LASIK

At UT Southwestern’s Laser Center for Vision Care, our nationally recognized ophthalmologists have one goal: to improve patients’ quality of life by helping them see better without glasses or contacts.

Sign up today for one of our complimentary consultations to find out whether you’re a candidate for LASIK.

LASIK is just one area of our expertise, and part of a comprehensive vision care program designed to preserve healthy eyesight and prevent blindness. 

LASIK is a type of laser eye surgery that reshapes the cornea (clear layer of tissue covering the front of the eye) to correct vision problems. LASIK, which stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, is an outpatient procedure that can reduce the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses for clear vision. 

UT Southwestern's Laser Center for Vision Care is one of the most accomplished and comprehensive vision care facilities in the world. Our doctors have published more outcomes about LASIK eye surgery than any other eye specialists in North Texas. Our eye surgeons participate in trials to evaluate procedures and technology and teach other doctors about the surgery.

Patients can sign up to attend a complimentary LASIK consultation to find out whether they’re candidates for the procedure.

Conditions We Treat with LASIK

With normal vision, light enters the eye through the cornea and lens, which work together to bend the rays and focus them on the retina (layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye). The retina converts light into electrical pulses, which travel through the optic nerve to the brain to produce images.

Vision problems, also known as refractive errors, occur when the shape of the eyeball prevents the cornea and lens from properly refracting (bending) light rays. LASIK can help people who wear glasses or contact lenses by correcting common refractive errors such as:

• Nearsightedness (myopia): Light focuses in front of the retina, causing close objects to appear clear and distant objects to appear blurry.
• Farsightedness (hyperopia): Light focuses behind the retina, resulting in blurry close vision and clearer distant vision.
• Astigmatism: An irregularly shaped cornea causes overall blurry vision because light focuses unevenly.

Alternatives to LASIK

There are many different procedures available to correct vision. Today's technology helps us determine who is a good candidate for LASIK surgery – and who is not. 

All laser eye surgeries, including LASIK, reshape the cornea so that images properly focus on the retina. We’ll discuss with patients which procedure is best suited to the unique contour of their eyes.

Procedures offered at UT Southwestern Medical Center include:

• Intacs
• Light Adjustable Lenses (LAL)
• Multifocal, trifocal, and other presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (including Panoptix, Vivity, Symfony, and others)
• PRK
• Refractive lens exchange