Advanced Surface Ablation is a relatively new laser vision procedure that has additional safety features over LASIK making it an ideal alternative for some patients. Instead of cutting a flap on the front of the cornea, the surface skin cells (epithelium) are loosened with a diluted alcohol solution and removed. The corneal surface is then treated with the laser and covered with a bandage contact lens.

The margin of safety with ASA may be greater than that with LASIK as the need for a microkeratome is eliminated, so there's no risk of flap complications. You do not need to worry about rubbing your eye or bumping it after surgery and having the LASIK flap slip or wrinkle, because there is no flap. The nerve endings that control tear secretion are not cut, so there is less of a problem with dry eye after surgery.

The benefit you gain from ASA:

	no flap-related complications
	suitable for patients who do not like the idea of having the corneal cut
	corneas unsuitable for LASIK such as corneas with the following problems :

too thin in relation to the amount of tissue ablation needed
with surface abnormalities, such as basement membrane dystrophy, scars
with extreme curvature( too steep, K>48 or too flat K< 40)

	patients who are unable to open their eyes wide enough without excessively stretching their lids
	patients engaging in certain risky activities

The precautions:

	mild to moderate pain after surgery for three to four days
	slower visual recovery than LASIK
	risk of corneal haze or scarring
	may need to use eye drops for months

01: The surface cornea skin cells are loosened with diluted alcohol solution and removed. Then, excimer laser is applied to remove tissue from the surface of the cornea to alter the curvature of the cornea.

02: The reshaped cornea causes images to focus more directly on the retina.

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