Laser Eye Surgery - The Facts

One of the main reasons many people fear getting laser eye surgery is simply misinformation. There are a lot of half truths floating around about laser eye surgery that can compel someone who could be benefitted by receiving this procedure to not undertake it. Here is an overview of the basic facts about laser vision correction.

First of all, LASIK is nothing to fear. This procedure is not only one of the most common elective surgeries that people choose to have, it's also got one of the highest success rates and safety records among surgical procedures. Additionally, studies have shown that patients that took the time to educate themselves on what LASIK procedure they were getting as well as what to expect during and after surgery had a higher satisfaction rate than patients that didn't fully understand the procedure they were undergoing.

A common misconception is that LASIK is simply a laser that is targeted into the eye and you get better vision as a result. Actually LASIK is a surgical procedure but with new advancements is becoming less and less invasive. Laser vision correction surgery works by using a laser to create a bladeless cut into the cornea (the white part of your eye) and a small "door" is cut. That area is opened and excess tissue is removed via another laser and the flap is closed and allowed to heal. The process takes minutes per eye and many patients joke they waited longer in the waiting room than the actual procedure took.

Because of advancements in the LASIK procedure, there are specialized lasers and technologies to address almost any eye issue. People with thin corneas, numerous areas of correction on the cornea and people that needed large amounts of correction weren't candidates for laser eye surgery. In the present, those individuals can utilize the technologies in Wavefront or Femto-LASIK to reach their goals of corrected vision.

LASIK surgery however is still not recommended for individuals under the age of 18 as the eye usually isn't fully developed. Additionally, women who are pregnant or nursing are not candidates for LASIK as the hormones released during pregnancy and nursing can actually change the shape of the eye. People that are taking prescription medications including, oral Prednisone or Accutane should consult with a doctor and let them know about these medications before LASIK is attempted as these drugs can affect the outcome of the surgery.

Perfect vision isn't a guarantee with LASIK, although advancements in laser eye surgery such as Wavefront that allows the surgeon to "see" microscopically both inside and outside the eye have made this a much more attainable goal for many people. Some people will need "refinement" to their procedure although with customized LASIK, this isn't an issue as often as it is with traditional LASIK.

And those are the basics for LASIK. If you're considering having this life enhancing surgery, find a doctor near you and set up a consultation. Finding out the best method your vision correction needs will be a match for will enable you to do more research and feel good about having LASIK like millions of other people now enjoying improved vision and freedom from glasses.