a blurry image. This condition in the human eye is known as a refractive error.

There are three types of refractive errors that can be corrected or reduced by refractive surgery.