Eye surgery - Definition and Overview

Laser and non-laser surgery

While the terms 'laser eye surgery' and 'refractive surgery' are commonly used as if they were interchangeable, this is not the case. Lasers may be used to treat nonrefractive conditions (e.g. to seal a retinal tear), and radial keratotomy is an example of refractive surgery without the use of a laser.

Types of surgeries

• Cataract Surgery to remove the cloudy human lens which can be replaced with a plastic lens implant

• Glaucoma Surgery to allow escape of excess fluid from the eye to lower intraocular pressure

• YAG Laser Capsulotomy is used to clear the back implant surface of the cloudy posterior capsule which surrounds the lens implant

• Refractive surgery aims to correct errors of refraction in the eye, reducing or eliminating the need for corrective lenses

• Corneal Transplant Surgery is used to remove a cloudy diseased cornea and replace it with a clear donor cornea