Lasik Eye Surgery - What you Need to Know Before Having Lasik

LASIK eye surgery can advantage many people who experience low to moderate vision problems. LASIK eye surgery is a quick and painless procedure, but there are some risks and complications involved with the surgery.

It is important to understand what happens before, after and during LASIK eye surgery, if you are thinking about having the surgery. It is also advantageous to have realistic expectations of the LASIK eye surgery before the procedure begins.

Most good LASIK surgeons will talk to you and fully explain the before and after procedure. Like most patients, you will probably have many questions about the LASIK eye surgery. The following are a list of frequently asked questions about the LASIK eye surgery.

Am I a good candidate for LASIK?

It depends on many factors for a person to be a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery. When you make an initial appointment for LASIK eye surgery, your eye care professional will ask many questions and take a thorough health history.

Additionally, you eyes and the history of your vision problems will also be a major factor in whether or not you can have the LASIK eye surgery procedure. For people with certain health problems such as autoimmune diseases and diabetes, LASIK is generally not recommended.

A person cannot have LASIK eye surgery if he is under the age of 18. Certain degenerative eye diseases might also disqualify you from having LASIK eye surgery. Your LASIK surgeon will make a decision based on all of these factors. Those who are not good candidates for the LASIK surgery can have poor outcomes.

Are there any LASIK complications?

Yes. As with any surgery or medical procedure there are LASIK complications and risks. Most people who have the surgery do not have problems, however some people do.

Reduced low light vision is the most commonly reported side effect of the LASIK eye surgery. This can cause glowing or halos around lit objects at night. After some time the side effects of the LASIK eye surgery will disappear over a period of time.

There are some long-term LASIK complications that have been report, though they are rare. Some people could experience worse eyesight than they had before LASIK eye surgery.

Will LASIK vision correction eliminate the need for corrective lenses?

The short answer to that is maybe. Most people who have the LASIK eye surgery may still need to wear some form of glasses or contacts. This does not mean that the surgery had a poor outcome. This is normal and should be expected.

LASIK is not a means to totally correct vision problems. It is designed to enhance vision. Those who go into LASIK expecting perfect vision with an unlikely expectation should not undergo treatment.

How much is the Cost of LASIK eye surgery?

The cost of LASIK eye surgery will depend on where you live, the condition of the eyes and what kind of method is used. Those with more severe vision problems will cost a bit more. Generally, you can plan on spending at least $2000 for the LASIK procedure.

Does insurance cover the cost of LASIK eye surgery?

Because LASIK eye surgery is considered elective, most of the time, insurance plans do not cover it. Some insurance plans have extended eye care plans that help defray the costs of LASIK eye surgery.

If you insurance plan does not cover the cost of LASIK eye surgery, check with your employer. Some employers offer their employees special rates for going to a certain clinic for LASIK. Sometimes LASIK can be paid for by using a cafeteria plan.

Will I need to take time off of work after the procedure?

Yes, most patients do need to take some time off of work following the procedure. This can vary though according to the work. Most of the time patients can start back to work in two to three days, particularly for jobs that are sedentary.

It will be essential to rest the eyes after surgery, so a lot of computer work may bother the eyes after surgery. You will need to talk to your LASIK surgeon about when you can start back to work.

Does the LASIK eye surgery hurt?

The LASIK eye surgery is quick and painless for most patients. Each eye only takes a minute or two. The eye is numbed using drops and patients will stay awake the entire time.

For those who feel uncomfortable about the LASIK eye surgery, a mild sedative can be given. Most patients are able to walk out of the surgery center after the procedure is complete.
By Nishanth Reddy

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How to Pick a Laser Vision Corrective Eye Surgery Doctor

During Lasik Eye Surgery You Are Awake

The proper interpretation is Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis The procedure reshapes the cornea which is permanent by using a laser to do the surgery. How the Surgery Works. Before committing to the surgery patients should look into what lasik is and what it can do for vision. Lasik eye surgery has been big news on the vision front. If you are contemplating LASIK eye surgery, you are not alone. This surgery can help to eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses.

LASIK laser eye surgery helps with the shaping of the cornea; once the cornea is re-shaped it will help in the reliance of wearing contacts or glasses.

Many people get the corrective surgery because they just don't want to wear glasses or contacts anymore, many people have been wearing them their whole lives. As an instance of Snellen measurement, people with 20/40 vision can see clearly at 20 feet what people with 20/20 vision can see clearly at 40 feet.

Experience is what counts the most, so choose a surgeon with plentiful experience. LASIK eye surgery involves cutting a flap of the corneal tissue with a hinge being left at one end of the flap. Since the risk is great after surgery the patient must go home and wear the eye patches and not touch the eyes, if the flap of the eye moves before healing the can give way to infection or not seeing clearly.

Before going for LASIK, have your surgeon explain to you what these risks are.

How to Pick a Laser Vision Corrective Eye Surgery Doctor

When you decide to undergo laser vision corrective eye surgery, it’s a pretty important undertaking. You may see a lot of commercials by doctors’ offices talking about how they’ve performed thousands of lasik procedures, laser eye surgeries, and other vision correction procedures. Insurance Coverage

While a lot of insurance plans don’t provide any coverage for laser vision corrective eye surgery, some do. Location

Next, look for laser eye surgery doctors that are convenient to you. There are a number of services on the Internet that help you search for laser vision surgeons, but they may just be promoting certain doctors. If your insurance company or employer have websites that help you locate doctors, those are best. Once you’ve identified those laser eye surgeons who are covered by your insurance or discount plan and are conveniently located, it’s critical to make sure the doctors on your list are experts in their field and know how to use the latest, up-to-date technology in performing your laser eye surgery. Get on the Internet and do some searching for new developments in laser vision correction surgery technology. You may want to consider those doctors for your own laser surgery if they are close by. Office Visit

As the last step in your search, pick the best laser eye surgery doctor on your list based on the factors you’ve looked at so far, and make an appointment. See what they say about their experience with that doctor and their laser eye surgery. If you know you have astigmatism, ask the doctor to go over the details of how laser eye surgery can correct astigmatism. If not, schedule a visit with someone else. Once you find a laser eye surgeon you’re happy with, stop searching and start planning with your doctor for your own procedure.

With the thousands of doctors who offer laser vision corrective eye surgery, it can seem like an impossible task to pick the best for your own laser eye surgery.

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Laser Eyes Surgery

Eye surgery is carried out typically, to enhance the refractive state of the eye and to reduce the reliance on glasses or contact lenses. Most eye surgeries today use lasers that help remodel the cornea and hence, are known as laser eye surgery.

LASIK or Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis is the latest development in this field and is highly popular. In the year 2005, most of the eye surgery procedures were performed using this technique. In this technique, the surgeon uses an instrument known as microkeratome to cut a flap of the corneal tissue to get an entry into the cornea. This procedure is typically carried out for correcting nearsightedness. It is a common method used in the surgery and involves cutting a flap in the cornea so as to get to the tissue below.

LASEK or Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelium Keratomileusis is known to permanently change the shape of the cornea. It uses an excimer laser to ablate some amount of tissue from the frontage of the eye. EPI-LASIK is a recent technique that is quite akin to LASEK and uses an epi-keratome instrument to take out the top layer of the cornea.

Photo refractive keratectomy (PRK) is a procedure that is performed under local anesthesia. Eye drops are used to anesthetize the eyes. This is a type of refractive surgery, which requires destroying of microscopic amounts of the outer eye tissue. It reshapes the cornea by the use of cool UV light that is controlled by means of a computer.

Refractive surgery has become quite common and popular in the recent years. However, it is not advisable in case of slow healers and people who are afflicted with glaucoma or diabetes. It is also not recommended in case of people who are suffering from vascular diseases, autoimmune diseases and pregnant women.

It is seen that even in case of normal healthy individuals, there is a certain amount of risk involved. They could be exposed to infection and also delay the healing procedure as well. In the long run, this problem is generally sorted out with the right treatment. Other complaints include regression as also halo effect that are typical of eye surgery.
By Jimmy Sturo

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Laser Eye Surgery - Baby Steps

Laser Eye Surgery – step by step

What happens at my first doctor appointment?

The doctor will thoroughly examine the health of your eyes. This is similar to your regular, annual eye exam but this exam will be even more thorough. Your doctor will take several detailed measurements of your eyes to determine your degree of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism or a combination of all three.

On the day of my Laser Eye Surgery, what can I expect?

You are brought into the room where your Laser Eye Surgery will take place and will lie down on the table. Your doctor will place a patch over the eye that is not having surgery.

Is there pain with Laser Eye Surgery?

No, there are no injections – just anesthetic drops will be placed in your eye. Then you will be asked to look at a small blinking light.

How can I hold my eye open during surgery without blinking?

Your eyelid will be held open automatically for you by a small tool that fits under your eyelid but does not hurt you or your eye.

Using a laser sounds kind of scary, what really happens?

A special laser called an Excimer laser uses a very special kind of light energy to change the shape of your cornea ever so slightly and improve your vision.

Will I see or hear the laser when it is working?

You will hear a clicking sound as the laser applies pulses to your cornea.

What does a pulse do?

Each pulse of the laser removes a microscopically thin layer from the cornea.

How does the doctor control the laser?

The computer determines the exact pattern of pulses in order to remove exactly the right amount of corneal tissue based on your earlier eye exam. Your surgeon guides the laser and the computer tells him exactly where to apply the laser.

How much superficial corneal tissue is removed?

A very small quantity of tissue is removed. This is usually less than the width of a hair. Minor focusing imperfections require a smaller amount of cornea tissue to be removed. More severe focusing imperfections require more of cornea tissue to be removed.

Do I need to stare at the blinking light the whole time?

Yes, unless your surgeon asks you to focus your eyes elsewhere, you will continue to stare at the blinking light. The light will become somewhat hazy as your surgery proceeds.

How long is the laser actually being used to reshape by cornea?

The actual amount of laser time will most likely be less than 60 seconds in total.

What happens after my Laser Eye Surgery is over?

Eye drops will be placed in your eyes and you will be asked to sit up in bed in the recovery area for a few minutes. After 5 or 10 minutes, if you are not feeling dizzy or lightheaded, you are free to go home and take it easy for the rest of the day.
By Beth Gabriel

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Is Laser Eye Treatment A Permanent Solution?

With laser eye treatment, problems with your eyes and deficiencies in your vision can be all put behind you. The reason for most eye problems is that the eye lens cannot focus the light rays properly onto the retina. Though traditionally we have used contact lens and glasses, the laser eye operation is getting more and more favored as a permanent solution for virtually any eye problem. Laser eye treatment is a relatively affordable procedure for any adult with eye impairment. The surgical procedure can take as little as 15 minutes per eye.

During the laser eye operation routine, a laser scans your eyes to find out and probe as many different points on your cornea as achievable. In order to restore your vision, the eye doctor will use a computer software programme to determine where the irregularities are and which corrections are necessary. The cornea can then be reshaped in order to restore your vision back to 20/20.

In most of the procedures, there is no further requirement for another operation, since the vision restored after the surgery is then permanent. As for guarantees, many of the laser eye clinics give a lifetime guarantee which protects you in case of the need for any enhancements or even extra corrective treatment.

Laser eye treatment is a pain free and permanent procedure to repair your vision and free you from the requirement to wear contact lenses and glasses There are very few side effects. One possibility is the eye getting infected, but the probability of this happening is 1 out of every 5000. If you adhere to your doctor’s recommendation and you don't maltreat or directly touch your eye inside a 24 hour period of the operation, you'll have nothing to be concerned about. Within even three days of having laser eye treatment the patient can expect to return to work.

Studies and trials have been run in the US and also abroad to discover if having a laser eye operation actually produces a permanent outcome. It is quite normal that even though the results of laser eye treatment are permanent, you may still require additional treatment simply because you and therefore your eyes are getting older.

By Lewis Colyn

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How Does Laser Eye Surgery Affect The Eyes?

In order to truly comprehend the effect of laser eye surgery, we must first consider the vision anomalies that it treats. It is a general belief that common refractive errors, such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism, are attributable to certain irregularities in the shape of the cornea. Due to such anomalies, light rays entering the eye don’t fall exactly on the retina (a layer of light sensing cells) thereby resulting in unclear vision. LASIK is a surgical procedure that aims to rectify these irregularities by reshaping the cornea.

LASIK restores visual acuity through precise ablation of the corneal tissue with the aid of a high precision laser, an excimer laser, which is a “cool” laser that precisely carves the cornea without heating or damaging the surrounding tissue. Once reshaped, the cornea enables the desired accurate refraction, since the light rays now fall precisely on the retina.

Laser eye surgery imparts enhanced visual acuity, without the need for corrective lenses. With the superlative technology at its disposal, laser eye surgery provides excellent results that are rather impressive. An estimated 98% of patients are within 1 diopter of their refractive error following surgery, possessing unaided visual acuity of 6/12 or better. Over half of the patients achieve unaided visual acuity of 6/6, which is the standard visual acuity. However, visual acuity may sometimes be worthless if vision quality is sacrificed in process. Though rare, laser eye surgery complications like halos, glare and double vision may cause vision quality deterioration, rendering blurry vision.

The complications, if any, may be a source of discomfort. The use of prescription eye drops and artificial tear drops helps in soothing the eyes thereby averting the irritable feeling in the eyes that creeps up after surgery. These side effects are known to subside within a few months and the refraction stabilizes within 3 to 6 months following surgery.

Nevertheless, LASIK is a viable, safe and efficacious procedure. Its effects are permanent on the eyes. That is, the refraction attained lasts forever unless otherwise altered due to age related eye ailments, such as presbyopia, which is known to affect almost every individual in their mid to late 40s.

If you find a LASIK surgery that you are confident with, you will be able to get more information about the effects of LASIK laser eye surgery.

By Nicola Kennedy

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Laser Eye Surgery: A More and More Popular Procedure

Laser eye surgery is becoming more and more popular as more research is conducted and more sophisticated procedures are being developed. Laser eye surgery is the best alternative to glasses or contact lenses, as it removes the need to don any object in order to improve upon one's sight. Laser eye surgery is now much more safer and less expensive then it was ten years ago, and no one can foresee the advances that scientists will make in the field in ten years.

Specialized doctors all across the nation are now involved in this field. The business is lucrative, as many people are interested in the procedure, as well as prestigious. The service is even being advertised heavily on TV now, and there are many establishments completely devoted to laser eye surgery.

As stated, laser eye surgery is very cheap (relatively) nowadays. Some companies who have put their businesses online proclaim they will perform the procedure for less than three hundred dollars. On television, advertisements for laser eye surgery have deals such as, "Pay $2,000 for one eye, and get the second eye half off!" Some people have even pondered about getting one eye done and then having the other done months or even years later, just to save money.

Some of the long term effects of laser eye surgery are not yet known. A humorous look at a possibly "blinding" effect is your eyes falling out after ten years (Simpsons). Of course, that is extremely unlikely, if not totally impossible, as an effect that extreme. However, it is truly unknown about some of the lesser serious long term effects laser eye surgery, but that small possibility should not stop anyone from receiving the procedure, if they need it.

It might be better to wait a few more years before having laser eye surgery, as so far the research has been exponential and it become even more safer and effective then it is now in just a few years. Still, the technology today is still amazing, and it is definitely worth having the procedure done now.
By Gabriel J. Adams

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