Seminars in Ophthalmology Introduction

LASIK is a technique that developed rapidly to become possibly the most preferable procedure in the treatment of low, moderate, and most of the high spherical or combined refractive errors. Is it a panacea? Definitely not. The optical system, through intervention in the cornea, is modified, and a new optical system created. Evaluation of this new optical system still requires further studies. Quality of vision had not been a major factor all these years; what we were aiming at was cosmesis and quantity. Excimer laser corneal refractive surgery has created a new optical surface and has introduced us to new, hitherto unthinkable ways in which the cornea responds to healing. Furthermore, swift development of new techniques has created inevitable problems, the solutions of which are yet to come.