About Our Practice
Dr. Jerry Maida and his staff want to give you the ability to see every detail.
Learn More About UsIntraLase®
IntraLase® Jacksonville
At Maida CustomVision, we are pleased to offer our patients a highly developed LASIK procedure utilizing the femtosecond laser. It's called "IntraLASIK," one of the most exciting breakthroughs in refractive surgery history. With no mechanical incisions required, our all-laser IntraLASIK procedure is less invasive and offers patients unprecedented safety & precision. With the IFS™Advanced IntraLase – the latest generation femtosecond laser – flaps are created in as little as 10 seconds making the procedure one of the safest and most reliable in medicine.
Safe, Precise Laser Surgery
IntraLASIK also allows Dr. Maida maximum control and accuracy in customizing surgical parameters for each patient's individual visual needs. With fewer risks and fewer possible flap complications, Dr. Maida feels IntraLASIK is the safest, most predictable method of vision correction available today. It takes the fear out of the LASIK procedure. In fact, Dr. Maida has treated his own daughter and has had LASIK himself.
With IntraLASIK we use a laser to create the corneal flap with a precisely predetermined pattern and depth. This painless approach enables us to safely create a flap of exact shape & thickness.
Although traditional LASIK has been an extremely safe and effective procedure, IntraLASIK offers patients a new sense of assurance and peace of mind through added safety & increased precision in a less invasive manner. Feel free to ask Dr. Maida for more information about our new all-laser IntraLASIK procedure.
More about IntraLASIK
A lot of patients have LASIK eye surgery for the same reasons. They want to be able to do as many things as possible without their glasses or contacts. Most people who have already had LASIK had many of the same questions you do.
Q: Why IntraLase®?
A: LASIK (Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis) has proven to be a very successful procedure, freeing millions from their daily dependence on glasses and contact lenses. Yet, while LASIK complications are rare, all surgery carries some degree of risk. Now, advances in laser technology have made it possible to significantly reduce the majority of LASIK complications. This advancement is known as IntraLase®.
IntraLase® is the first blade-free laser technology for performing the critical first step in the LASIK procedure: creating the corneal flap. Prior to IntraLase®, this first step was done manually using a hand-held device with an oscillating metal razor blade, called a microkeratome.
IntraLase® virtually eliminates the severe sight-threatening complications seen with the microkeratome, improving safety and precision while providing predictably better visual results for the patient. IntraLase® is the most sophisticated and accurate technology for corneal flap creation available today and has given many patients greater confidence and assurance in choosing laser vision correction.
Q: How does IntraLase® change the LASIK procedure?
A: LASIK is actually a two-step process. In the first step, the surgeon creates a flap of corneal tissue and folds it back to prepare the eye for the second step, in which an excimer laser is used on the mid-cornea to correct vision. This two-step process allows for rapid visual recovery with little or no patient discomfort.
Traditionally, the corneal flap was created with a hand-held microkeratome blade. While this method has worked well over the years, the performance of these devices can be unpredictable and is frequently the source of a majority of LASIK complications.
With IntraLase®, the surgeon uses the precision of a computer-guided laser to create the corneal flap. IntraLase® delivers micron-level accuracy 100 times greater than that of a microkeratome, giving the surgeon more control during the procedure and the ability to establish precise dimensions and thickness of the corneal flap, factors which are critical to a successful LASIK outcome.
This level of precision is unparalleled by any other technology in vision correction surgery. IntraLase® allows surgeons to tailor the corneal flap for each individual patient, and each individual eye. Because of its consistent accuracy, IntraLase® may make LASIK a viable option even for patients who previously didn't qualify, such as those with thin corneas.
Q: Is IntraLase® safer?
A: Yes. IntraLase® improves the safety, precision and visual results of LASIK, whether you choose to have a standard or custom procedure.
This is a result of the superior precision provided by the computer-guided IntraLase® laser, as compared to that of a hand-held microkeratome, which houses a metal blade that cuts across the cornea to create the flap. In comparison, IntraLase® uses the precision of a beam of light to create a laser flap without traveling across the cornea, virtually eliminating severe sight-threatening complications as a result.
Its precision is the source of its safety. Accuracy of flap thickness has been demonstrated at +/- 10 microns. Precise flap thickness is critical to a successful LASIK outcome, and IntraLase® flaps feature a consistent thickness from edge to edge. This degree of accuracy is unprecedented in flap creation technology to date.
Flap stability is also an important factor, as the consequences of flap slippage can be quite problematic. IntraLase® flaps provide added assurance and peace of mind for many patients.
Q: Is traditional LASIK unsafe?
A: No, but IntraLase® reduces the risk of complications reported with the microkeratome and has given many patients more confidence in choosing laser vision correction. Utilizing a laser with micro-precision compared to a mechanical hand-held apparatus utilizing a metal blade, takes the fear out of the procedure.
Q: Is this the same as the customized procedure I have heard so much about?
A: No. Custom LASIK generally refers to an individualized visual diagnosis using technology called Wavefront, which allows for customized treatment with the excimer laser. Until now, there has never been a combination of technologies that have allowed for this type of personalized vision correction. The most exciting part is that while the patient has the opportunity for an optimized visual result, it can be done with unprecedented safety and precision.
Every patient's eyes are different and therefore need to be evaluated independently and treated uniquely. Now all steps of the laser vision correction procedure may be personalized to the individual: custom diagnosis, personalized flap creation with IntraLase®, and wavefront optimized laser vision correction.
Q: How do the visual outcomes using IntraLase® compare with those of traditional LASIK with a microkeratome?
A: Clinical studies confirm that patients see better following IntraLase®-initiated LASIK than with the hand-held microkeratome blade.
- More patients achieve 20/20 or better vision with IntraLase®-initiated LASIK.
- Patients stating a preference preferred the post-operative vision of their IntraLase®-treated eye 3 to 1 over their blade-treated eye.
- IntraLase® creates fewer high and low order aberrations, frequently associated with glare and halos at night.
- IntraLase® patients have a reduced incidence of post-operative dry eye symptoms.
- IntraLase® patients required fewer enhancement procedures following LASIK.
- The precision of the IntraLase® flap significantly reduces the incidence of post-operative induced astigmatism as compared with a microkeratome-created flap.
Q: I have seen several advertisements for All-Laser LASIK. Is this IntraLase®?
A: Maybe. Contrary to popular belief, LASIK may not be an all-laser procedure if the microkeratome blade is utilized. Only LASIK procedures that use IntraLase® can be considered all-laser.
Your doctor can explain the difference between other procedures that may be advertised as all laser, such as LASIK, PRK or epi-LASIK - all of which are surface ablation procedures. Because they are performed without creating a corneal flap, these procedures generally require longer healing time and frequently involve more discomfort and a delay in visual recovery.
Q: Is IntraLase® more expensive?
A: Yes. Most patients agree that the added level of safety, assurance and predictably better vision offered by IntraLase® is worth the incremental cost. IntraLase® surgeons are leaders in the field of ophthalmology who continually evaluate advances in technology. They've determined that the IntraLase® is the most sophisticated and accurate system available today for flap creation and have invested in the technology to sustain their leadership in patient care.
