Why to choose Flow 2.0 eye procedure

Why to choose Flow 2.0 eye procedure

KSA Vision Clinic has done over 30,000 laser procedures and over 200,000 eye examinations. We have corrected nearsightedness with two procedures - LASIK and a no-cut method called Flow. In fact, during the years 2007-2009 KSA Vision Clinic did the most LASIK procedures in the Baltic states, but in 2011 we decided to specialize in no-cut laser procedures.

Why did KSA Vision Clinic decide to specialize in no-cut procedures?
 
  • In 2008-2011 Dr Ants Haavel and his colleagues compared the pros and cons of LASIK and no-cut procedures. We talked to our colleagues from Europe and America, listened to lectures in congresses. During these three years we visited different refractive surgery clinics in Europe, compared their results with our clinic and analyzed them. Finally we talked to our patients and compared their feedback forms. All the information we received confirmed that no-cut laser procedures enable to get better results, whereas the whole process becomes easier and safer for the client, the quality of vision is more stable, and the need for follow-up procedures decreases.
 
  • In 2006-2010 we performed both LASIK procedures and no-cut procedures, and noticed an interesting trend - we got more positive results during the first two weeks after the LASIK procedure, but when we analyzed our patients' data 1-5 years after the procedure, there was a clear difference between LASIK and the no-cut method, and we saw the advantages of no-cut method for young people.
 


What kind of advantages did we see?
 
  • First of all, no-cut procedures are gentler to the cornea. After we quit doing LASIK procedures in 2010, we have not seen any classic dry eye cases, which were common in people whose eyes had been cut during the laser procedure. Mostly it affected females who worked in an office or used air conditioning in their car. Although temporary eye dryness may also occur after the no-cut procedure, it is much milder and affects the eyes usually in the mornings after waking up. During the day the vision quality is sharp and eyes feel comfortable.
 
  • Secondly, after having done thousands of procedures we can say that no-cut procedures do not cause ectasia or keratoconus in the whole cornea. Ectasia and keratoconus affect 90  % of men under the age of 30. Keratoconus may occur many years after a procedure that included cutting the cornea and it may occur even when the patient had had thorough eye exams and had been cleared for the procedure. Therefore, if you wish to avoid secondary keratoconus or ectasia, then our message is simple - avoid procedures that include cutting the cornea. It doesn't matter what they use to make the cut (either microkeratome or femtosecond laser), the risk of developing keratoconus after the procedure is too high - about 2-3 out of every 1000 patients.

You may have to put those glasses back on.

Whether you choose to have a LASIK or a no-cut procedure, it's going to be expensive, and after paying that kind of money, you obviously want to get a result that lasts for a lifetime, especially because that's what all the eye clinics are promising on their webpages. Unfortunately we have experienced that LASIK (and other methods that include cutting the cornea) may not always guarantee the long-term result the patient was hoping for. Here are some factors that cause this. 

1. Cutting the cornea is an irreversible act - the cut will never fully heal. The cornea becomes softer and more unstable, which means the fluctuation of refraction will be higher later on. Every eye doctor and optometrist knows what the fluctuation of refraction was like in 1970 after radial keratomy, when they made many cuts in order to fix nearsightedness. Even the tiniest cut makes the cornea unstable, so there is a bigger chance that the minus will return and the bigger the minus the more likely it will return. It is quite typcial that clients who have had LASIK will need a follow-up procedure 5-10 years later. 

2. Small optical zones. Previous lasers polished many mikrometers off the cornea in order to get rid of the minuses. The same thing happens when the laser procedure includes cutting the cornea, because the cut takes away about 100-120 mikrometers (cornea is approximately 520 mikrometers thick) and the surgeon has to decide how to maintain the minimal thickness of the cornea (which is about 300-350 mikrometers). There are 2 ways to do this - either to choose a flatter nomogram, which can make a patient's vision worse in the dark, or to reduce the optical zone's diameter (the area of the eye where the laser works). Generally procedures that have been made by cutting the cornea have an optical zone of 6-6,5 mm, whereas the no-cut procedures' optical zones are 7,5-8,5 mm (the cornea itself is about 9,5-11 mm). Our clients are typically young people under the age of 45, whose pupils are still large and for better results the optical zones have to cover the whole pupil. If the optical zone is smaller than the pupil, visual acuity will decrease in the dark and the patient may see halos (circles around lights). Small optical zones are also one of the main reasons why people with a small minus have to wear glasses to drive a car or to watch a movie in the cinema. 

3. Patients do not like follow-up procedures, even when they're free. When we compared the outcomes of the two procedures, the need for a follow-up procedure was remarkably lower for the no-cut procedure, and this is one of the main reasons why we now only do no-cut procedures. 

Fast recovery and the ability to continue an active lifestyle only a week after the procedure are the main reasons why people choose KSA Vision Clinic. Right after the procedure the visual acuity is about 50 %, which means that the patient can leave our clinic on his own. During the first week we recommend taking some time off and giving rest to your eyes. A week after the procedure the visual acuity should be 80-100 %, but will not be quite perfect yet for reading or using a computer. However, there are no more physical restrictions and you can continue with your trainings, go to sauna, go swimming or play sports. The visual acuity will rise within the next 3-6 months to at least 120 % and the vision will be excellent both in the daylight and in the dark.

Which technological updates have KSA Vision Clinic adapted in last years? 

KSA Vision Clinic had major updates in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022. 

First was SmartPulse technology - this means the laser polishes the eye with a new fullerene pattern, which gives more accurate refractive results and is more delicate to the cornea. This means faster recovery and better vision quality for the patient.


SmartPulse technology

Secondly, KSA Vision Clinic started using a new tracking technology, which can track the movement of the eye in real time in seven dimensions 1050 times per second. This is a revolutional update, enabling better vision after the laser procedure. 
 
Also the laser company Schwind added many laser procedure steps into one packet called "Smart Surface", which makes the procedure more comfortable for the patient and provides more safety and better vision acuity. 

Since January 2022 procedures are performed with the newest model of Scwhind Amaris 1050RS. The Schwind Amaris 1050RS is the world’s highest-performance eye laser system for refractive and therapeutic corneal surgery. 

How is it possible that one can continue with his active lifestyle only one week after the procedure?

Being able to do everything you did before the procedure again only a week after the procedure is a big surprise for most of our clients. Since the procedure doesn't include cutting the cornea it's such a small trauma for the eye that it doesn't take more than a week to recover, which is why you can go boxing, swimming or even skydiving shortly after the procedure.

How can the vision be very good in the dark and how come there are no halos?

Thanks to our laser, we can cure bigger optical zones which cover even the biggest pupils 99 % of the time. At night your pupils are the biggest, that's why it's possible to achieve very good vision at night and to avoid halos.

Thanks to specializing in just one no-cut procedure KSA is an expert at its field and all our 17 employees who have had their vision fixed with Flow 2.0, are a living proof of why the no-cut method is the way forward. 

Safety first

Before every procedure we check the patient's eyes thoroughly, and then check them again. Correct diagnosis and accurate measurements enable us to ensure a flawless procedure. All eyes are different and the procedure doesn't suit everybody. We will only go through with the procedure when we are 100% certain that the result will be perfect.