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At your complimentary assessment, you will have an opportunity to understand the Yonge Eglinton Laser Eye Centre difference. Our Toronto team is truly passionate about ensuring each and every laser eye surgery patient is handled with the utmost care. Your vision is invaluable and so we have designed every step of our procedure with this at top of mind. Rest assured your eyes will be in the best hands.

If you wear soft contact lenses, please leave your lenses out for at least 2 full days prior to your appointment. If you wear hard contact lenses, please leave them out for 2 full weeks prior to your appointment.

Please plan to spend approximately 90 minutes with us at this first visit. This assessment will include a dilated eye exam with our Optometrist. We recommend that you bring a pair of sunglasses with you to your appointment as many patients are light-sensitive and experience blurred reading (near) vision for 1-2 hours.

Upon completion of your assessment, you will have a detailed understanding of the following:

Whether or not you are a candidate for LASIK surgery
Alternative treatments available if you are not a candidate
The technology used at our Toronto laser eye surgery Centre (safer and more effective than ever before!)
What investment is involved
What financial arrangements can be made, including 0% interest financing options

Dr. David Rootman understands the importance of good vision in our day-to-day lives. As we experience the world, in large part, through our eyes, it is our constant hope that enjoyment of the experience will not be complicated by a failing in our vision. Unfortunately, neither our eyes nor the rest of our body is intended to last forever, and many of us begin noticing gradual changes in the quality of our vision over time.

Dr. Rootman does not believe in surrendering to imperfect vision. At Yonge Eglinton Laser Eye + Cosmetic Centre in Toronto, he and his associates use the latest in laser eye surgery technology, including LASIK and its alternatives, to enhance your vision, giving you a new lease on enjoying the sights the world around you has to offer.

Custom LASIK

Performed by Dr. Rootman at his Toronto centre, Custom LASIK is laser eye surgery at its most refined. Every eye has its imperfections. Custom LASIK utilizes new Wavefront™ technology that creates a topographical map of your eye before surgery. After examining this map, Dr. Rootman is able to fine-tune your treatment for the unique corrections you need to achieve crystal clear vision. The precision of custom LASIK allows for the most accurate vision correction possible.

Blade-free LASIK

Blade-free LASIK with Intralase® laser technology is the first "all laser" LASIK procedure. Traditional LASIK utilizes both a finely-focused laser and a metal blade to accomplish vision correction. The blade, or microkeratome, used to be the only means of creating a flap in the cornea. At his Toronto centre, Dr. Rootman performs laser eye surgery using blade free IntraLase® LASIK for the safest vision correction.

Read more about blade-free IntraLase® LASIK.

LASIK Alternatives

Because not everyone is an ideal candidate for LASIK, our Toronto centre offers several vision correction alternatives that provide correction of virtually the same quality as LASIK. Photo Refractive Keratectomy (PRK), implantable contact lenses (ICLs), IEK, and DSEK are other methods used by Dr. Rootman and his corneal specialist associates for restoring vision. At Yonge Eglinton Laser Eye + Cosmetic Centre in Toronto, Dr. Rootman can perform any of these laser eye surgery alternatives to give you crisper, clearer vision.

Q & A: Laser Vision Correction

What is LASIK surgery?

Laser vision correction is a simple procedure that uses the VISX laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. During the treatment, the laser’s cool beam of ultraviolet light removes a small amount of tissue, usually less than the thickness of a human hair. Short pulses of this laser light change the curvature of the cornea, allowing images to be more sharply focused on the retina.

What type of equipment/technology is used at YELC?

YELC uses ilasik technology, the most advanced technology available to date. It combines the Wavescan, Intralase and Visx technology. This combined system is the preferred system of personalized care for your eyes because of its precision, reliability, and high success rate. This allows us to design and deliver a custom tailored correction map for the unique characteristics of each individual eye, and correct with greater alignment accuracy than previously.

When can I go back to work?

Typically LASIK patients take 24-48 hours for recovery. PRK patients may take up to 2 weeks.

What are nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism?

In a normal eye, the cornea and the lens of the eye focus light to form an image on the back surface of the eye, known as the retina. With nearsightedness, the curve at the front portion of the eye, known as the cornea, is too steep and the eye focuses or refracts light too much, causing images of distant objects to form in front of the retina and appear blurry. With farsightedness, the cornea is too flat or the eye too short, causing the cornea to focus the image behind the retina so that close images appear blurry. Astigmatism is the result of an irregular curvature of the cornea, and can be present in both near and farsightedness.

What differentiates YELC from other clinics?
- Thorough Pre-post op testing
- Latest Technology
- All surgeons are corneal specialists
- 24 hour post op surgeon access
- Medicard: interest free loan for surgery
Will I be awake during the procedure?

During the procedure, the patient is asked to focus on a red light. The eye is held open by a device called a speculum. This doesn’t hurt the eye, it simply stretches it open. Secondly, the laser is programmed to track movement of your eye so if minimal movement were to occur it would detect and correct it. If the eye were to move out of its range the laser would automatically shut off. So you can rest assured that you will be in great care and that movement will not affect the outcome.

Does it hurt?

Patients are given a mild sedative so there is only mild discomfort, if any. The common complaint would be when the surgeon applies the suction ring on the eye because you may feel pressure, as if someone is pressing on the eye firmly with their thumb. This pressure only lasts about 1.5-2 minutes in length and is during the time the surgeon is creating the flap on the eye with the Intralase. The patient feels this pressure one eye at a time. After the surgery, for about 3-4 hours only, your eyes will be a little tender and you may feel itchy and perhaps a little dry or scratchy. The patient may wish to take a painkiller such as Advil or Tylenol to help with any discomfort afterwards.

Can I lose my vision from Laser Treatment? Will I go blind?

This is the biggest concern that patients have. None of our patients have ever lost their vision from laser vision correction. Potential loss of vision may occur post operatively. For example, if a patient gets a serious infection and if untreated, the patient develops a scar and eventually loses sight. Has that ever happened? NO, but the potential is there. This is why we emphasize the importance of follow up and making sure the patients understand the do’s and don’ts after surgery.

What are my options to restore reading vision (presbyopia)? What is monovision?

Presbyopia is an age-related condition that is caused by the loss of ability to focus the eye sharply on near objects as a result of reduced elasticity of the lens of the eye.
One option for patients with presbyopia is monovision. In Lasik Monovision one eye is adjusted to see things close up, while the other eye sees things farther away. The brain integrates the visual information from both eyes and adjusts either immediately or within a few weeks to having each eye focus at a different distance.

What is Keratoconus?

Keratoconus is a disease that causes a progressive thinning of the cornea, the clear front portion of the eye. As a result of this condition, the normal outward pressure from within the eye causes the cornea to progressively bulge into a cone-like shape. Keratoconus can significantly impair and distort vision, and lead to the need for a corneal transplant in up to 20% of cases. It normally affects both eyes, though it typically progresses at different rates. In most people, keratoconus begins during their teen years and slowly worsens before stabilizing in their 30’s or 40’s.

What treatment options are available for patients with Kerataconus?

For patients who suffer with Keratoconus we have two treatments that can improve vision and hopefully avoid a corneal transplant: Corneal Cross-linking and Intacs Corneal Implants. Corneal Cross Linking is the application of Riboflavin Eye Drops on the cornea. Once absorbed by the cornea, UV-A light is applied for approximately 30 minutes. This combination increases the collagen cross-links to increase the mechanical strength of the stroma. It is an effective treatment to prevent keratoconus from getting worse. The Intacs Corneal Implants procedure is performed to correct the bulge caused by keratoconus and flatten the steep portion of the cornea thus fixing vision irregularities.

Contact Our Practice for Laser Eye Surgery in Toronto

Follow Laser Eye

2345 Yonge Street
Suite 212
Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2E5

Danny Fernandes gets LASIK at YELC

After I had problems reading the teleprompter at the 2010 Juno awards, I knew I had to do something. YELC changed my life! I can see everything now, from street signs to the smiles on my fans faces and my only regret is that I waited so long to get the corrective surgery. I trusted their staff and doctors completely– they were caring, considerate and took great care of me! Thank you!

(D. Fernandes, May 2010)

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