Am I a good candidate for Lasik?

2006-07-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

Lasik vision correction surgery can benefit many people who experience low to moderate vision problems. Lasik is a quick and painless procedure, but there are some risks and complications involved with the surgery. If you are thinking about have the Lasik procedure, it is important to understand what happens before, after and during surgery. It is also beneficial to have realistic expectations of the surgery before the procedure begins.

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

Am I a good candidate for Lasik? Whether or not you are a good candidate for Lasik depends on many factors. When you make an initial appointment for Lasik, your eye care professional will ask many questions and take a thorough health history. In addition, your eyes and the history of your vision problems will also be a major factor in whether or not you can have the Lasik procedure. For people with certain health problems such as autoimmune diseases and diabetes, Lasik is generally not recommended. Those under the age of 18 are also not good candidates. Certain degenerative eye diseases might also disqualify you from having Lasik. Your Lasik surgeon will make a decision based on all of these factors. Those who are not good candidates for the surgery can have poor outcomes.

2006-05-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Patients remain awake and alert during surgery, although the doctor may administer a mild sedative to help keep the patient calm and relaxed. Numbing eye drops will be applied to the eye to serve as a local anesthetic. Since the eyes natural tendency is to blink when it comes into contact with foreign items, it is necessary to secure the eyelids to keep them out of the way of the laser. This is done using an instrument called a lid speculum. Once the speculum is in place and the eye is cleaned, a small ring is placed on the cornea to apply a strong suction to the cornea. This part of the procedure can be a bit uncomfortable, but the strong suction ensures that the eyes remain immobile throughout the rest of the surgery.

Next a flap is cut into the cornea, leaving a small hinge to keep it attached to the eye. This flap may be made using a small razor sharp knife called a microkeratome, or by using a laser also called IntraLase. The suction ring serves as a precise guide for the microkeratome to ensure that the flap is made cleanly and accurately. After the cut has been made the suction ring is removed and the flap is gently teased away from the cornea and peeled back (towards the hinge) to reveal the underlying stroma.

The doctor will then dry the eye and ask the patient to stare at a fixed light, without moving, until the end of the procedure. Once the eye is in the proper position, the excimer laser will be activated. The surgeon will have already programmed the laser to remove the precise amount of tissue from the exact location(s) on your eye before the start of the procedure. More severe refractive errors will require a longer laser treatment, since more corneal tissue will need to be removed. As the laser pulses a beam of light into the eye to remove the excess tissue from the eye, the patient will hear a ticking or zapping sound and may smell an odor similar to that of burning hair. Once the laser has ceased pulsing, the surgeon will replace the corneal flap on the eye and smooth it out to ensure no surface wrinkles develop.

Since an eye is vulnerable after LASIK, it is very important to take extra precautions to protect the eye during the healing process. The doctor will give the patient an eye shield to wear immediately after the LASIK procedure. This shield should be worn while sleeping to prevent a person from rubbing their eye and dislodging the flap. The eye shield also prevents a person from inadvertently putting any pressure on the eye. Antibiotic ointment should be used to prevent infection from forming, while eye drops may be used to keep dry and scratchy eyes well-lubricated as they heal.

The doctor will make a follow-up appointment to evaluate the patients eyes within 24-48 hours from the time of surgery. This will allow the physician to monitor the healing process, evaluate the eyes for any potential problems, and begin accessing the success of the LASIK procedure. After the initial follow-up appointment, the patient will be asked to return for regular visits every few weeks, then every few months, until such time that the surgeon is confident that the procedure was successful.

Keep in mind that LASIK is not a risk-free procedure and that not all individuals are good candidates for LASIK. If you are interested in finding more about this procedure, contact your ophthalmologist and request an appointment. About the author: Gray Rollins is a featured writer for MyEyeSurgery.com. To learn more about LASIK eye surgery and LASIK eye surgeons, visit us.

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Am I a good candidate for Lasik?