LASIK, LASEK, Nearvision CK, Verisyse, and INTAC on the Big Island of Hawaii in Kailua-Kona and Waikoloa
"I did so well after CK that
I’d recommend NearVision CK and Dr. Susan Senft to anyone….Just ask my husband!
I did so well after CK that I encouraged Michael to get it too. Sending him to
Dr. Senft, I knew I didn’t have to worry. Now he can also read without glasses.
the newspaper, menus, his cell phone.
He says CK gave him one less thing to worry about. "
Andrea & Michael Bojorquez
Owners of Emma’s Flowers
NearVision CK is the only FDA-approved procedure to improve reading.
Laser Vision Correction
Susan H. Senft, M.D. - Improving Her Patient’s Daily Life Through Better Vision.
Dr. Senft specializes in a full range of vision correction procedures that can provide freedom from glasses or contact lenses and even improve your night driving performance. She has been doing PRK since 1996 and LASIK since 1999.
These vision correction procedures are available at Island Eye Care:
Confused by terms like myopia, nearsightedness, hyperopia, farsightedness, astigmatism, or presbyopia? Visit our Understanding Vision section for more information on these vision conditions,.
LASIK - 
LADARVision® System CustomCornea®
CustomCornea®, the most advanced laser vision correction available, is performed using Alcon's LADARVision® System. Our LASIK technology measures your unique vision problems before surgery and creates a customized laser vision correction procedure to match your individual vision problems and make the exact correction your eyes need.
This next-generation LASIK addresses underlying vision problems that previously were undetectable and untreatable. This ability in combination with our customized LASIK correction helps ensure the most accurate laser surgical treatment of your vision problems available today.
LASIK Procedure
Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) benefit patients with mild to moderate degrees of nearsightedness. Patients with nearsightedness see near objects more clearly, and far objects appear blurry or even indistinguishable.
Are You a Candidate for LASIK?
Advancements in the development of LASIK have widened the amount of patients who can benefit from laser vision correction. Dr. Senft will carefully evaluate your personal vision characteristics and eye history to determine whether or not LASIK can deliver the vision results you want. Your consultation will measure corneal thickness and shape along with pupil size. Other tests will be administered per the direction of Dr. Senft to determine which technology is best suited for you.
Patients Who Are Good Candidates For LASIK:
- Meet FDA standards to correct low, moderate, or high levels of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism
- Stable prescription for minimum of one year
- Age 18 year of age or older
- Good overall health
- Good healthy corneas
- Not pregnant or nursing
- Do not have an autoimmune disease or other major illness
Custom Wavefront Technology
Dr. Susan Senft offers FDA approved high definition LASIK Custom Wavefront technology with built in eye tracker system that delivers vision results that can be better than glasses and contacts. In performing the LASIK procedure a thin flap is created on the corneal surface of the eye. A laser then delivers a programmed number of pulses of ultraviolet light removing microscopic layers of the cornea. The laser reshapes the cornea enabling the focal point of refracted light to be properly placed onto the retina.
The LASIK procedure is virtually painless and takes 10 minutes to correct each eye. Following the surgery a clear shield is placed over the eye for protection while sleeping at night for about 2 weeks. Most patients can return to work the next day after a post-operative evaluation.
NearVision (CK)
Frustrated with your reading glasses? Are you farsighted? NearVision CK can help!
- Fast and easy using radio frequency energy to correct your vision, the NearVision CK procedure has one of the highest safety profile in the refractive market. NearVision CK FDA approved is a refractive surgical procedure that uses radio frequency energy instead of a laser steeping the cornea and bring near vision back into focus. CK can give farsighted patients with presbyopia better near and distance vision while improving near vision for patients with presbyopia alone.
Candidates for NearVision CK :
- Be over 40 years of age
- Wear reading glasses or glasses for near vision.
- Not have had any significant changes in vision for one year
- Not have any chronic eye disorders
- Not be pregnant or nursing
- Not have any chronic illness or disease
How NearVision CK Works:
The CK procedure reshapes the cornea, improving your reading vision or near vision. CK uses focused radio waves to heat and shrink corneal tissue and reshape the cornea. This causes the cornea to steepen, focusing the light for better near vision.
How Vision Loss Happens With Age:
When you turn 40, the eyes lose their ability to focus on objects up close which could be the result of two different conditions:
- Presbyopia: The lens in the eye loses flexibility usually around the age of 40. Everybody over 40 will eventually suffer from this condition.
- Farsightedness (hyperopic): When the surface of the eye (cornea) is too flat, making it hard to focus on objects up close. Young eyes are often strong enough to compensate, which is why it may only be a problem after 40.
LASEK – (Can help benefit patients with thin or flat corneas)
LASEK (laser epithelial keratomileusis) is a procedure that is a variation of PRK. The surgery has also been called E-LASIK and is used mostly for people with thin or too flat corneas and usually don’t qualify for conventional LASIK. The outer layer of the cornea, is lifted with a special surgical tool to create the corneal flap. Once the flap is created the laser is applied to reshape the cornea with the goal of providing better vision.
If you have been turned down for conventional LASIK, find out if you a candidate for LASEK!
Visian ICL (Simple and safe implantable contact lens)
Patients with moderate to severe nearsightedness now have the option to benefit from not wearing glasses and contacts. The implantable contact lens known as Visian ICL, simplicity best describes the virtually painless procedure using local anesthetic. A microscopic incision is made followed by inserting a small contact lens behind the iris. Dr. Senft was the first surgeon in the state of Hawaii certified to perform Visian ICL implantable lenses.
INTACS
INTACS are tiny prescription ring inserts implanted in the cornea for the correction of Keratoconus and mild nearsightedness (up to -4.00D).
They are best suited for patients who have been turned down for laser vision correction based on thin corneas. The implants can be removed or exchanged if necessary. INTACS inserts reshape the curvature of the cornea from within, enhancing the natural shape of your eye to correct mild nearsightedness.
INTACS can deliver results better than 20/20. INTACS inserts are FDA approved and are supported by more than ten years of clinical studies.
Intacs for Nearsightedness
Intacs are tiny flexible prescription eye inserts placed in the periphery of the cornea during a simple outpatient procedure. Intacs may help certain patients with nearsightedness who no longer want to depend on wearing glasses or contacts. In the nearsighted eye, the curve of the cornea is too steep and objects in the distance appear blurry. Intacs help flatten the cornea and help to decrease nearsightedness in patients.
Intacs for Keratoconus
If you have Keratoconus you may want to see if Intacs can help you improve the quality of your vision. Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease, which causes a thinning of the cornea. As keratoconus progresses, contacts lenses or glasses are no longer suitable. Intacs prescription inserts are an exciting new option that may be the best possible option to stabilize the cornea and improve vision.
Intacs prescription inserts are approved by the FDA for keratoconus under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE).
Verisyse™ Phakic IOL
The Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is used to treat moderate to severe nearsightedness. Over 18 years of use and 150,000 procedures performed worldwide, results prove that the Verisyse™ design is safe and effective for very nearsighted people who are tired of thick glasses and are not candidates for LASIK Custom Cornea.
Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is placed behind your cornea and on top 
of your iris giving your eye another focusing lens. It can provide high-definition vision, although the Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is intended to be permanent, the procedure is reversible if desired.
Implanting the Verisyse™ Phakic IOL is an outpatient procedure that takes around 15 to 30 minutes. Usually, one eye is treated at a time.
Dr. Senft has been certified since on Verisyse Phakic IOL since 2005 and has performed several hundred procedures.
Understanding Vision
Nearsighted or Myopia
Individuals have trouble seeing objects in the distance. It is believed that this mostly happens as a result of the eyeball being slightly too long.
Farsighted or Hyperopic
Patients who have farsightedness see objects up close blurry. The cornea is too flat or the eye is too short.
Astigmatism
Often the eye is shaped like an egg with one side flatten and the other stepper. It is quite a normal condition which most people have to some degree. The effect on vision is to distort shapes so similarly shaped characters become confused. The letter “G” may be confused with a “C”.
Presbyopia
Usually starts around age 40 and beyond the eye grows older and the ability to focus clearly on objects close up starts to diminish. This happens because we lose our ability to accommodate or make the lens of the eye flatter in shape.