Refractive Laser Vision Correction offers an alternative to glasses and contact lenses in correcting vision. It can correct myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism by changing the shape of the cornea with an excimer laser which is a cold laser beam. Changing the shape of the cornea with the excimer laser is the most technologically advanced method of vision correction used in the eyes. It offers most people who currently wear glasses or contact lenses the opportunity for good vision without any other form of correction. The excimer laser is a charged mixture of argon and fluoride gases in a mirrored tube to produce a beam of ultraviolet light. This beam is unique because it has the ability to break the molecular bonds between tissue and vaporize it, a microscopic layer at a time. The laser can sculpt tissue with no effect on the underlying and surrounding tissue. This makes it ideal for changing the shape of the cornea to reduce or eliminate focusing problems.