Questions You May Have About Lasik Surgery

If you are like millions of people who wear glasses, you probably catch yourself pushing your glasses up on your nose several times a day. Many people can only dream of going without glasses. Well, may not wear glasses much longer, after consulting with a Lasik surgeon. Lasik surgery has become the most prevalent type of eye surgery in the last decade.

How is Lasik surgery done?

The Lasik eye surgeon makes a flap in your cornea so that he/she can use a special type of laser, called Eximer laser, to reshape the inner part of the cornea. Reshaping the cornea allows light to come in and focus properly on the retina.

Who is best suited for Lasik surgery?

People who are in their early 20s are usually great candidates for Lasik surgery. Younger adults can usually regain perfect or near perfect visual acuity after having Lasik eye surgery. Younger people having vision problems such as myopia (nearsightedness), astigmatism (irregular shape to the cornea), and hyperopia (farsightedness) are good candidates for Lasik surgery.

Are people 40 and over good candidates for Lasik surgery?

People who are under 40 years of age who have near sightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism are the best candidates for Lasik surgery. This is not to say that people over the age of 40 can't have Lasik surgery, but the clients should understand their expectations may be greater than the end result. The reason that people over the age of 40 are sometimes not good candidates for Lasik surgery is that permanent changes are made to the eyes due to the loss of elasticity. You may have noticed that as you age your visual acuity isn't as good as it used to be. People over the age of 40 often have to wear bifocal lenses so they can focus on reading and nearby objects. Oftentimes, due to aging, their corneas and other structures within the eyes become misshapen, which causes the eyes not to focus very well. Lasik surgery will not cure this problem, but it may improve it some so that you don't have to wear special reading glasses. Only your eye specialist will be able to advise you about having Lasik surgery after the age of 40.

What will happen when you have prior to having Lasik surgery?

The ophthalmologist will need to examine your corneas to see if they are hearty enough to endure the surgery. The doctor will need to measure your corneas with a special type of optical equipment that measures the surface and the thickness of your corneas; this is called 3D mapping. With 3D mapping, your surgeon will know the present shape of your corneas, and what surgical corrections, through Lasik surgery, need to be made to improve your vision.

What will happen during Lasik surgery?

You will be given a slight sedative, but you will be totally awake for this procedure. The Lasik surgeon will instill drops into your eyes. The eye drops will likely be an anti-inflammatory drug and an antibiotic; they are instilled into the eyes to prevent infection and inflammation. The surgeon doing the Lasik eye surgery will create a flap in your cornea, using the laser scalpel. Then on the inside of the cornea, the doctor will make tiny corrections to reshape the cornea.

Conclusion

Everyone wonders if Lasik surgery hurts. It may be slightly uncomfortable, but it really doesn't hurt a lot. You may feel a little scratchiness during the procedure. Your eyes might ache awhile afterward. It's important that you wear sunglasses when you go out into the sun. You should be able to see much better immediately after surgery, and your vision should improve as time goes on. There is no sure time limit to say when total healing has taken place, but most people are healed within a few weeks.

There is no guarantee that your vision will be perfect after having Lasik surgery. Most people, who do have some problems seeing can have a second procedure done to fine tune the previous surgery by achieving the right shape to the cornea to see clearly.

Older people having Lasik surgery may still have to wear glasses if they have eye changes due to the aging process. Many older people do have Lasik surgery, but some of them still have to wear glasses. Many people who have to wear bifocals often get to shed those and that is a plus. Your doctor will advise you as to what your activities of daily living should be for the first few days after surgery.

Sources:

WebMD

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