Boxer Wachler, what are the advantages of modern microkeratomes (blade) compared with IntraLase (laser) as LASIK flap makers?
Boxer Wachler: I’m for whatever is best for the patient, but I do use the microkeratome much more often than I do IntraLase. Microkeratomes make the procedure go so much faster and are much more comfortable for the patient. Suction in a microkeratome procedure lasts about three seconds, whereas suction using IntraLase lasts about 15-20 seconds at its fastest. Also, you use less suction on the eye with a microkeratome. I prefer patients to be as comfortable as possible, which is why I prefer the microkeratome. Dr. Thompson, what are the advantages of IntraLase (laser) over microkeratomes (blade)? Thompson: I use both, and I counsel patients about both. But I like using the safest technology for the situation. When the FDA approved the laser flap maker (IntraLase in 1999), the blade or microkeratome flaps were the main source of my vision threatening complications in LASIK whether they were free caps (unattached flaps), partial flaps, or buttonholes (improperly formed flaps) or an epithe
