We don't just use the best technology. We helped develop it. To give our patients the best vision correction outcomes possible, we must use the best diagnostic and surgical technologies available. That's why Pepose Vision Institute is involved in numerous clinical studies, helping to develop and test these technologies. This way, we're among the first in the nation to offer the newest innovations to our patients once they've been proven both safe and effective.
We encourage you to learn more about the technologies we use here at Pepose Vision Institute. And while the technology is important, it's ultimately our surgeons' unparalleled experience in interpreting your diagnostic results and using them to develop your treatment plan that ensures your vision correction procedure will give you the very best vision possible.
We encourage you to read more about:
Our State-Of-The-Art Diagnostic Tests
- Pre-operative Wavefront Analysis Eliminating ghosts and halos
|
Learn more |
- Infrared Pupillometer What size are your eyes?
|
Learn more |
- Orbscan and Atlas Corneal Topography A 3-D Image of Your Eyes
|
Learn more |
Our Advanced Surgical Procedures
- Customized Wavefront-Guided LASIK Finding eye aberrations
|
Learn more |
- Flapless Lasik (LASEK) When Lasik is not an option
|
Learn more |
Our Sophisticated Lasers
- VISX Star S4 Laser - The ActiveTrak Laser System
|
Learn more |
- Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217 Laser For patiens with large pupils
|
Learn more |
- Zyoptix XP - Extra-Precision Flap-Making
|
Learn more |
"My patients and I received the LASIK procedure from Dr. Pepose and the Pepose Vision Institute and we all had terrific results. He's the only one to see for LASIK." -- Charles McCallum O.D.
Our State-Of-The-Art Diagnostic Tests Pre-operative Wavefront AnalysisA Wavefront analyzer objectively measures tiny aberrations in the optics of the eye, in addition to accurately measuring the degree of near or far-sightedness and astigmatism. Tiny aberrations in the eye cause some patients to complain that the letters on an eye chart appear "ghostly", that headlights at night have "tails" on them, and that streetlights have "halos" -- factors that are not as readily correctable with contact lenses or glasses.
Wavefront analysis generates thousands of complex data points that must be accurately interpreted to have a beneficial impact on your vision correction surgery. This technology derives directly from the optics advances used to create and fix the Hubble space telescope.
Our Wavefront analyzer accurately assesses your nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism in a matter of seconds, simply by having you look into a target image in the machine (nothing touches the eye).
This process eliminates the subjectivity introduced when a patient is asked, "Which image is better, number one or number two?" The accuracy of our Wavefront analyzer is 25 times greater than this subjective approach, meaning that the vision correction surgery that follows will inevitably be 25 times more accurate in correcting underlying vision problems! Over the past four years, our use of Wavefront analysis for all of our patients has led a vast majority to achieve uncorrected vision of 20/20 or better and has substantially improved the quality of their nighttime vision.
Our PVI surgeons have had the most experience in the region in applying Wavefront analysis pre-operatively to enhance your vision correction outcomes. We are one of only a handful of practices nationwide to perform this analysis on each and every one of our vision correction candidates, at no additional charge. Furthermore, our clinical studies have contributed to the development of advanced software that generates 3-dimensional Wavefront results, rather than the 2-dimensional depictions of earlier Wavefront analyzers.
Infrared Pupillometer 
PVI uses a Colvard infrared pupillometer to measure the exact size of a patient's pupils in total darkness. Patients who have visited other laser centers often remark that their pupils were measured in dim lighting using a ruler. Our surgeons will not engage in guesswork or estimation when it comes to your eyes. A digital measurement of the size of the pupil at night - via an infrared measuring device - allows our doctors to customize the choice of laser and laser programming. In this way, we can attain the best quality nighttime vision, when the pupils are naturally large and dilated, as well as in good lighting. For larger pupil sizes, we use our B&L Technolas laser with the widest FDA approved treatment zone to minimize halos or starburst effects at night.
Orbscan and Atlas Corneal Topography
PVI is one of the few centers in the nation to evaluate all of its patients using both the Orbscan and Atlas corneal topography instruments. Topography is a way to measure the shape of the cornea. We evaluate your cornea at over 8,000 points and the various elevations are then represented color maps. Just as the height of land can be viewed from a helicopter circling above, the elevated peaks of the cornea can be printed in hot colors such as red and orange, and the valleys printed out in cool colors such as blue.
Using the Orbscan device, we measure both the front and back surfaces of the cornea; its thickness at all locations can be plotted out; and a 3 dimensional reconstruction of the shape of the eye can be created that can be rotated and viewed by our surgeons at all angles.
The Atlas topography device provides specialized computerized screening to rule out a progressive cornea condition called keratoconus, which makes for poor LASIK outcomes; in addition, it assists in determining the optimal laser treatment for each of our patients.
Our Advanced Surgical Procedures Customized Wavefront-Guided LASIK This new, FDA-approved surgical advance is clinically appropriate for a subset of our patients who have large amounts of specific forms of Wavefront aberration and have been told in the past that they are not good LASIK candidates. Wavefront-guided treatment converts Wavefront information into a laser pattern that we can use to program our lasers in order to offset the eye's higher order wave aberrations, which impact quality of vision over and above one's nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.
Specific Wavefront aberrations markedly degrade the quality of vision. Our knowledge and experience in detecting and treating these aberrations permits us to identify those patients who will benefit from Wavefront-guided LASIK and which laser system is most appropriate. Patients who will benefit are given this treatment at no additional charge, in keeping with our philosophy to ONLY use the most appropriate technology to maximize your vision correction outcome. Pepose Vision Institute has performed Wavefront analysis on thousands of patients, observing that patients born with better than 20/20 uncorrected vision -- including fighter pilots and professional sports players -- have selective types of Wavefront aberration. One of the most intriguing conclusions has been that it may not be necessary or even ideal to eliminate all of the eye's aberrations, as some may be of benefit in the brain's processing of visual information and in allowing depth of focus. It takes skill and experience to use Wavefront information to improve your vision correction outcome!
Because the Wavefront of the eye changes as one ages, and differs depending on whether you are looking at a near versus distant object, it is important to have realistic expectations about Wavefront technology. Beware of claims of super-vision or guarantees of 20/10 vision! No laser system can prevent you from aging, and the optics of the older eye are worse in older than in younger eyes. Whereas it may be possible to have a second laser treatment later in life, it is important to realize that only wine gets better with age. Moreover, our clinical studies have demonstrated that dry eye can affect the eye's Wavefront pattern; therefore, pre-operative dry eye should be treated with punctal plugs prior to Wavefront-guided treatment.
Flapless LASIKFlapless LASIK also known as LASEK - is a vision correction procedure that is appropriate for patients with very thin or steep corneas, very high prescriptions, extremely deep-set eyes, very large pupils, or those who are fearful of having a corneal flap created. Many nearsighted or farsighted patients who have been told in the past that they are not good LASIK candidates may now enjoy the same benefits by undergoing the LASEK procedure.
Flapless LASIK requires the cornea to be bathed in an alcohol solution, which loosens the outer skin of the cornea (the epithelium). Your PVI surgeon will carefully peel back this outer skin like a sheet using customized surgical instruments, and then apply the laser to the underlying cornea. No corneal flap is created. The outer skin is replaced into its original position and a contact lens is applied as a short-term "band-aid" to promote healing. This is an extremely safe procedure when performed by an experienced LASEK surgeon. Clinical studies have reported that six months after surgery, LASEK patients have the same vision outcomes as their LASIK counterparts.
Dr. Jay Pepose was the first laser eye surgeon in St. Louis, and one of the first in the nation, to offer LASEK to his patients. The procedure was first developed in Italy by ophthalmologist Dr. Massino Camellin and is offered by only a handful of elite cornea subspecialists nationwide. Because Pepose Vision Institute monitors new eye technologies around the world, our surgeons can advise our patients as to which treatment is optimal for their unique eye condition.
Our State-Of-The-Art Lasers
VISX Star S4 Laser The VISX is the laser of choice for patients with thin corneas. It is a leading technology in laser vision correction - more than 4 million procedures have already been performed on a VISX laser worldwide! Pepose Vision Institute has performed thousands of procedures on the VISX excimer laser.
We are the only bi-state vision correction provider to have received the VISX Star Award as a top-100 vision correction center nationwide. The Star S4 laser platform offers the following features:
- 3-D Active Infrared Eye Tracking, the only FDA - approved system that allows the surgeon to track eye movements in all three dimensions (left and right movements of the eye as well as the up and down movements naturally occur when you breathe), for greater control. This tracker was designed specifically to address patient eye movement during surgery: the patient's eye position is verified and safety checked before every laser pulse and the laser is repositioned to match eye movements. In this way, the tracker assists the surgeon, rather than taking away control during the actual surgery.
- Seven Variable Sized Beams, to give greater flexibility and allow for faster, smoother treatment with precise corneal shaping.
- No dilation required! Unlike laser platforms used by other vision correction providers, the VISX Star S4 does not require that your pupils be dilated. Because clinical research has shown that dilation distorts and decenters the pupil relative to its natural position during surgery, Pepose Vision Institute does not use any laser that requires patient dilation. Moreover, dilation slows recovery and adds to patient discomfort during surgery.
- The VISX S4 laser has been FDA-approved for Wavefront-guided LASIK, using its CustomVue WaveScan technology.
Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217 Laser This is the laser of choice for patients with large pupils. No one laser platform is right for every patient, and that's why we offer the FDA approved Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217 Laser in addition to the VISX Star4. The Technolas 217 provides the widest treatment zone possible. The relationship between the correctable area of the cornea and the size of the pupil under low light conditions ultimately dictates the quality of nighttime vision a patient will achieve. The Technolas' narrow 2mm beam and wide treatment zone maximizes the smooth blending of the treated area into the surrounding corneal tissue. This feature greatly improves night vision, reduces glare and halos, and significantly improves daylight vision, particularly for patients with large pupils.
More than one-third of all vision correction procedures performed outside the United States are performed using a Technolas laser. The Technolas 217 creates a new therapeutic approach with a 2mm flying spot beam. This precise spot of laser energy ablates the corneal tissue, allowing each pulse to polish the corneal surface for a smoother result. The laser's scanner feedback mechanism ensures that every pulse is placed exactly as prescribed, and no laser shots are fired at consecutive locations, or overlap. The laser does not require that patients' pupils be dilated, thereby assuring a speedy recovery.
Pepose Vision Institute was the first in the nation to receive the Bausch & Lomb Excellence in Vision Correction Award, in recognition of our surgeons' commitment to advanced technologies that provide safe, outstanding vision correction results.
Zyoptix XPPVI surgeons have been leaders in clinical studies that evaluate new technologies for creating corneal flaps. We will only offer our patients safe, PROVEN technologies that improve patient vision outcomes. The Zyoptix XP is the latest extra-precision flap maker that has met the stringent guidelines set by Pepose Vision Institute. It creates flaps of consistent thickness and shape which, when refloated into their original position, heal almost instantaneously and cannot be easily dislodged.
