Optilase are known for explaining their laser eye procedures to patients and will always answer any questions you may have, so that you feel comfortable and understand your own procedure.

When you think about the human eye, it is easy to reel off some of the different components that make up its basic structure – or so you might think!

Having a general understanding of the anatomy of eye and the reason why you need glasses in the first place is always worth knowing, especially if you are considering Laser Eye Surgery.

Why do I need glasses to see clearly?

When you rely on prescription lenses to bring objects into focus, it is down to a refractive error caused by a flaw in your eye structure.

Refraction is the process of bending light rays that enter your eyes so that they converge and are focused on the retina at the back of the eye in one single beam.

When light is incorrectly bent because of any defect in your eye, it can either overshoot (hyperopia/shortsightedness) or land in front (myopia/long-sightedness) of the retina.

In cases of astigmatism, light rays are split and land at multiple focal points rather than on just one.

What part of my eye is corrected during Laser Eye Surgery?

The cornea, which is a clear layer found towards the front of the eye (between the sclera and iris) works in tangent with the crystalline lens to refract light.

Ideally your corneas will be a perfect dome shape, but if you need to wear lenses because of a refractive error, then your cornea is shaped incorrectly.

During Laser Eye Surgery, a small, predetermined amount of corneal tissue is removed from the cornea so that it can bend light correctly.

Is the entire shape of the cornea changed during Laser Eye Surgery?

No. Depending on your particular refractive error, only a slight change will be made to your corneal curve.

If you are shortsighted, the curve of your cornea is flat and needs to be increased. In this case, tissue is removed from the periphery of the cornea to increase its curvature.

For patients with long-sightedness, the curve is too steep so corneal tissue is removed from the centre in order to flatten its shape.

Astigmatism differs slightly in that the cornea is not the gradient of the cornea is measured by different meridians (imaginary lines across the eye – much like the spokes of a bicycle).

Laser Eye Surgery works to create a symmetrical surface on the cornea which means flattening or raising its shape.

For more information on Laser Eye Surgery, book your free consultation on +353 1 223 8821.