What happens during a
diagnostic examination for laser eligibility.
The pre-operative diagnostic examination is the most important medical act of the entire pathway. The laser procedure takes 20-30 seconds per eye. The examination takes approximately 30 minutes. This disproportion says it all: the value lies in the diagnosis, not in the surgical gesture.
But the pathway begins before the examination. And continues after.
Before the examination: the patient portal
At the clinic: diagnostics
After the examination: time to decide
The patient receives in their digital portal the complete measurement report and clinical recommendation. They can reread everything, discuss it with whomever they wish, and make their decision independently. If they decide to proceed, the secretariat schedules the date — usually within 2-4 weeks. If they decide to wait, the data remains valid for 6 months.
The day of the laser: nothing is taken for granted
On the day of the procedure, the patient is not taken directly to the laser room. They are re-examined by the optometrist and Dr Mossa. We verify that nothing has changed since the diagnostic examination: refraction, corneal status, general conditions. The patient has time to ask their final questions or express any concerns. Only after this confirmation do we proceed.
Pre-operative offset evaluation
Before each procedure, the AMARIS system performs a measurement called offset: the distance between the pupil centre and the corneal vertex. This difference — often less than half a millimetre — is different for each patient and changes between sitting position (during the examination) and supine position (during the laser). If the laser does not compensate for the offset, the treatment is decentred. The AMARIS 1050RS measures and compensates for it automatically before starting the ablation.
AMARIS 1050RS: the only one with real-time verification
The SCHWIND AMARIS 1050RS laser is the only system in the world that integrates a series of measurements in real time, before, during and after the procedure, within the same laser session:
Cyclotorsion — the rotation of the eye when the patient moves from sitting to lying position. The AMARIS detects it by comparing iris markers and compensates in real time: without this correction, the astigmatism treatment would be shifted from the correct axis.
Integrated pachymetry — corneal thickness is measured before and after ablation during the same session, confirming that the tissue removed corresponds exactly to the plan.
Intraoperative OCT — optical coherence tomography monitors the corneal profile in real time during ablation. The surgeon sees the cornea layer by layer while the laser works — not afterwards, not the next day: during.
7D eye-tracker at 1050 Hz — tracks eye movements across 7 dimensions (x, y, z, cyclotorsion, pupil) one thousand times per second. If the eye moves too much, the laser stops automatically.
No other excimer laser available today integrates all these measurements within the same surgical session. Most competing systems rely on data acquired during the diagnostic examination — hours or days before — without verifying them in real time at the time of the procedure.
Informed consent: an act of transparency
Before each procedure, the patient signs an informed consent. It is a document that describes the procedure, expected results and theoretical risks. This is a mandatory standard in all surgical clinics — it is not a particularity of ours, it is a legal and ethical requirement that no surgeon can avoid.
Informed consent can be concerning when read for the first time: it lists scenarios which, however extremely rare, must be mentioned by law. It is normal to feel apprehension.
Why the safety margin is so high
Our clinical pathway is ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified — the international standards for quality management and medical devices. Every step of the pathway is tracked, verified and documented. The AMARIS 1050RS laser undergoes regular inspections by SCHWIND and certified periodic calibration. The 7D eye-tracker at 1050 Hz, intraoperative OCT and integrated pachymetry verify every parameter in real time during ablation. Under these conditions, technical error is virtually impossible.
Informed consent and all legal documents — privacy information, pre- and post-operative instructions, drug therapy — are always available in the patient portal and can be downloaded at any time.
At any time before the laser, the patient has the right to withdraw and completely delete all their data, directly from the portal, with a single click, without any prior communication. No phone call, no email, no justification. One click.
After the procedure: the portal accompanies you
Once the laser is complete, the patient receives post-operative instructions and drug therapy (eye drops) directly from the optometrist — and finds them all in their patient portal, accessible at any time in their language. No paper to lose, no doubts at home at 11pm. The portal reminds them of check-ups, instructions for drops, and offers direct contact with the clinic.
What we look for — and who we exclude
The examination is a filter. We look for anomalies that contraindicate the procedure: signs of keratoconus (even subclinical — the posterior tomography of the MS-39 is more sensitive than any automatic index), corneas too thin for the error to correct, early cataract, retinal pathologies, expectations not aligned with the possible result.
Why technology makes the difference
An ophthalmologist with a keratometer and an ultrasound pachymeter measures 4 curvature points and 1 thickness point. We measure 25,000 points of curvature and thickness, the complete aberrometric profile, and the predictive simulation of the result. Subclinical keratoconus escapes the keratometer. It does not escape MS-39 tomography.
If eligibility was denied with less advanced instrumentation, a second evaluation with tomography and full aberrometry can change the answer.
Want to know if you are eligible?
Approximately 30 minutes, free, no commitment. If the answer is no, we will say so.
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