Is Lasik Eye Surgery for You?

Lasik eye surgery offers some hope and an alternative for patients who want to get rid of their glasses or contact lenses. This type of procedure is effective for eight out of ten patients who undergo it for a variety of conditions including near sightedness, far sightedness or astigmatism.

Lasik eye surgery works by surgically creating a flap in the cornea with the goal of creating 20/25 vision. Patients who see success from Lasik are generally the patients who have decent eye sight before surgery and are not in a very strong prescription. If your vision is really bad you may not be able to completely get rid of your glasses or contacts but you may be able to reduce your prescription need.

The most common risk factors associated with eye surgery include under correcting or over correcting your vision. Under correcting is the most common side effect with near sightedness and requires an additional surgery to shave the correct amount of cornea off. Over correcting is not easy to fix since to much of the cornea was shaved off. Other side effects you should be aware of and discuss with your doctor before hand include dry eye and a loss of night vision. Some patients lose their ability to see contrasting colors which may mean they lose their driver’s license since they cannot safely drive any longer.

Not everyone is a good candidate for eye surgery, for example if you are under 18 years of age or pregnant you are not a viable candidate. You also shouldn’t have Lasik if you have a history of eye disease including thinning of the cornea, nerve damage or optic nerve damage. If you have very thin corneas you should also forgo the procedure since this risk factor may cause it to permanently make your vision worse instead of improving it. And patients who have very large pupils- over 7 mm- have been shown in studies to have more complications from the procedure than other patients and are not good candidates.

If you and your doctor decide you are a good candidate, you should be aware that it is not done under any anesthesia and you will be fully awake and aware about what is going on. However your doctor will probably give you some medication to relax you and will put numbing drops in your eyes so you won’t feel the laser or the effects of surgery. During the procedure which last thirty minutes your doctor will have you focus on a point of light and will place a suction ring around your eye that will create a sensation of pressure and help hold you in position.

After your surgery your eyes may itch, burn or feel watery and your vision may be blurred or you may temporarily have double vision. It takes two to three weeks for your eyes to fully heal and then you should be able to see clearly and reap the full benefits of your eye surgery.