LASEK

Recently, there has been excitement about “Advanced Surface Ablation” as the safest technique in laser vision correction. But what exactly is ASA? The term “Advanced Surface Ablation” or ASA was created to distinguish the modern way to the non-cutting technique to correct vision, from the earlier PRK, or photorefractive keratectomy.

Both PRK and ASA avoid cutting so are safer than LASIK, “bladeless” LASIK, and SMILE, which all require incisions to be created into the cornea, thereby permanently weakening it and increasing the chance of corneal ectasia (bulging out) or a disease called keratoconus (KC). PRK and ASA  lasering only the cornea surface, without the need to go deep into your eye. This is why both PRK and ASA are also known as “surface ablations” — because the laser is removing tissue (“ablating”) from the surface of your cornea.

PRK was the original laser vision correction (LVC) procedure, and has been around since 1995. However, it never became popular because it’s very painful (requiring the patient to take narcotics), and recovery is very long (meaning you don’t see perfectly for weeks to months). This is because PRK involves using an Amoils brush to “sandpaper” off your corneal epithelium, or a “hockey stick” metal instrument to scrape off the skin of your eye. Both techniques are traumatic to your eye and kill millions of corneal epithelial cells, which release inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, triggering the inflammatory cascade, causing pain, prolonged healing, and in some cases, scarring and visual loss.

ASA is synonymous with “alcohol-assisted PRK” or LASEK. ASA uses a dilute alcohol solution to delaminate, or separate the epithelium from the underlying cornea. The skin is removed in an “en bloc” dissection, as one clean sheet, and placed on the surgical tray, where again millions of epithelial cells die & release cytokines. But who cares? These inflammatory triggers never touch the cornea, so the inflammatory cascade is never triggered! Thus: no pain or prolonged healing or scarring! Dr. Chynn helped invent LASEK when he was at Harvard with two of his mentors, Juan Carlos Abbad, MD, and Jonathan Talamo, MD (the three surgeons later published a paper together).

Dr. Chynn has performed more ASA or LASEK procedures than any other eye surgeon in the US–over 30,000, which is also more than every other eye surgeon in NY, NJ & CT–combined! So if you are in the NY Tri-State Region, and want LASEK, you’re in luck! Because we sometimes have patients flying in from other states, or even other countries, because they want the most experienced LASEK surgeon in the US.

Between 2015–2021, Dr. Chynn also performed about 5,000 epi-LASEK (also known as epi-LASIK) procedures, which is an even more advanced technique, where a plastic separator is used to delaminate the corneal epithelium, avoiding the need for alcohol, which is toxic to the regrowing corneal epithelium. This makes recovery even quicker and approaches the most rapid recovery of a LASIK or SMILE–but with better safety. Dr. Chynn has performed more epi-LASEK (or epi-LASIK) procedures than any other surgeon in the US and was instrumental in moving the entire profession of eye doctors to call the technique epi-LASEK instead of epi-LASIK (because it’s more like a LASEK than a LASIK). Epi-LASEK is so safe, that in 2020, Dr. Chynn became the first and only surgeon in the world to perform laser vision correction on himself, to prove to the world that this non-cutting technique is so safe, an experienced surgeon can do it himself!

In 2022, Dr. Chynn invented the most advanced ASA technique in the world, which he named “Pneumo-LASEK”. Pneumo-LASEK eliminated the need for the plastic separator. In “Pneumo-LASEK” a gentle vacuum helps Dr. Chynn to remove the epithelium. Dr. Chynn is in the process of patenting Pneumo-LASEK (he has several other US patents)!

Because LASEK and Pneumo-LASEK are both non-cutting, no cutting complication can occur during surgery. That’s what has allowed Park Avenue LASEK to have the ONLY all-glass operating room in the WORLD, where ALL procedures can be watched by the general public! This is similar to the “open kitchen” concept, which can only exist at the very finest dining establishments, because unlike regular kitchens, they have nothing to hide, and are proud of their process! We are also the ONLY laser center in the NY Tri-State Region that allows potential patients to watch a LIVE procedure–again because we will NEVER have a cutting complication!

To book your free consultation, have your questions answered by an EYE SURGEON, or schedule to come in and watch a LIVE procedure (or you can view this on our Instagram Live), call (212) 741-8628, M–F from 9:30 AM–6:30 PM.

We’re conveniently located at: 102 E. 25th St. (& Park Avenue South), New York, NY 10010