Category: Vision Health

Choosing a Good Lasik Surgeon

Improving your vision with a Lasik procedure could be one of the greatest gifts you could get for yourself. However, as my mother used to say, “Your eyes are precious.” It is important to entrust the Lasik operation to a doctor that you trust and have confidence in.

Let’s begin with three factors that should NOT be the sole reason you select a doctor for the Lasik procedure. The location of the office is not particularly important, and a number of people travel long distances to have the Lasik procedure done, for a truly professional doctor will only need to be visited two or three times. Also, cost or the type of Lasik technology used should not be the sole factor. The range in surgical skill for a Lasik operation does vary, and there is the old saying “you get what you pay for.” Further, though the newer types of Lasik procedures do have their benefits; many eye doctors in a large metropolitan area often offer two or three Lasik variants.

There are several ways to determine which is the best doctor for you in your area. One of the qualities to look for in a good Lasik physician is someone who can accurately assess your situation, and advise you if Lasik is even a good choice for you and your lifestyle. A physician that takes the time to discuss your own physical condition and situation with you is a good indicator that this is a Lasik physician that you can rely on.

Look for a Lasik doctor which has a solid reputation in the area, and has a good track record. A physician that advertises in a magazine is not a sufficient recommendation to put your trust in that doctor, and needs more investigation before agreeing to have him do your Lasik procedure. Sometimes a Lasik center with a large advertising campaign and discounted prices may be indicating that the quality of the surgery is not excellent, and this could be a red flag to avoid that center.

A good Lasik doctor should be involved in the entire Lasik process. As mentioned above, he should take time to assess your particular case and discuss it with you. Not only should he do the exam, but he should also perform most or all of the preoperative exam, and also should meet with you personally to monitor the success of the procedure at the dates for checkup. There are stories from some Lasik centers of the patients never seeing the physician again after the operation until they complained strenuously of some particular problem.

Make sure the physician is honest in their assessment of the general Lasik procedure, and his track record in particular. Ask for individual examples of patients that the physician dissuaded from having the Lasik operation, and why. Ask how many Lasik procedures the doctor has done in total, and how many in the last two years. An experienced surgeon should have performed in the neighborhood of 1000 Lasik procedures, with at least 500 of those in the last two years.

Use these questions as a starting point to investigate the Lasik centers in your area, and even the highly recommended ones in nearby major metropolitan areas. It will be time well invested, and the first step to a clearer future.

Am I a Good Candidate for Lasik?

So many people are interested in the Lasik vision correction procedure, and want to know 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.

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. If the eye shape changes after the Lasik operation is done, the clarity of vision will be affected. Some Lasik physicians recommend waiting until age 25 in some cases.

In addition to an age cutoff, the vision prescription for the Lasik candidate should be stable for at least one year, and preferably for longer than that. This is for the same reason as above, that the Lasik procedure will only continue to be effective if the eye shape remains constant after surgery.

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.

The eyes of the Lasik candidate should be healthy. This means that any person undergoing a Lasik procedure should have had no eye infection or injury for at least a year, and must have no scarring on the cornea of the eye. In addition, they must not have any recurring eye problem, such as a history of herpes infection in the eyes.

The medical history of a prospective Lasik client also plays an important part. Some chronic conditions, such as autoimmune disorders like Lupus, will prevent some people from being able to schedule a Lasik procedure. You should be very clear about any and all medical conditions that are current, or even completed ones in the past. Also, women who are pregnant or nursing should wait to have a Lasik procedure scheduled.

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. Most generally healthy people with standard vision problems benefit greatly from a Lasik procedure done by a trained, professional Lasik physician. Look for a good Lasik center in your area and discuss your individual case in detail.

What is True About Intra Lasik?

Now that Lasik vision correction surgery has been accepted for a number of years, there are several popular options for the procedure. One of these is IntraLasik, or Intralase, or bladeless Lasik. As the name implies, there is no cutting of the eye with a blade, instead the flap in the eye is made using a laser. Since bladeless Lasik is a newer procedure, there are a number of opinions around about how well this procedure works. Let’s look at several of these and determine which of these are true or false.

First, more Lasik clients get 20/20 vision or better using IntraLasik. Any Lasik procedure cannot guarantee perfect vision for every client, though more than 90% get results to at least 20/40 vision. However, it is true that the new techniques of IntraLasik do get even better statistics for giving clients clear vision.

Some are concerned that the laser that makes the corneal flap is standard, and cannot be tailored to each individual eye like can be done by the Lasik surgeon when using a blade. This is not true. The Lasik physician has control over the use of the laser for each individual in the same way that he can control the microkeratome blade.

IntraLasik can be used for both a standard and a custom Lasik procedure. This is true. Custom Lasik procedures using Wavefront technology (another somewhat recent advance in Lasik vision correction) can easily be used with a laser making the initial flap. This custom Lasik procedure, though more costly, is of great benefit for people with unusual eye shapes or problems.

Some have heard that using the laser is less accurate than the standard Lasik procedure. This is not true, since lasers can be controlled to micron level accuracy. This gives the Lasik physician extreme control to create exactly the flap needed for this particular individual eye: the precise size, shape, and depth for successful completion of the Lasik procedure.

Another common fallacy is that IntraLase has not been around long enough for trusted Lasik physicians to have confidence in it. On the contrary, many of the most honored Lasik physicians strongly endorse IntraLase due to the track record of very good results from the Lasik procedures. In addition, the quality of the machines and the precision that they give these Lasik physicians is very impressive. Many of the top flight Lasik doctors recommend this as a procedure of choice, assuming cost is not a significant variable in the decision of which Lasik procedure to use.

Similar to the objection above, some people think that Intralase is not a sufficiently test Lasik procedure option. On the contrary, more than one million of these procedures have been performed, and the impressive track record for this Lasik procedure has been discussed above. More and more Lasik physicians are trained in this option, and we will see many more such Lasik procedures in the future.

We hope that this discussion of bladeless Lasik has given more accurate information to those considering this Lasik technique. Please discuss this option with the professionals at your local Lasik center.

What is the Initial Lasik Eye Exam Like?

The first significant step before the Lasik surgery is to have a comprehensive eye examination, in order to be sure that you are a good candidate for the Lasik procedure. A map of your eye will be created during this exam. This map is used in order for the Lasik physician to determine how to reshape your eye to give you the clearest post-operative vision possible.

This eye exam will do several things. Your eyes will be dilated in order to see if there are any irregularities within the eye itself. The thickness of the cornea will be measured, and a precise map of the cornea will be generated. The “refractive error” (or the reason why your vision isn’t currently perfect) will be accurately analyzed in order for the Lasik procedure to get the best results possible. Finally, how your eyes generate tears will be closely looked at, as good tear production is essential for the health of every eye.

Before or after these measurements, the Lasik physician will discuss your past medical history to see any previous operations or any ongoing health problems. A few chronic conditions may make the Lasik procedure not a good option for some people, and also women currently expecting should wait for some time after delivery. The physician also will discuss the expectations the Lasik client has about the operation and subsequent changes in their lifestyle.

Though most people pass through this Lasik eye exam with flying colors, be prepared for some suggestions or serious discussion. Your eye map may indicate that a newer form of Lasik procedure might be better, such as one that generates a three dimensional waveform for each eye. Tear production issues may indicate that the Lasik procedure is not the best option for you, and the Lasik physician may recommend another solution.

If all goes well and the Lasik procedure is scheduled, the physician will review the treatment plan and what the client should do to prepare for the Lasik surgery. This plan may vary slightly between patients, but in general will look something like the schedule below. Always follow the recommendations of your Lasik physician closely.
First, contact lenses should be avoided for several weeks prior to Lasik vision correction, since contacts can slightly affect the shape of your cornea. It is important to let your eyes rest in order to get the most accurate Lasik vision improvement possible. Hard contacts should be avoided for a month, soft contacts for at least two weeks.

Stop using any lotions, makeup, or anything else that could possibly get into the eye the day or two before surgery. It is important to have your eyes as rested as possible before the Lasik operation. Also, arrange for someone else to drive you home after the Lasik procedure itself.

These are the most common steps to prepare you for an easy and successful Lasik procedure. Make sure you give the doctor all information needed for your case, and follow his directions closely. The Lasik procedure will give you a new outlook in life!