What Is A Suction Ring And What Does It Do In Lasik?

Probably the weirdest sensation in lasik involves something known as a suction ring. What is a suction ring you may ask? Well, the suction ring is a ring that is placed around the cornea on the eye. This ring is capable of using suction to attach firmly on the surface of the eye. Don’t worry, your eye is numb so you don’t actually feel the ring.

But you do feel weird sensations. The most significant of which is a pressure sensation. To achieve good suction with the ring, pressure is used to make sure that the ring has a firm attachment for all 360 degrees. This pressure is translated through to the eye causing the pressure sensation.

But that’s not all. This pressure sensation will actually cause the vision to fade away. This sounds scary but in reality it just feels like you closed your eye. Not too bad. But sometimes some twinkling of lights can be noticed in your peripheral vision. It can be a strange but cool show.

So why go through all this suction ring nonsense? The suction ring is an important part to making sure the laser treating the lasik flap treats it 100% correctly. Because the laser is creating complex 3D structures, the cornea must remain in the same spot during the process. The laser attaches (or is already attached) to the suction ring to ensure that movement of the eye is adjusted for. This allows the laser to be safe and reproducible! So those annoying weird sensations are worth it in the end.

Also check out This Is The Purpose Of The Lasik Suction Ring on EyeMountain.com

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