If done correctly, can you use a normal laser to do laser eye surgery or do you need a special laser?

Lasers are not just some kind of evaporating ray gun.There are a multitude of different kinds of lasers suitable for certain, defined tasks.

The primary laser used in LASIK and PRK is the excimer (excited dimer) laser. Once referred to as a "cold" laser, it cuts corneal tissue cleanly without creating heat damage to adjacent tissue. The "evaporation" of corneal tissue to achieve a better shape for proper focus is called "ablation."

One other laser used in corneal refractive surgery is the Femtosecond laser. This is often used in LASIK to create the thin, superficial flap of cornea under which the excimer laser does its re-shaping work.

_Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic