Siepser Laser Eyecare
888-859-2020
info@siepservision.com
860 E. Swedesford Rd.
Wayne, PA 19087
633 W. Germantown Pk.
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
Vision Correction
Information about our vision correction procedures:
- LASIK
- CK (Conductive Keratoplasty)
- Standard IOL’s (Intraocular Lens Implants)
- ICL (Implantable Contact Lens)
- PRK (Photo-Refractive Keratectomy)
- PKP (Penetrating Keratoplasty)
- DSALK (Deep Stromal Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty)
- DSEK (Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty)
LASIK
Dr. Siepser is the first and most experienced LASIK surgeon to use the FDA approved VISX laser in the Delaware Valley and has a zero percent infection rate for this procedure at his center. He participated in the initial FDA investigation at the Wills Eye Hospital to personally assist in the FDA approval process for the VISX laser for treating myopia, helping to pioneer this treatment.
LASIK technology is a customized laser treatment, changing the focusing power of an eye much like contact lenses but the result is permanent. This change in vision allows 98% of patients to see well without reliance on glasses or contact lenses. The procedure takes fifteen minutes and leaves patients less dependent on glasses with much improved vision. LASIK offers patient’s minimal discomfort and a quick return to functional vision and their normal lives. LASIK is a positive life changing procedure.
The laser used at Siepser Laser Eyecare is the VISX S4 tracking CustomVue enhanced Excimer laser. This allows for individualized Laser Vision Correction. The VISX laser is the “gold standard” against which all other lasers are measured. Eighty two percent of the procedures performed in the United States are based on the VISX technology. This laser analyzes the surface of the eye allowing patients to achieve their very best vision, customizing the correction to bring their eye to its best visual potential.
CustomVue also provides WaveScan analysis. This laser technology provides both a system of analysis, laser scanning the exact curves of an eye, and then programs the laser to provide treatment to the surface of the eye while tracking the curve of each eye. New Smart features are designed to lock in on the target and maintain course even if the patient moves position during surgery. This safety factor has created even better results in Laser Vision Correction.
You can trust that your total Siepser Laser Eyecare experience will be administrated by a professional and caring staff who make a true difference in patient care, adhering to the highest standard of quality utilizing state of the art technology to provide superior patient results.
Advanced CustomVue™ Patient Key Messages and FAQs (pdf)
CK (CONDUCTIVE KERATOPLASTY)
CK is a radio frequency based procedure best suited for patients over the age of 40 who had good vision until they reached their forties. CK can reduce or eliminate presbyopia and help those who have difficulty seeing small print the chance to read again without bi-focals or reading glasses.
In conductive keratoplasty, radio waves are in a frequency that creates heat and shrinks part of the cornea by direct application to the surface of the eye. The radio frequency range is at the level in which we get the best effect of this phenomenon, thus the use of the word “radiofrequency.” Conductive keratoplasty is the radio wave conducted into the surface of the eye by direct contact.
This 5-minute, painless procedure uses a radiofrequency probe to change the curve of the front of your eye to create a bifocal-like effect allowing one eye to see better at near. This treatment is done in one eye only in most patients. It actually creates, “summation,” which is an ability to use both eyes together seeing better than either eye alone. This amazing technology is quickly done and improves reading vision dramatically. CK offers patients a quick return to functional vision and a chance to gradate their needs as additional treatments can be used to supplement near vision improvement. There is an individual unique patient response to a CK procedure that requires the extensive experience Dr. Siepser has with this system, which allows patients to reach their maximum visual potential.
Standard IOL’s (Intraocular Lens Implants)
An IntraOcular Lens (IOL) is implanted in the eye after the removal of cataracts or when the human lens has degraded or has gotten dark and distorted which indicates that replacement is needed. This is a form of refractive surgery as it does change the eye's optical power or focusing ability. Cataract surgery is used to remove the human lens followed by the insertion of a small plastic lens with plastic side struts, called haptics, to hold the lens in place. The ideal placement for a standard IOL is the bag that previously held the human cataract. A cataract is much like an “Advil” tablet in size and structure. There is an outer coating, the capsular bag, then the whitish interior. The IOL is targeted to be within the capsular bag. IOLs were traditionally made of an inflexible material (PMMA), although this has largely been superseded by the use of flexible materials. There are several options regarding the selection of the appropriate IOLs for each patient. Some IOLs fitted today are fixed monofocal lenses that have one focal plane. They do not correct astigmatism and only approximate improved vision for patients having cataract surgery or refractive procedures. Patients who have standard cataract surgery find that they are more comfortable with bifocals and need them continually. Eighty percent of these patients feel they need bifocals for most activities while only ten percent feel they need them when they opt for multifocal IOL’s.
Siepser Laser Eyecare also offers patients ReSTOR, REZoom which are multifocal IOLs. Multifocal IOLs work by providing multiple images for an eye to process and the eye and brain adjust to this new type of image. Additionally there is the Crystalens option, which has some accommodation recovery effect. Eyes seem to be able to use their muscles to once again focus at near.
The use of the Crystalens, allows patients to see at a distance, intermediate and near 90% of the time, much improving their performance after cataract surgery as compared to more traditional implants. ReSTOR and ReZoom help patients to see at intermediate and near and are best for reading performance as opposed to the Crystalens which gives better distance vision. The selection of a particular IOL is best done by the doctor and patient in concert, establishing the patient needs, desires and performance level they are trying to obtain.
The procedure can be done under local anesthesia with the patient awake throughout the operation. The use of a flexible IOL enables the lens to be rolled for insertion into the capsule through a very small incision, thus avoiding the need for stitches, and this procedure usually takes less than 20 minutes. The best-achieved vision is usually in about 2–3 weeks however most patients resume their normal activities the day after surgery.
ICL (Implantable Contact Lens)
The Implantable Contact Lens is designed to correct vision in people who are either not candidates for Lasik or have high myopica (very near sighted) and would like the best possible visual acuity. These are small, injectable lenses that are inserted through a tiny incision that does not usually require sutures. Dr. Siepser was one of the first surgeons in the region to use the Verisyse implants and also performs procedures with the new Visian ICL, which functions at a far more precise level. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, which means the patient has their procedure at a same day facility. They are usually there for no more than 6 hours from arrival to departure after their discharge.
ICL can be considered as an alternative to LASIK and PRK or Refractive Lens Exchange. The best candidates are between the ages of 21 and 50, with moderate to severe nearsightedness. The ICL provides predictable outcomes and excellent quality of vision. They can be easily removed or replaced if an eye changes or there is a preferred focus distance that needs to be achieved.
PRK (Photo-Refractive Keratectomy)
PRK uses state-of-the-art computer technology in combination with skill and accuracy and precision of the Excimer laser to treat a wide range of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. It has been proven to be extremely successful reducing or eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses.
PRK is a surface procedure performed on an outpatient basis. After the procedure a protective contact lens bandage is placed on the eye to make it more comfortable during healing. It typically takes three to five days to fully heal. Most patients notice an improvement in their vision soon after surgery. However truly clear vision takes several weeks. Most patients should prepare for 5 days of little activity after surgery to recover satisfactory vision for most occupations.
PKP (PENETRATING KERATOPLASTY)
Dr. Siepser is regionally recognized for his success with complex vision correction procedures. Penetrating Keratoplasty is a corneal transplant procedure successfully performed by Dr. Siepser hundreds of times, which involves the replacement of the eye’s damaged cornea with a replacement donor cornea. The need for a corneal transplant is usually due to disease, injury, scarring, infection, previous eye surgery, or other degenerative problems.
Immediately prior to surgery, you will be given local anesthesia to numb your eye and control unnecessary eye movement. In addition, you will also be given a sedative to relieve any anxiety you may be experiencing. A donor cornea will be prepared and a matching disc of the donor’s corneal tissue will be secured to your eye with delicate sutures. These sutures are barely visible and will not irritate your eye. PKP is a slow healing procedure but can provide positive results in over 90% of patients. This combined with laser vision correction can result in good vision without the use of glasses or contact lenses, which is the usual result of corneal transplantation. Our high standards believe a graft is not successful unless the patient achieves satisfactory vision without the use of contacts or glasses.
DSALK (Deep Stromal Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty)
DSALK is the substitution of cornea layer from a donor onto the surface of an eye that has a structural disability or anterior scarring, replacing just the diseased surface. Dr. Siepser has been at the forefront of this technology with impressive results in this new procedure, which corrects keratoconus or other anterior surface diseases. The procedure provides patents with better opportunities for stable and long term visual recovery.
Dr. Siepser, regionally respected for complex procedures, recently presented a professional paper reporting critical data after performing this very rare operation 14 times. Many patients find after this successful operation they not only have the best vision they have ever had but they are also free of glasses or contacts. The procedure takes 30 minutes and is performed as an outpatient. The vision returns quickly but good clarity is only obtained initially with an additional contact lens. Once the eye has healed the sutures are removed about one year later. When the cornea has fully stabilized Laser Vision Correction is done to provide the patient with the best-uncorrected visual acuities possible with their eyes.
DSEK (Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty)
DSEK is an amazing new method of performing sutureless corneal transplants. This procedure works for patients whose corneas begin to cloud over due to endothelial dysfunction such as after cataract surgery or in individuals with Fuch’s endothelial dystrophy. DSEK is a sutureless corneal transplant procedure for patients who have damage deep within the cornea in the posterior surface. It is most commonly called Fuchs’ dystrophy and other dystrophies as a result of surgery can be improved with this amazing 10-minute procedure.
In DSEK, instead of transplanting the full thickness cornea, only these diseased pump cells are replaced. Unlike conventional corneal transplant surgery known as penetrating keratoplasty (PKP), the DSEK procedure utilizes a much smaller surgical incision and requires no corneal sutures. This usually results in more rapid visual rehabilitation for the DSEK patient and also reduces the risk of complications. This speedy outpatient transplantation is matched with a relatively quick visual recovery. Patients achieve their maximum visual performance in a short three months after transplant and are ready for further vision enhancement with laser vision correction.