The Eye and Vision Institute integrates specialized services such as the Eye Center and The LASIK Center.
The Medical City Eye Center is an eight-room complex housing outpatient ophthalmic equipment and outpatient clinics. It offers consultation services that include screening of ophthalmic conditions, elective and emergency consultation services, diagnostic procedures, and specialized therapeutic modalities (specifically laser procedures).
The Center is manned by an administrative nurse, a unit clerk and four ophthalmic technicians. It has a complete line of state-of-the-art equipment including diagnostic tools such as an automated perimeter, a fundus camera, YAG (Ytrrium Aluminum Garnet) and diode lasers.
The LASIK Center (TLC) is the Refractive Surgery Unit of The Medical City’s Department of Ophthalmology.
The center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of all refractive errors, including myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness), astigmatism and presbyopia mainly, by using a specialized laser surgery called LASIK.
LASIK or “Laser in Situ Keratomileusis” is a form of laser surgery that had enabled ophthalmologists worldwide to restore better vision in millions of patients since 1990s. Traditionally, LASIK is a combination of a microsurgical and an excimer laser procedure, wherein a thin flap of the cornea is made using a microkeratome (a precision surgical instrument with an oscillating blade) and the cornea underneath the flap is remodeled using excimer laser to its target correction. While the microkeratome is a great tool for ophthalmologists performing LASIK, a newer option, using femtosecond lasers, has been proven to be more effective and safe. The femtosecond laser works like a microkeratome but since laser energy is utilized, the creation of the corneal flap is a bladeless procedure, making it faster, more accurate and precise surgery, thus improving patient comfort and decreasing the risk of complications. TLC utilizes this combined all-laser technology of a femtosecond and excimer laser to correct errors of refraction on the corneal plane, making LASIK surgery a safe and accurate tool for vision correction.
Aside from treating errors of refraction with LASIK, TLC also treats those patients whose refraction is beyond what is considered as the accepted treatment range. Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) is another type of laser vision correction, which is a surface ablation technique that can also be done at TLC for patients whose corneal thickness is not adequate enough for LASIK. If the patient is deemed not qualified for either LASIK or PRK, TLC’s team of refractive surgeons are all equally skilled to perform lens-based refractive surgeries such as Phakic Intraocular Lens Implantation and Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE).
Established on June 15, 2012, TLC aims to be a leader in providing the most advanced and safest treatment in refractive surgery, ensuring quality laser vision correction of our patient partners. Following the internationally set standards and guidelines accepted by ophthalmologists and refractive surgeons worldwide, TLC was formed by a team of skilled and well-trained refractive surgeons headed by the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology Dr. Victor Jose L. Caparas and Unit Head Dr. Gertrude Agdeppa.
Manned by cornea refractive surgeons with decades of experience, TMC’s The LASIK Center is one of the leading corneal refractive centers in the country. It is equipped with state-of-the art laser refractive surgery technology such as the Alcon Wavelight® Refractive Suite which worldwide is the most popular laser machine for LASIK. The LASIK Center is one of the first centers to shift to the exclusively bladeless LASIK procedure, a vast improvement in terms of safety and accuracy of results compared to the oldermicrokeratome- or blade-based LASIK. The LASIK Center is also home to the Dry Eye Clinic, the first state-of-the-art facility in the Philippines, for the management of dry eye, currently considered a major eye problem, especially for patients who have had refractive surgery.