LASIK on the Frontlines is a powerful documentary which outlines the clinical research, dedication and discipline that went into evaluating the safety and effectiveness of LASIK under the most extreme, mission critical conditions encountered by the US military’s personnel.

Nearly two years in the making, the video recaps the experiences of two of the US military’s top ophthalmologists, Navy Capt. Steven Schallhorn, M.D. and former Navy SEAL Capt. Frank Butler, M.D. as they explain how they put LASIK treatment through its paces. Capt. Schallhorn and his colleague’s clinical observations of combined Femtosecond and Wavefront guided LASIK treatment showed such a great improvement in their test subjects that their program was rolled out across the whole of the US military. Now, all US military personnel headed into combat are eligible for refractive surgery and to date nearly half a million American front line troops have had the procedure.

Having proved the safety and efficacy of LASIK treatment in troops in the most extreme and harsh conditions that the frontline can throw at it, Capt. Schallhorn’s studies led the way for acceptance of refractive treatments in NASA astronauts – the final frontier for LASIK. Capt. Schallhorn says of this milestone, “NASA’s approval is further evidence that today’s LASIK exceeds all established standards of safety and effectiveness.”

If you’re interested in bringing your world into focus using NASA-approved technologies, then contact us and take advantage of our 20% discount on combined Femtosecond and Wavefront Guided LASIK treatment.

• What is the Femtosecond-Laser?
• How does the Femtosecond-Laser work?
• What is the difference between a corneal flap created with the Femtosecond-Laser and one created with a microkeratome?
• How is the Femtosecond-Laser different from Epi-LASIK or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)?
• Are there other benefits to using the Femtosecond-Laser?
• Is the Femtosecond-Laser painful?
• Is the Femtosecond-Laser safe?
• How long does it take to create a flap using the Femtosecond-Laser?
• Is the Femtosecond-Laser right for me?
• How can I find an Femtosecond-Laser doctor?

What is the Femtosecond-Laser?

The Femtosecond-Laser is a 100% blade-free technique used to perform the critical first step in the LASIK procedure: creating the corneal flap. The creation of the corneal flap prepares the eye for the second step of the LASIK procedure, where an excimer laser is used on the inner cornea to correct vision.

How does the Femtosecond-Laser work?

The Femtosecond-Laser uses tiny, rapid pulses of laser light to create your corneal flap — instead of using a metal blade — during the first step of LASIK. Each pulse of light passes through the top layers of your cornea and forms a microscopic bubble at a specific depth and position within your eye that is determined by the doctor. The Femtosecond-Laser moves back and forth across your eye, creating a uniform layer of bubbles just beneath your corneal surface.

Just prior to applying laser vision correction, the doctor creates your corneal flap by gently separating the tissue where these bubbles have formed. The corneal flap is then folded back so the doctor can perform the second step of your LASIK treatment.

What is the difference between a corneal flap created with the Femtosecond-Laser and one created with a microkeratome?

The microkeratome is a hand-held instrument, which contains a steel blade that moves back and forth and creates a cut as it travels across the cornea. A microkeratome is only capable of making a single, one-dimensional cut across the cornea. As it cuts, the blade oscillates back and forth, which can leave an irregular surface after the flap is lifted. This can affect the quality of your postoperative vision.

Because of the unique way in which the Femtosecond-Laser creates a precisely positioned layer of bubbles just beneath the surface of your eye, it creates a smooth even surface after your flap is lifted. With the Femtosecond-Laser, a blade never touches your eye.

How is the Femtosecond-Laser different from Epi-LASIK or photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)?

These procedures differ from one another in the way they prepare the surface of the cornea for the second step of LASIK. Epi-LASIK uses an epikeratome — a blunt separator — to make a superficial flap. Similarly, PRK is performed by gently scraping the surface layer of the cornea, which may lead to corneal scarring. Both the Epi-LASIK and PRK procedures can be painful and require more postoperative medication. In addition, healing times may be longer than with procedures performed with the Femtosecond-Laser.

Are there other benefits to using the Femtosecond-Laser?

There are several benefits to using the Femtosecond-Laser:

l   Better outcomes. More patient get better outcomes when their LASIK procedure is performed with the Femtosecond-Laser.¹ Patients report faster recovery, fewer LASIK flap-related complications, and fewer induced higher order aberrations.² Higher order aberrations may contribute to visual disturbances such as halos and glare.

l   Ability to tailor the procedure to your eye. The Femtosecond-Laser gives your doctor the ability to tailor the dimensions of your corneal flap based on what’s best for your eye. Everything from the diameter of your flap to the angle of its edges can be precisely determined. This is important because everyone’s eyes are shaped a little differently. Having a corneal flap that’s individualized to the patient contributes to excellent postoperative outcomes. In addition, a corneal flap created with the Femtosecond-Laser also “locks” back into position after the LASIK procedure is performed.

Is the Femtosecond-Laser painful?

Prior to creating the flap, the doctor applies drops to numb the eye, and then applies a special ring and an instrument that gently flattens your cornea in preparation for the Femtosecond-Laser. This part of the process is not painful — patients report feeling only slight pressure.

Is the Femtosecond-Laser safe?

Millions of procedures have been performed safely and effectively using the Femtosecond-Laser.

How long does it take to create a flap using the Femtosecond-Laser?

The creation of the flap itself takes only about 15 to 20 seconds per eye. Including preparation time, the entire LASIK procedure takes about 10 minutes.

What’s the reaction of patients who have experienced the Femtosecond-Laser?

In a clinical survey of LASIK patients who had their corneal flaps created using a microkeratome in one eye and the Femtosecond-Laser in the other, the vision in the Femtosecond-Laser -treated eye was preferred 3-to-1 (among those who stated a preference).^3,4

Is the Femtosecond-Laser right for me?

If you are looking for a 100% blade-free LASIK experience that virtually eliminates almost all the most severe, sight-threatening complications, the answer is yes. But to get this procedure, you have to ask your physician for the Femtosecond-Laser by name.

Please call us at 021-6437-7445 for the details.

All too often, people wait until there’s something wrong with their eyes before visiting an ophthalmologist. Eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma can occur at any age, often have no warning symptoms, and can only be prevented by regular eye exams.

How often should you have an eye test?

The minimum recommended frequency of examination is as follows:

• Infants and toddlers (birth to 24 months) – First exam by age 6 months

• Preschool (2 to 5 years) – At age 3, and prior to entering elementary school
• School age (6 to 19 years) – Annually
• Adult (20 to 64 years) – Every one to two years
• Older adult (65 years and older) – Annually

What to bring:

• Your current contact lenses or eye glasses
• Any prescription or over-the-counter medication that you are taking

What to be prepared to talk about:

• Any symptoms you may have, such as double vision, flickers of light, or difficulty seeing at night
• Your general state of health
• Your family’s history of eye problems
• Any eye injuries you’ve sustained

What to expect during a comprehensive eye exam:

• A brief external examination to check for any irregularities.
• An internal eye examination which examines the entire eye using a slit lamp microscope and an ophthalmoscope.
• A tonometry test, which consists of a quick puff of air blown from a machine into your eye. This test measures the fluid pressure in your eye and is very helpful for detecting glaucoma.
• A few different vision tests, including:
• Visual acuity and refraction tests: You’ll look at a wall chart behind a device with various different lenses. These identify any nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, problems with depth perception, or presbyobia – the gradual decrease in visual acuity with age.
• Retinoscope tests: these determine the strength of your eyes using a variety of lenses and a retinoscope which shines light into your eye.
• Peripheral vision tests: these assess your ability to see targets which are not directly in front of you.
• Eye movement tests.

If you would like to schedule a comprehensive eye test at New Vision Eye Clinic, either fill out the form on our contact page or call us on (+86) 021-6437-7445 between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.

Cataracts are the third leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States, yet cataracts are also the ocular condition that is easiest for a sufferer to identify. The most common symptoms are blurred or hazy vision and increased sensitivity to glare, which you would notice most when driving at night – a task that becomes more difficult, and less safe, with cataracts. Some cataract sufferers also report that colors have lost their intensity. Cataracts usually form over a long period of time, which means that symptoms also develop gradually so it’s trickier to notice them. In fact in some cases, patients with mild cataracts don’t experience any symptoms at all. Regular eye exams are the only way to know exactly what condition your eyes are in.

A professional eye clinic will never recommend surgery for patients with only mild cataracts. Cataract surgery is a solution for people whose disability from cataracts actually interferes with their lifestyle. Although most people over the age of 60 have some extent of cataract formation, not everyone experiences a significant decrease in visual acuity (meaning a decrease in the sharpness or clarity of your vision), or other obvious symptoms. In cases like these, having your eyes checked regularly and being particularly aware of any changes in your vision is important for preventing further damage to your sight.

Nonsurgical treatment can be an option for treating cataracts with mild symptoms such as a reduction in your ability to see contrast, or problems with glare. Sometimes changing your glasses or contact lens prescription is enough to make a difference if the cataracts are mild and caught early. There are also ways of incorporating filters into the lenses of your glasses to minimize the impact of glare on your vision. In certain circumstances where the cataract is centrally located, vision can be improved with the aid of prescription eye drops.

Where cataracts affect a patient’s ability to perform everyday tasks such as driving, surgical cataract removal is the most effective solution. Cataract surgery involves removing the eye’s lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. Once the lens has been replaced by an artificial one, it functions as normal and does not require any additional care. Approximately 90 percent of cataract surgery patients report significantly better vision after surgery.

Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most effective types of surgery performed in the United States today, and one of the most commonly performed surgeries for senior citizens. As with all surgeries, it does involve risks. Contacting your local eye doctor to discuss the benefits and risks of cataract surgery is necessary for making an informed decision.

R.G.P. stands for Rigid Gas Permeable. RGP lenses are rigid because they are made to be reworn. They’re stiffer than the soft lenses people generally refer to when they talk about ‘contacts’, so they won’t tear easily and are excellent at correcting astigmatism, an optical defect caused by a cornea or lens that isn’t spherical. It most often leads to blurry vision – an irregularly shaped eye can’t bring a single point into sharp focus – but astigmatism also triggers headaches and, in some cases, chronic fatigue. RGP lenses are so good at correcting the condition precisely because they’re rigid. While you’re wearing them, your cornea and lens are pressed into the right shape and held there.

RGP lenses are gas permeable because your eyes need to breath. They’re narrower than ordinary contacts and made of materials that are highly oxygen permeable (RGP lenses are also called oxygen permeable lenses), so your eyes function normally while you’re wearing them. In the past, lenses intended for continuous wear increased the possibility of contracting an eye infection. Sometimes – after long periods of continuous use – they also led to acute irritation. The reason was simple: the organisms that irritate and cause infections thrive in warm, moist environments, exactly like the environment underneath a contact lens. To fight these organisms, your body would normally increase the oxygen supply to the affected area, in this case the cornea, but the lenses made this impossible. Peoples’ eyes were literally suffocating, and doctors eventually decided that no contact should be worn overnight – until RGP lenses came along.

Today, laser eye surgery (or LASIK, to those in the know) is often prescribed for astigmatism. And with good reason: LASIK is a low risk, permanent solution. It can give you 20/20 vision in the course of a short, painless procedure – but it isn’t for everyone. Some people are not good candidates for LASIK: you might be younger than 18 or have a condition that makes LASIK impossible. Others just can’t swallow the idea of surgery, however uninvasive, on their eyes. At New Vision Eye Clinic, we’d like to help you make the best choice for you. Either way, you’ll once again have perfect vision from the moment you open your eyes in the morning, until the moment you close them at night.

To make an appointment with our RGP specialist, Qing Yu, call us on (+86) 021-6437-7445 between 8a.m. and 5p.m.or fill the form on our contact page.

If you are in China and not acccessing the internet through a VPN, Youtube won’t work. Scroll down further to watch the video via Chinese equivalent Youku.

As with all types of surgery, professional advice is essential for making a well-informed decision, but the following commonly asked questions are a good starting point. They’re just some of the many our patients regularly ask. If you have any of your own, please feel free to contact us.

Is laser surgery in China safe?

The country in which laser surgery is performed has very little bearing on the safety of the procedure. Be sure to check that both the clinic and the doctor are reputable. A reputable clinic will also be happy to show you around their facility and answer any questions you may have about their practitioners’ qualifications and experience. Enquire about the number of procedures their doctors have performed and their success rates, but be aware that laser surgery in any country involves risks. Negative side effects do not usually occur in more than 2% of all laser surgeries and about 90% of patients enjoy 20/20 vision after surgery.

How do I know which clinics can perform high-quality laser surgery?

A clinic’s facilities are a good indication of its standards. Look for a clinic that is connected to an academic medical centre. Because of the nature of laser surgery, choosing a clinic that uses the most advanced technology greatly increases the chance of receiving the best surgery. The surgeons that the clinic employs can also help you to make an informed decision. As a general guideline, find a doctor who has performed laser surgery for at least three years who has performed at least 500 procedures. If he or she is a member of any medical association, they are likely to be up to date with the latest technology in their field.

How long will the surgery take?

The entire visit to the clinic or hospital usually takes between an hour and an hour and a half. The procedure itself only takes about fifteen minutes per eye, and the actual surgery time is about a minute. Recovery cannot be rushed: allow for a 24 hour period of rest, mostly spent asleep, after which your vision should be fairly clear. It can take up to a month for the full benefits of the surgery to be felt.

Is laser surgery painful?

Any pain that you would otherwise feel will be prevented by anesthetic eye drops, which all patients are given. After the procedure, medication can be prescribed if necessary. Many patients do not experience more than mild discomfort or irritation for a day or two.

Am I a good candidate for laser surgery?

These guidelines can be helpful before having a consultation with a doctor:

• Your eyes must be healthy: no glaucoma, infections, cataracts, severe dry eye, or any other condition that would affect healing.
• You must be at least 18 for some procedures and at least 21 for others.
• Your vision must be stable for at least a year before surgery.
• If you’re pregnant or nursing, your hormonal levels can affect the shape of your eye. You’ll need to wait until hormones are back to normal levels.
• Degenerative or autoimmune diseases can affect healing.

What does the procedure entail?

First, make an appointment for the primary consultation to find out more about laser surgery. In the case of wanting a pre-surgery examination done after the consultation, inform the nurse or receptionist, as this requires a longer appointment of around 2 hours. Upon favourable results from the examination, the doctor will schedule an appointment for the surgery.

Laser surgery is an outpatient procedure, which means you’ll spend around an hour at the clinic and walk out afterwards. Someone else should drive you home, since your vision might be a little blurry right after surgery.

During the procedure, the surgeon places anesthetic drops in your eye, positions your head under the laser and places an eyelid speculum in your eye to hold the lids open. The surgeon then creates a paper thin flap in the top of the cornea, folds it back out of the way, uses the laser to remove some corneal tissue, and puts the flap back in place. The surgeon uses a computer to adjust the laser for your particular prescription. You will be asked to look at a target light for a short time while the laser sends pulses of light to painlessly reshape your cornea.

What are the risks?

If you are considering laser surgery and worried that something could go wrong, take comfort in the fact that it’s complications that cause permanent, significant vision loss are extremely rare. Selecting a surgeon is probably the single most important step you can take to decrease any risks associated with laser surgery. An experienced, reputable surgeon will make sure you are properly screened and inform you whether you’re a good candidate for the procedure. Consult an eye care professional for details about the potential risks of laser surgery.

Our dedicated LASIK specialists have performed over 54,000 laser surgery procedures over the past fourteen years. Dr. Lian Jing Cai and Dr. Lei Zhang, both certified by the Shanghai Board of Health, specialize in refractive surgery as well as the diagnosis and treatment of optical disorders and diseases of the eye. Dr. Lian is also a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the International Society of Refractive Surgery and the Ophthalmology Branch of the China Medical Association. He is a member of the council for two local laser therapy associations and also teaches ophthalmology to medical residents at Shanghai Jiaotong – Ruijin Hospital’s affiliate university.

Our team of ophthalmologists includes experienced doctors that are regarded as experts in their field. Each of our physicians specializes in at least one area of ophthalmic care. Many of our doctors are members of international medical societies including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the American Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and the German Ophthalmology Association and our clinic is dedicated to providing up to the minute diagnostic and treatment services in most ophthalmic subspecialties. It is recognized as a regional leader in the field of ophthalmology.

In the years since 1996, when New Vision Eye Clinic opened, laser eye surgery has become an increasingly popular solution for people with near sightedness, far sightedness, astigmatism, or age-related deterioration of eye sight, known as presbyopia. Our doctors are trained to perform various types of laser surgery: PRK, LASIK, LASEK and Epi-LASEK and we have conducted more than 54,000 laser surgery procedures over the last fourteen years. New Vision Eye Clinic has always been the facility of choice for Shanghai expats wishing to have laser surgery. As demand for this much desired surgery increases, so has its cost in several countries around the world; New Vision Eye Clinic is also pleased to offer laser eye surgery at competitive rates.

Other areas of expertise include the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, cataracts and retinal disorders. Since New Vision Eye Clinic opened its practice in 1996, our doctors have performed more than 12,000 operations and surgical procedures to treat these ailments. We are also able to satisfy patients’ particular cosmetic requirements with ophthalmic plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery.

Our rooms and operating theatres are equipped with the latest, most technologically advanced equipment available to ensure optimum safety and efficiency. We place a strong emphasis on investing in state of the art equipment because a broad technology base enables our physicians to best treat patients’ individual conditions.

The clinic also offers comprehensive services in pediatric ophthalmology, provided by optometrists and ophthalmologists with experience and knowledge of children’s special needs. Annual eye exams should be considered essential for little ones.

If you would like to make an appointment, either fill out the form on our contact page or call us on (+86) 021-6437-7445 between 8am and 5pm on weekdays. General enquiries can be sent to mydoctor@rjeye.com.

All too often, people wait until there’s something wrong with their eyes before visiting an ophthalmologist. Eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma can occur at any age, often have no warning symptoms, and can only be prevented by regular eye exams. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world’s blindness is preventable.

When it comes to your children’s eyes, you may feel confident because their vision is tested annually at school. Unfortunately, the eye exams carried out at schools are usually only designed to test long distance vision. Without a complete eye test, which evaluates children’s visual skills and development, common pediatric vision problems like strabismus and hyperopia can go undetected, and even be misdiagnosed as learning disabilities.

An adult’s complete eye exam should include a test to measure eye pressure (which can prevent glaucoma), an examination of your retina, cornea, iris and lens, as well as the standard visual acuity test, which you may have thought was enough on its own.

Eye doctors recommend that children have eye exams at six months, three years, before they start primary school, and at least every two years thereafter. Annual eye exams are recommended for adults.

Put your health first this year and schedule your annual eye test with an English or Chinese speaking health care professional.