Special Report: Focus Without Fear

David Lee of Somerville wants to ditch his glasses forever.

David Lee, Wears glasses
"I've always had glasses since I was in high school."

But for him - laser eye surgery seemed a scary prospect.

David Lee, Wears glasses
"The idea of having a knife come right next to your eye and cutting the top portion is a little scary for me."

But now, a new version of lasik is helping patients like David focus without fear.

Dr. Michael Gordon, Ophthalmologist
"It opens up Lasik surgery for people who feared surgery - feared the blade, feared the whole process."

In traditional Lasik - doctors use a blade to manually cut a flap in the cornea before reshaping the underlying tissue with a laser.

The new procedure - called intralase - replaces the blade with a computer-guided laser.

Dr. Michael Gordon, Ophthalmologist
"Intralase lays down a series of thousands and thousands of microscopic little bubbles below the surface to separate the flap from the cornea as opposed to cutting it."

Dr. Jonathan Talamo of laser eye consultants of Boston says intralase makes his job a lot easier... and allows more people to qualify for laser eye surgery.

Dr. Jonathan Talamo, Laser Eye Consultants
"We're able to get a flap that's essentially the same shape every time and we have much better control over the thickness of the flap."

The procedure costs more than traditional lasik... and has an increased chance of inflammation and temporary light sensitivity afterwards. But Dr. Talamo believes the benefits greatly outweigh the drawbacks.

Dr. Jonathan Talamo, Laser Eye Consultants
"It's safer, more precise, and actually produces better visual outcomes."

It also cuts down on a patient's fear factor... so people like David can finally say goodbye to their glasses.