Press Releases & Archive

First LADARVISION® Laser Eye Surgery System in Singapore - A Boon to High Myopic Patients

Singaporeans who are considering LASIK surgery to correct refractive errors such as myopia (short-sightedness) can now benefit from the new LADARVISION® laser surgery system which has been installed in the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) about six months ago. SNEC is the first medical institution in Singapore equipped with this advanced system.

What is LASIK?
LASIK, which stands for Laser In-situ Keratomileusis is a high precision vision correction procedure utilising laser technology to change the shape of the cornea to improve the way light is focused by the eye, thereby correcting myopia.

LADARVISION® system for High Myopic Patients
According to Dr Chan Wing Kwong, Senior Consultant and Head, SNEC Refractive Surgery Service, the LADARVISION® laser system requires less corneal tissue to be removed for correction of myopia compared to other current laser systems. Of the close to 600 cases treated with the LADARVISION® system so far, about 13% of these patients had high myopia of over 1,000 degrees. Achieving the desired correction of myopia with less tissue removed can be an important advantage to patients with high myopia. Minimisation of the amount of tissue removed during LASIK will result in a significant improvement of visual quality after LASIK and less night vision problems. This is an important advancement that SNEC refractive surgeons have found with the use of the LADARVISION® system which will particularly benefit patients with high degree of myopia. It has enabled SNEC surgeons to treat patients with very high degrees of myopia or patients with very thin corneas whom they would not recommend refractive surgery previously.

Other Advancements of the LADARVISION® System
The desired outcome of a LASIK procedure is highly dependent on the accurate placement of laser beams. Patients undergoing the procedure will experience some involuntary eye movements. These movements can affect the placement of the laser beam which may in turn affect the final visual outcome of the LASIK surgery.

However, the new LADARVISION® system has proven to be very effective in resolving this problem. By using a laser radar tracking system, it is able to adjust and realign itself between each laser pulse, tracking the position of the eye 4,000 times per second and guiding the placement of the laser beam with pinpoint accuracy. Other excimer laser systems use a video-based eye tracker which tracks eye movements much more slowly.

With the better feature to track and compensate for patients' involuntary eye movements, more accurate outcomes are achieved. The system has also shown to be a boon to patients as they are able to relax during the procedure, assured with the knowledge that their visual result will not be affected due to excessive eye movements.

"Our Refractive Surgery Service performs 3,000 LASIK procedures annually. The introduction of the LADARVISION® laser system is just another example of SNEC's continual efforts to bring maximum benefit to our patients. Its addition complements our existing range of advanced excimer laser systems, enabling us to effectively treat a wider range of refractive needs from our patients." said Dr Chan.

The cost of refractive laser surgery treatment using the LADARVISION® is $2,250 per eye which is the same as the other standard LASIK systems. SNEC is also expecting to start the LADARWave, wavefront technology that is customised to the patient's individual ocular characteristics, when the module is made available to Singapore.