Having laser surgery

LASIK is a surgical procedure intended to reduce a person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses. Surgical procedures aimed at improving the focusing power of the eye are called refractive surgery. In LASIK surgery, precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea changing its focusing power.

If you decide to go ahead with LASIK surgery, you will need an initial or baseline evaluation by your eye doctor to determine if you are a good candidate. This is what you need to know to prepare for the exam and what you should expect:

You should have the opportunity and don't be shy to ask your doctor all the questions you want to know during this discussion. Give yourself plenty of time to think about the risk or benefit about your discussion, to review any informational literature provided by your doctor, and to have any additional questions answered by your doctor before deciding to go through with surgery.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

Side effects of laser eye surgery

The ideal candidate for LASIK is over 18 years of age and has
healthy corneas. Candidates must not have had a significant increase in
their prescription in the last 12 months. People with certain medical
conditions or women who are pregnant may not be good candidates for LASIK.

The decision to have LASIK is an important one that ultimately, only you
can make. It is important that you have realistic expectations and that
your decision is based on facts, not hopes or misconceptions. The goal of
LASIK is to reduce your dependence on corrective lenses. LASIK does not
always create 20/20 or even 20/40 vision. It cannot correct a condition
known as presbyopia, or aging of the eye which normally occurs around age
40 and which requires the use of reading glasses. In fact, people over 40
who have their distance vision improved may find they need reading glasses
after the procedure.

It has only been in the past few years that laser procedures were able to correct almost all degrees of nearsightedness and astigmatism. Lasik, which is a laser eye surgery attains one of the highest success rates in optic correction
LASIK procedures involve a few risks. The chances of having severe vision-threatening side effects of laser eye surgery are very low. However, there have been a few cases of serious eye injury which required corneal transplant.

Under correction or overcorrection is also one of the most common side effects of laser eye surgery. A surgeon cannot predict precisely how your eyes will respond to treatment. This means you might need to keep wearing corrective lenses after surgery. In some situations, you can have another surgical procedure to improve the results.

Regression: This is yet another possible side effect of laser eye surgery. For some patients, the eye returns to its initial state within a few month. A new surgical procedure is usually possible in such cases.