Q: I am 27 years old and wear glasses (-5 both eyes). I planned to go for C-Lasik in January 2004, but recently I heard about VISX laser. Can you please explain about this procedure and how it is different from C-Lasik? Which procedure is superior and has less complications? And where is it is available?

A:C LASIK, which stands for Customized Lasik, is a procedure which is a treatment option in some of the lasers present in New Delhi today. However, the Customized Lasik software offered by the VISX STAR S4 is one of the most superior treatment options available today. The VISX STAR S4 is an FDA recognized laser, one of the most advanced examiner lasers in the world, and the most popular laser in America (70% of lasers in the USA are VISX with over 50 lac procedures done worldwide). It has certain unique features, which make it safe, stable and predictable. These are: 1) It has an active 3-D tracker which enables an accurate correction even in tiny movements of the eye; 2) It removes minimum corneal tissue and so is safe for the correction of higher refractive errors without the fear of corneal thinning; 3) It offers the Wave Scan technology, which captures unique imperfections in the vision that cannot be measured and corrected by normal methods. This gives a detailed map of the eye like a finger print (no two are alike) and produces the correction 25 times more precise then standard measurements; and 4) It improves the quality of vision as well as night vision, and corrects glare and haloes. The first VISX STAR S4 excimer laser in India has been installed at Shroff Eye Centre, STAR VISION LASER CENTRE, at A-9, Kailash Colony, New Delhi-110 048.