LASIK eye surgery is so common   that most people not only have heard about it but also know people who have had a procedure performed. In spite of its being increasingly accepted, there aren’t a large number of people apart from those in the medical profession who know exactly what LASIK is about.

LASIK vision correction procedure surgery has been promoted as a quick fix to eye related problems. Although it is a quick procedure, which usually takes under a minute for each eye, this vision correction procedure can at times take half an hour in order to properly rectify the eye defects. Like it is the case with all surgical procedures, the time taken of completion will vary with the defect being treated by the laser eye surgeon as well as the type of LASIK being done.

It is probably due to the short duration required for most LASIK surgery by a laser eye surgeon that a few people tend to consider it as a minor procedure like getting stitches removed. LASIK surgery is a real surgery, and it is done on your precious eyes. You value your eyes a great deal and when you are thinking of any optical procedure, you should be giving it a lot of thought.

The cornea of the eye, in spite of it being half a millimeter thick, has five separate and distinct layers. LASIK surgery cleans the cornea that is responsible for all light refraction. When poor light refraction happens, it results in bad vision.

LASIK surgery will clean the cornea by way of cutting through its multiple layers. Most of LASIK procedures don’t go deeper than your stroma. The type of LASIK which is right for you, as well as the depth of that the incision goes to, will be decided depending on the nature of your corneal defects.

In due course of time, extra tissue accumulates within or under the cornea, which may be called as wrinkles, bumps and fissures. Some times it is simply called as thickening of tissue. This tissue can alter the corneal shape, impeding and almost negating the ability of the cornea to refract light. One will experiences these defects as far or near sightedness, or astigmatism. This surgery is developed to “ablate,” all of the unnecessary tissue from your cornea, thus allowing it to go back to its healthy state.

Anyone who has far or near sightedness knows how it affects them but not too many people will be able to describe astigmatism accurately. Astigmatism also affects the cornea’s ability to refract light. They can also result in symptoms like halos, starbursts, ghost images and decreased night vision.

During LASIK procedure, your doctor will concentrate on the corneal area, which needs ablation, and then start to vaporize the unnecessary tissue using a laser. As it is possible to apply a strong beam over an area of six and eight millimeters, broad beam laser is the preferred laser for this procedure.