Epi-LASIK is a refractive surgery technique designed to reduce a person's dependency on eyeglasses and contact lenses. Invented by Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris (Crete, Greece), the technique is basically an automatic LASEK without alcohol:

1. a device similar to a microkeratome (called epi-keratome) slides over the surface of the cornea, just underneath the epithelial layer of cells while suction is applied
2. the result is a hinged sheet of epithelium that is at least partially viable
3. it is reflected out of the way so that the ablation can take place
4. the sheet is repositioned and a bandage soft contact lens is placed on the eye

The first cases outside Greece were performed in September 2003.