Custom LASIK surgery, also known as wavefront LASIK or wavefront-guided LASIK, uses 3-dimensional measurements of how your eye processes images to guide the laser in re-shaping the cornea.

Standard prescriptions for glasses, contacts, or traditional LASIK procedures can correct ordinary vision defects such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. But other irregularities associated with the eye's optical system could not be addressed until the advent of wavefront and related technology used in custom LASIK.

With a wavefront measurement system, some extremely precise, individualized vision correction outcomes may be achieved that would be impossible with traditional LASIK surgery, contact lenses or eyeglasses.

Wavefront technology is groundbreaking because it has the potential to improve not only how much you can see, visual acuity measured by the standard 20/20 eye chart, but also how well you can see, in terms of contrast sensitivity and fine detail. This translates into a reduced risk of post-LASIK complications, such as glare, halos, and difficulty with night vision.

How much you see depends on vision defects known as lower-order aberrations associated with common refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, which traditional LASIK can treat.

How well you see can depend on presence of the type and numbers of visual distortions known as higher-order aberrations, which can include irregularities other than common refractive errors. These higher-order aberrations can create problems such as decreased contrast sensitivity or night vision, glare, shadows, and halos. However, higher-order aberrations do not always affect vision. Unlike traditional LASIK, custom LASIK treats both lower- and higher-order aberrations.

Custom LASIK's (Wave Front) advantage lies in the area of quality of vision:

• Greater chance of achieving 20/20 vision
• Greater chance of achieving better than 20/20 vision
• Reduced chance of losing visual quality or contrast sensitivity
• Reduced chance of night-vision disturbances and glare

Potential also exists for custom LASIK to treat those people who have lost best-corrected vision from any past refractive surgery: LASIK, PRK, RK, etc

A 2005 survey revealed that most refractive eye surgeons now use wavefront-guided LASIK in their practices.