Lasik Laser Vision Surgery and its Side Effects

Lasik laser vision correction procedures help enable a patient to become less dependent, if at all, on corrective glasses or contact lenses. Most people who have the surgery done go from fully relying on corrective lenses in order to see clearly to having near perfect vision within a matter of minutes. However, all procedures come with risks and Lasik is no different.

The use of a specialized cold beam laser to reshape the cornea of the eye providing clear vision is involved in the Lasik laser vision correction procedure. There are many side effects associated with this procedure that the patient should be aware of.  

The most common side effect is that the dependency on corrective lenses is still there, even after the surgery. Sometimes lenses are needed for night driving, reading or in some cases, all the time. Although additional lenses may be needed, they are often of a weaker prescription than what was used prior to the surgery. Although they can do things to treat it, the effect may never go away completely.  

People with severe nearsightedness or farsightedness are at a higher risk of needing additional support from corrective lenses after surgery than those with typical or minor vision problems. Patients will need to have an understanding of realistic expectations for the surgery prior to committing to Lasik laser vision correction.  

A person should consider all the possible negative repercussions of Lasik laser vision correction. After having the surgery done some patients may experience halos, glares, or even double vision. This is most commonly noted during nighttime and associated with night driving.

One of the risks with Lasik laser vision correction is dry eye, or keratoconjunctivitis sicca, also known as KCS.   The laser severs some of the nerves in the eye as it repairs the shape of the cornea during the Lasik procedure. The nerves typically repair themselves over time however, for some, permanent damage may occur, resulting in dry eye as the nerves are unable to transmit the information that causes the tear ducts to product tears when the eye is too dry. This issue may be controlled using medicated drops long term yet sight might be impaired because of dry eye and irritation.

A small percentage of Lasik laser eye correction patients are diagnosed with an infection as a result of the surgery. This is often easily controlled and cured with oral and topical medications and rarely occurs. For example, a Northern California eye surgery center makes available classes with an eye doctor in Stockton for Lasik eye surgery in Stockton so the patient is informed week’s before making an appoitnent.

Smoky vision is the standard side effect most people have once they come out of surgery. Smoky vision often diminishes several hours after Lasik surgery has been performed. Small irritation is also an effect and a lot of the times is described as a grain of sand in your eye. This is also temporary and will resolve itself in a few days.

Comprehending common Lasik laser eye correction risks can assist in enabling individuals to make an educated choice regarding the surgery. Other side effects and risks will be talked about with the eye care laser surgeon and provider throughout counseling before getting Lasik surgery. Evaluating the risks may assist in figuring out whether someone’s a Lasik Laser vision correction candidate, or not.

Are You A Good Candidate for The Lasik Procedure?

So many people are interested in the Lasik vision correction procedure, and want to know the cost of Lasik eye surgery, the benefits, the risks, and how the Lasik procedure works.  One of the first things to consider is what requirements a person should meet in order to have a successful Lasik procedure.  Though each individual case should be discussed with a qualified Lasik physician, here are some guidelines to see if you are a good candidate for Lasik vision correction.

Age Requirement

First, the eye should be properly matured.  This means that anyone under the age of 18 really needs to wait before a Lasik procedure is done, for it is likely that the shape of their eye will continue to change for several years.Vision clariy will not be affected after the Lasik procedure as long as the shape of the eye doesn’t change.The age of 25 is the minimum age limit recommended by some Lasik physicians.

In addition to an age cutoff, the vision prescription for the Lasik eye surgery candidate should be stable for at least one year, and preferably for longer than that.For the same reason stated previously, the shape of the eye must stay the same after the surgery in order for the procedure to maintain its effectiveness.

One comment about age cutoffs should be made with regard to Lasik surgery.  There is no maximum age, as many patients in their fifties to their eighties have had a very successful Lasik procedure.  The main consideration in these cases is enough tear production for successful healing and lubrication after the Lasik vision correction.

Health

The eyes of the Lasik candidate should be healthy.As a result, no one with an injury, eye infection, or cornea scarring should undergoe a Lasik operation at the minimum for a year.Moreover, no chronic eye issues must be present, such as herpes infection.

A critical part is also the potential Lasik patient’s medical history.  Some chronic conditions, such as autoimmune disorders like Lupus, will prevent some people from being able to schedule a Lasik procedure.Be aware of any current medical conditions, as well as the ones from the past that are no longer an issue.In addition, pregnant women, or ones who are nursing, should avoid having lasik surgery for awhile.

A good Lasik physician will also not schedule people with dry eye syndrome for Lasik vision correction.  Having sufficient tear production is important, though for minor problems this may be aided by medication during the healing process.  In addition, those people with eyes that dilate very widely are not good candidates for Lasik. 

These are most of the most common reasons that a person should look at some other eye improvement choice other than Lasik.People who are generally healthy and get the procedure done by a qualified, professional Lasik physician will greatly benefit from it.  Look for a good Lasik center in your area and discuss your individual case in detail.

More: Lasik Eye Surgery Complications

It’s Time to Sit Back and Relax about Your LASIK Eye Surgical Procedure

Considering the idea of getting a Lasik eye surgery procedure done is a big deal and many times people are timid in asking the imprortant questions that are going through their head.  The Lasik procedure, though widely talked about, is not discussed in detail, and people tend to fear the unknown.  I am going to discuss in this report some of the most common fears that people have, and also about what a vast majority of the people experience when they undergo a LASIK procedure.

The fear that most people have when they are considering a LASIK surgery is whether there is going to be any pain throughout the procedure as well as after. Since the patient is conscious when the procedure is being performed on them this is a highly understandable fear. In every operation the Lasik surgeon applies numbing drops into the eyes before the procedure starts, and the patient is also given a mild sedative to relax them and make sure that they are comfortable.   About all you will feel throughout the procedure is a small pressure to your eyeball, which is common and doesn’t really hurt at all.

The cornea is reshaped during the procedure by the use of a laser. Many folks are worried about the laser being shone directly into the eye, or that they might look away and, due to this, develop a serious complication with their eyes and the Lasik laser beam effects. The reality of the laser beam though is that is only used for 10 or 15 seconds for each eyeball, and there is no danger of a laser beam damage because the machine detects movement and shuts off if your eyeball is not in the right position.

Another thing that people are really afraid about when contemplating any type of medical procedure is the scalpel. Any Lasik procedure uses only a very small microkeratome blade to approach the eye, or some more recent Lasik innovations have the laser itself create the flap and avoid using any hard surface at all.  There isn’t any real reason to be concerned about them being cut on with a scalpel in this procedure as the surgeon doesn’t use one.

A lot of people have concerns about the different horror stories they might’ve heard about different procedures and are concerned about consequences of the operation like blindness.  In order to alleviate these fears the FDA states that there are no reported cases of blindness that are caused by a LASIK surgery procedure. Actually, the risk of a serious permanent complication due to the Lasik procedure is less than 1 percent, and the risk of any permanent complications even if not serious (such as light halos) is 3 percent or less.  It is extremely rare for a patient to not have improved vision after a Lasik procedure.

If it is really a big concern of yours that somebody is going to be working on your eyeball while you can see them, please take into consideration that your eyeball is going to be completely numb and you will be on a mild sedative.  If the thought of actually seeing the Lasik physician’s hand approaching your eye is bothersome, be comforted that the surgeon applies drops to the eye that blacks out the vision in that eye for ten to fifteen seconds, which is long enough for the procedure to be done for that eye.

This introduction has hopefully addressed the most common fears about the Lasik procedure.  For anyone that might gain a better life quality with improved vision, please visit your local Lasik clinic and discuss the procedure in detail with the professionals there.

 

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Even Someone Who’s a Frady Cat Can Go through a LASIK Procedure

If you spend any time on forums or chat rooms while online that deal with the topic of LASIK surgery, you probably wonder why anyone would work up the courage to set up a LASIK procedure, and why in the world they would even want one. The various Lasik eye surgery centers sound anywhere from impersonal to something similar to Dr. Frankenstein’s lab, and the Lasik procedure itself sounds, well, surreal.  In reality to me it seems like the only people who would want to schedule such a procedure are people with incredibly bad vision who have to sit 2 inches from the television to see it clearly.

If you are willing to listen I’m now going to give you my story of how I came about choosing LASIK.  First of all, my vision is not good, but not terrible either.  I can actually go to movies and see well enough to enjoy the film without glasses, but I need glasses to drive in order to read the street signs far enough away to act on the information. So the fact is I really didn’t need LASIK surgery, I just figured that it would help to make my life a little simpler. I love the outdoors, and very frequently I like to take the mountain bike rides as well as spending some time backpacking and climbing hills. Glasses do not last long with me, and I am frequently grinding into the dirt which is not the best situation for contact lenses.  For these reasons, the sound of LASIK eye surgery was highly appealing.

After reading the paragraph above you might think that I’m kind of athletic, and it’s true that I am, so you might be thinking why it would be afraid of such a thing as a little scalpel? LASIK really doesn’t use a scalpel, but instead it uses something called a microkeratome blade, but it is still an  incredibly sharp object that is cutting my eye during the LASIK procedure.  These days however, LASIK surgeons don’t have to use that blade either, as they can do the cutting with a laser which is much better than a sharp blade.  This is the fact that nobody is perfect, and I myself have had way too many accidents to feel comfortable with somebody getting near my eye with a sharp object.

After talking with three (yes, three!) independent Lasik physicians, they each assured me that a 28 year old guy in nearly perfect health (OK, I exaggerate a bit) with moderate nearsightedness was one of the very best candidates for a successful Lasik procedure.  After discussing this procedure with the surgeons, I scheduled my operation with the surgeon that had by far the best record, and who spent the most time going over the process with me.

I didn’t feel any pain during the LASIK surgery, though I took the sedative that they offered me and I even accepted the comfort of a little teddy bear that they offered.  The only thing that was really strange about procedure that I didn’t really care for it was the smell of burning hair. I suppose that was my eye.  It’s a good thing they didn’t tell me to expect that smell as if they would have you might not have been so quick to sign up.

It’s been a few years now, and I suppose I was a perfect client for LASIK, as they still have 20/20 vision and it has remained stable for a long time now. I say that if you are a good candidate for a Lasik vision correction procedure, grab that teddy bear and go on in.

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What is involved in effective Post-Op Lasik Care

What is involved in effective Post-Op Lasik Care

One of the most marvelous advancements using modern technology is the Lasik vision correction procedure, where in the space of fifteen minutes many people can reduce or eliminate their reliance on glasses or contact lenses.  There is very little preparation for the surgery on the Lasik patient’s side, and the Lasik procedure itself takes less than twenty minutes.

With current technology and an excellent Lasik physician, there is a very high success rate for nearly all Lasik surgeries.  Though not all patients get or keep exactly 20/20 vision, there is a vast improvement in the Lasik client’s vision and dependence on corrective eyewear.  The two most important factors under the patient’s control is the choice of the physician and good post-operative care.

After visiting a few physicians or clinics that perform Lasik procedures, the client should have a very good idea of how they will be treated as a patient of that doctor.  It is important to find a Lasik physician whose staff is responsive to questions and worries, and who are willing to see a post-operative Lasik client who is having a problem with their care.

This is one of the more common complaints of those folks that undergo a Lasik procedure: insufficient information about post-operative Lasik side effects, or a staff that simply says “Lots of people experience that, no problem,” when the patient actually should be seen by a member of the staff.  A visit where the prospective Lasik patient talks with both the physician and one or two members of the staff will get an idea of how well a patient is welcomed once the Lasik procedure is completed.

During this initial investigative visit, the client should ask the Lasik staff for a list of common, temporary side effects that can be experienced after a Lasik procedure.  The staff member should describe any cases where the patient should make a point of contacting the Lasik center, rather than just enduring the side effect.  Cases of pain, intense itching, or seriously blurred vision may indicate an infection or other serious problem, and should be seen promptly.  It is truly very rare that any of these complications exist after a Lasik procedure, but make sure that the center is willing to see the patient if they think something is more than mildly wrong.

One of the more common side effects after a Lasik operation is some form of dry eye, which often occurs during the nighttime while asleep.  Not only is this uncomfortable, but if the eyelid sticks even slightly to the eye itself, it may dislodge the surgical flap done in the Lasik procedure, and delay healing of the eye.  If this occurs, the Lasik center has several different viscosities, or thicknesses, of eye drops to alleviate this problem.  The staff should be promptly notified so this problem can be addressed immediately.

A good, responsive staff surrounding an excellent Lasik physician is the most important component in how to select a doctor.  Interviewing the physician and staff about all aspects of the Lasik procedure, both the procedure itself and post-operative care, is the best way to make an excellent choice.