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Customized laser eye surgery available in S.C. South Carolina residents who were formerly not a candidate for laser vision surgery now have access to the latest development in Lasik technology.  MUSC Magill Laser Center is one of two centers in the southeast now using the first-of-its-kind, wavefront-guided LADARVision® system.  This latest advancement also offers improved quality of vision for previously treated patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved this new system for wavefront-guided laser eye surgery in the treatment of nearsightedness.  With this new system, made up of the LADARVision® 4000 excimer laser system and the new LADARWave™ diagnostic device, surgeons can, for the first time, measure and treat visual disorders that previously could not even be detected.  Several types of imperfections, referred to as lower- and higher-order aberrations, exist within the eye and can affect both a person’s visual acuity and the quality of vision. To date, only lower-order aberrations, which include nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, could be measured and treated. However, lower-order aberrations do not account for all potential vision disorders. Higher-order aberrations can also have a significant impact on a person’s quality of vision, and cannot be corrected with glasses, contacts or conventional Lasik. According to experts in the field of ophthalmology, higher-order aberrations are linked to visual disturbances such as glare and halos that may cause night vision problems and are sometimes associated with conventional Lasik surgery. In addition to these symptoms, other patient complaints include ghosting images or a second outline when reading signs that can occur in both dim or bright light. Although these patients can read the 20/20 line on an eye chart, these symptoms can be problematic in activities such as driving and detailed night vision.  The LADARVision system is the first-and-only FDA approved eye surgery system that can measure both lower- and higher-order aberrations, and can actually be used to treat each patient’s unique pattern of lower- and higher-order visual errors. This highly customized approach creates a new laser eye surgery procedure, called CUSTOMCORNEA®, that improves both visual acuity, which is measured against standard numerical outcomes such as 20/20, and the overall quality of vision, such as increased visual crispness and clarity.  Visual acuity of 20/20, considered by most as the standard for vision, has been traditionally measured by a letter chart, which does not provide for detection of many of the disorders that may affect vision. For example, prior to CUSTOMCORNEA, any two individuals that had the same prescription would be treated exactly the same.  With CUSTOMCORNEA their laser vision correction can be customized to individually address vision distortions in addition to simply treating their prescription. MUSC Magill Laser Center was established in 1994 through a philanthropic gift from Arthur and Holly Magill from Greenville, South Carolina. As South Carolina’s first laser center, Magill continues to lead the refractive surgery industry in technology and research. To learn more about laser treatment options, contact the MUSC Magill Laser Center at 216-2020 or log onto http://Magill.musc.edu. How It Works In order to create the customized map unique to each patient’s eye, the LADARWave™ device transmits a safe ray of light into the patient’s eye.   The light is then reflected back off the retina, out through the pupil, and into the device, where the reflected wave of light is received and arranged into a unique pattern that captures the patient’s lower- and higher-order aberrations.  All of these visual irregularities are then displayed as a three-dimensional map, referred to as a wavefront map.  This information is then electronically transferred to the LADARVision® 4000 excimer laser, and computer-matched to the eye’s position, enabling the surgeon to customize the LASIK procedure to each patient’s unique visual requirements.   This is the only FDA-approved system that actually uses wavefront data to guide laser treatment.    Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.