David Underwood, M.D., practices at the LASIK Center of Jackson. It is part of the Hughes Eye Center, 241-B Stonebridge Blvd.
Z-LASIK — The gentle way to restore vision
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| Dr. David Underwood performing LASIK eye surgery. |
The LASIK Center of Jackson is the first in Tennessee to offer Z-LASIK, a precise and bladeless eye procedure to restore your vision.
"Laser eye surgery (LASIK) has helped thousands improve their vision and eliminate the need for contacts or glasses," said Dr. David Underwood, a board-certified ophthalmologist who went through special training to learn how to do Z-LASIK. Dr. Underwood, who has been doing LASIK eye surgery for 13 years, sees Z-LASIK as the best procedure he can now offer patients.
While performing laser eye surgery, he explained, the surgeon has two major steps: Creating the incision or flap in the eye to be able to do the surgery and then doing the surgery itself.
"The laser, which is restoring your vision, delivers an amount of treatment that is determined by the patient's prescription," he says. "It has reached its maximum level of performance. We can't improve on that."
A great answer to restore sharp vision
But the procedure can improve on the process that creates the flap in the top layer of the corneal tissue, and that's where Z-LASIK comes in. Z-LASIK uses the laser to create the flap, instead of the surgeon using a mechanical blade to create the flap.
"Z-LASIK is a great answer to better vision," Dr. Underwood said. "It's referred to as the gentle way to restore sharp vision."
Z-LASIK uses a high-frequency laser to create truly customized flaps — precisely and safely. Its beam is 100 times less intense than that of the first-generation eye surgery lasers.
"Z-LASIK is the most advanced innovation in bladeless surgery," said Dr. Underwood. "Never before have safety, accuracy and patient comfort in laser eye surgery been so good."
Advantages
Z-LASIK has several advantages:
The procedure has an extremely low impact on the eye.
With advancements in technology, there are fewer side effects. Z-LASIK reduces the risk of dry eyes, deteriorated night vision or halos around lights after surgery.
It can restore vision in patients who may not have been candidates for LASIK surgery in the past, patients with thinner corneas and higher refractive errors.
"There's a finite limitation to the size of the flap a mechanical blade can create," explained Dr. Underwood. "With Z-LASIK, we can create very thin flaps that are stable, which allows the surgeon to increase the amount of treatment."
Patients interested in LASIK surgery to restore sharp vision first must be examined to make sure their eyes are healthy and suitable for LASIK. If so, they are then scheduled for LASIK.
Before the procedure starts, the patient is given anesthetic eye drops. The eye is then prepared for the correction itself by the laser creating the corneal flap.
Once the flap is created, the curvature of the cornea is reshaped to correct the patient's vision. The flap is then placed over the treatment area.
"The entire procedure takes only a couple of minutes," said Dr. Underwood. "Immediately after treatment, the patient can open and close his or her eye normally. The recovery period is shorter than other techniques, and most patients notice vision improvement within a few hours."