Lasik Laser Eye Surgery – What You Need To Know
When people are asked to point lasers at their eyes for a benefit, they’ll probably want the best doctor there is and the best lasers that they can afford. That’s what generally happens when you need lasik or laser eye surgery. Corrective laser eye surgery is done to produce sharper and thus, clearer vision. This can eliminate the need for contact lenses and even glasses.
Lasik is the most common refractive surgery done today. Now, refractive surgery is surgery that changes the shape of the cornea which the membrane over your pupil and iris. This is done to change the way it collects and refracts light leading to the aforementioned clearer vision.
Is It For Me?
Laser eye surgery doesn’t work for everyone but it does work for the vast majority of people out there. If your eyes have any of the following issues or conditions, then lasik can do something for you.
Nearsightedness, or myopia, occurs when your eyeball is just a tad bit longer than it is supposed to be or if your cornea curves a little too sharply, changing the way light gets into your eyes. This is when your vision quality fades drastically with distance, meaning seeing stuff up close is no problem but things off in the distance are extra difficult to see.
On the opposing side, there’s hyperopia which makes vision blurry. Astigmatism disrupts the focus of your vision, which can give depth perception problems, while presbyopia steadily robs your eyes of the ability to focus.
Eye doctors will suggest that you explore other options first, such as the standard eyeglasses or contact lenses option, before turning a high-tech laser gun onto your eyes.
Laser Eye Surgery and the Risk Involved
All procedures have risks and corrective laser eye surgery brings its own unique set of risks onto the table. No, nothing as extreme as the laser simply cutting through your skull but it can make seeing, something that people always want to do, very painful if something goes wrong. Yes, there are lasik complications to know about and consider.
One of the most common mistakes is when a doctor actually does too little or removes too little from your eye with the lasik. This is easily remedied, however, as you simply need to go in for a second surgery to remove the rest. As mistakes go, this one more common to people suffering from myopia or nearsightedness.
On the other end of the spectrum, the doctor can actually remove too much when you undergo corrective laser eye surgery. Obviously, this is far more difficult to correct. Lasik can even end up causing a brand new issue, like astigmatism. This is what happens if your doctor removes tissue unevenly and like the first mistake, can be fixed with some more time under the gun.
Laser eye surgery can also cause various vision and eye problems. You might suddenly find yourself unable to see as well during nighttime or in dark areas. You might be getting glares or haloes around lights and maybe even get some double vision. If you’re lucky, all you need is some special eye drops to remedy the problem. If not, you’ll probably need some more surgery to fix the problem.
Dry eyes might become a chronic condition for you. Dry eyes is to be expected after surgery but there are occasions where it becomes permanent or effectively permanent. Again, another procedure could fix the dry eye side effect of lasik. At the very worst, you could end up with an infection due to some flap problems. It could grow abnormally or just swell up, impeding your vision.
Discuss these lasik complications with your doctor. If that doctor is any good, then he or she will be able to answer all your questions and alleviate the vast majority of your fears.
Preparation
There are some things you can do to prepare yourself for a round of lasik treatment. Contact lens users need to remove their contact lenses and stick to glasses for a few weeks before the corrective laser eye surgery as these distort the shape of the cornea and, thus, could complicate surgery. Eye makeup is definitely a no-no. You also shouldn’t plan anything too visually-stressing after the operation or, at least, nothing that really requires too much strain on your eyes like a movie or a football game. Make sure someone can take you home afterwards as you’ll probably be blind in one or two eyes for some time.
Eyeing It
Laser eye surgery is expensive, more expensive for some people as most insurance contracts don’t cover it as it is considered elective surgery. You need to prepare more than your eyes. You need to prepare your wallet, too.
If you really want to get rid of the glasses and contact lenses, corrective laser eye surgery is what you’re looking for. Just remember that the lasik complications can be just as bad as whatever condition you’re experiencing yourself. So, weigh your options carefully.