Dr Boothe Laser Center News

For years, scientists and ophthalmologists have been looking for ways to improve the quality of the Lasik procedure. At the beginning, more than 10 years ago, the surgery was performed in two steps: making a corneal flap with a microkeratome (special handheld tool with oscillating metal blade) and then reshaping the cornea with an excimer laser. Undoubtedly, the microkeratome was very useful, but at the same time there is some inconsistency in the precision levels provided by this surgical instrument. In fact, Dr. Boothe recalls that patients expressed their wish to be operated in an all-laser Lasik procedure.

IntraLasik or All Laser Lasik was conducted for the first time in 2000, when corneal flap was created by the femtosecond laser instead of the traditional microkeratome, and thus became a breakthrough innovation in the Lasik procedure. One year later, IntraLase FS Laser has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and became commercially available. The Boothe Eye Care & Laser Center was one of the first centers in the country that started to offer this advanced procedure.

Nowadays the IntraLasik computer-controlled technology is considered the safest laser vision correction available. IntraLasik makes it possible to create the required flap with irreproachable precision and accuracy, thus eye surgeons can treat even patients who were once dismissed as candidates for laser correction because of their thin corneas. Of course, only the latest and most technologically advanced equipment has to be used during this kind of surgery. For example, Dr. William Boothe uses a combination of Intralase iFS Laser, Alcon LADARVision 4000, VISX STAR S4 Excimer Laser System and the Allegretto Wavelight Eye-Q Excimer Laser System in his office.

The main advantage of a flap created with IntraLasik over traditional Lasik is that there is a much better ability to customize the required flap thickness, the flap positioning on the cornea and the dimensions of the flap. Also, there is no physical contact of a microkeratome blade with the eye surface, because the corneal flap is made by femtosecond laser. This laser is very precise, safe, and makes it possible to achieve better visual results, and patients usually feel more confident with this state-of-the-art technology.

The super-precision IntraLasik method has been already appreciated at its true value on more than a million eyes. Among them, around 70,100 have undergone IntraLasik procedures at the Boothe Eye Care & Laser Center in Plano, Texas. Also, board-certified Dr. William Boothe is considered as the most experienced surgeon in the country for this type of laser.