Lasik Eye Surgery FAQ

The PROs

An analysis published by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery with over 3,000 articles over the last 10 years, including 19 studies from 2200 patients showed a satisfaction rate of 95.4 patients through LASIK world. It certainly attribute much of this process can see some of the basics.

• No new contacts eye infections.
• contacts and glasses are recurrent, LASIK is an investment of time with little maintenance.
• Prompt treatment (only a few minutes duration) and immediate results.
• Little or no pain – the cutting process feel more like pressure to the cornea, and not every type of incision.
• A unique process, unlike most other procedures, the whole operation did not take more than a day.
• Also, unlike other methods of operation requires only a slight variation on the cornea.
• LASIK and other procedures because it can correct your vision and you can get drivers licenses and open certain careers (Experimental Marine Infantry, recreational pilots, etc.)

The CONs

Sounds so beautiful, this operation is May, and again there are complications, you should weigh before the operation.

• Surgery can cause: dry eyes, double vision
• LASIK surgery is a relatively new and lacks long-term studies are rare complications unexplored.
• Success depends entirely on the surgeon, because it is a relatively new procedure, there are many approaches to the process. BE sure differnt SERVICE researched and surgeons.
• The opening of the valve surgery is necessary can be used many times.
• If you presbyopia (the need for reading glasses) you’ll still need reading glasses, but could you talk to your doctor about the vision mono if you only have 40 or 40 years.

Factors to consider when you review the qualifications and skills to refractive surgery:

• Licensing. State regulators are not able to confirm the appointment of a surgeon. You can also use the credentials of a surgeon, about the Practitioner Data Bank.

• Certification Board. Ask if the surgeon is a specialist with a basic license to practice medicine. This means that an institution that has been certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties recognized surgeon in the specialist area of practice. American Board of Ophthalmology is one of those institutions, the medical certificates required, complete and targeted training of professionals are linked.

• American College of Surgeons (ACS) is the candidate. The AEC confirmed, certified ethical conduct for all members of the chamber.

• “Many companies make LASIK sound like a stretch, and articles begin. But the truth is that surgery,” said Steve Updegraff, MD, a surgeon and medical director of Updegraff LASIK Vision in Tampa Bay, Florida, seem to warrant a doctor a member of the ACS is to choose. “The accreditation is fairly steep, and the group is optimistic about the progress in the field of surgery.

•  Surgeons who use the term “FACS” after her name is a member of the ACS.

• Display. Many refractive surgery centers, advertising in newspapers, radio and television. Some ads are more informative than others. Everything has some good prices. But while this may be a starting point, an announcement or a pricing system should not be your only criterion in choosing a physician.

• Recommendations. Transfer request from your doctor for an adjustment of the eye, where an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. Tell him you want the LASIK surgeons in your area with the best reputation in the industry. Also LASIK Surgeons May reputation as a great source of recommendations. If you know of a refractive surgery, called in a state other respects, his office and ask advice for a good surgeon in your area.

• Other resources. Visit the website of the American Academy of Ophthalmology http://www.aao.org where you can use the “Find an Eye MD feature. Be sure to specify” refractive surgery “under” specialties “. American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) is a list of members online, and to “find a surgeon” function.

You might want to start the yellow pages and refractive surgery centers in your area to find answers to your questions. Moreover, most refractive surgery centers, the sites are explaining their specialties, and a list of orders from their doctors. Some pages surgical center, you can also search for specific surgeons, if you have a name in mind.

LASIK Procedure

LASIK is the most frequently performed refractive surgery procedure. You hear the man as “Lasix,” but the name is actually an acronym for “laser assisted in situ keratomileusis.”

Why is it so popular? LASIK has advantages over other procedures, including a relative lack of pain and then the fact that achieved good vision is usually the next day.

An instrument called a microkeratome is used in LASIK to create a thin circular flap in the cornea. Another new way in the door equipped with a laser

The surgeon folds the flap back half, then some of cornea from the lower side begins with an excimer laser. The excimer laser uses a cool beam UV light (just remove “ablate”) very small pieces of tissue from the cornea to make it again.

When the cornea is reformulated in the right way, it works better to focus the light in one eye and the retina, providing clearer than before. The flap is then returned in their area, which was removed in the cornea.

Both nearsighted and farsighted people can benefit from the LASIK procedure. With nearsighted people, the goal is to cornea is too steep, flat, with farsighted people, a steep cornea is desired. This fact is not far from the consumers, can excimer laser to correct astigmatism by smoothing an irregular recognized cornea in a normal form.

During LASIK surgery

LASIK surgery is an outpatient, go to the medical center to have the procedure now and go again. In reality, the actual intervention is usually less than five minutes, and you’re awake all the time.

From time to time, the doctor will give a mild sedative orally.

During the procedure is relatively fast, which means that not minimize the importance of this fact by an expert surgeon, using his own resources, because LASIK is a very delicate procedure. They should someone go with you, to you, then go home.

Most people do not feel pain during LASIK surgery. Her eyes are anesthetized with special drops.

The doctor will be, then make sure that your eyes are positioned directly under the laser. (One eye is operated in a minute.) A kind of support over the eye in a position to keep the eyelids open – normally, which is not unpleasant. It is a suction ring, the pressure of the eye, LASIK is important to ensure that it keeps the surgeon to cut the corneal flap.

The surgeon will use an ink marker to mark the cornea before the flap is created. The flap is then either a microkeratome or with a laser, depending on what creates the operator. [More IntraLase laser that is used for this purpose.] During the procedure, you will not see the creation of the flap, which is very thin.
The doctor uses a computer to adjust the laser for your special recipe. You will be asked to see an easy target for a short period while he or she looks at the eye through a microscope while the laser light pulses sent by the cornea.

Pulses of laser light is then painless transformation of the cornea. You will hear a continuous clicking sound as the laser is operating. You are probably a slightly pungent odor caused by the removal of tissue odor. The higher the prescription, the more time the intervention takes place. The surgeon has full control over the laser and it can always be eliminated.

Once the process is complete, you will rest for a while. “If you place both eyes on the same day, the doctor will probably also the other eye to choose after a short time. Some people, in order to have their second eye done a week later .

Your doctor may prescribe medication for postoperative pain, but many people no more than mild pain after LASIK. This is an advantage over PRK, which can be very painful later.

4 percent of ordinary people lazy eye or amblyopia. At birth, the child usually learns to use his eyes when they are open. Seeing is a learned skill, and it can not simply because the person with the ability to use the eyes together, to focus Born. The fact is that children normally observed at birth and can not focus on objects up close. Development of the vision requires a fairly light stimulation. Otherwise, not normal neurological processes take place. Early support is for the eyes for the normal development of cells of the retina and are key drivers for delivery to the brain.

Lazy Eye is vision loss that occurs when the eyes do not function for a longer period. A lazy eye is usually loss of vision because the brain prevents. The lazy eye or the amblyopic eye is weaker or unused eye. Finally, since the lazy eye does not fulfill its function is overlooked. The two eye muscles must work together to concentrate. This is usually the case for those with good vision. It is a muscle imbalance in Lazy Eye, that causes the brain to reject the image of the weaker eye, eventually leading to loss of vision in the weaker eye.

If a child has a squint, is a chronicle of myopia or hyperopia in one eye and left untreated, lazy eye can not be corrected. It is important that lazy eye is detected and treated early in very young children. But if nothing else did – make early detection and prevention Lazy Eye can be treated or normalized. For adults with lazy eye, LASIK can sometimes use to be made. The thing is, however, that LASIK can not improve vision, but he can not change the inability to see the brain. The LASIK procedure can be anything on the transfer of images to the brain from the cells of the retina.

LASIK can not be resolved, the faulty neurological connections, which was acquired in childhood due to inadequate light stimulation. LASIK can not guarantee that the correct image in the eyes of the retina is positioned in reducing farsightedness, astigmatism, or short. This is only a probability as LASIK can provide better visual acuity or health. Adults with Lazy Eye intend to undergo LASIK for the correction, it is advisable to speak openly and honestly in the eye surgery before you decide to implement your plan. Do not expect a simple answer to your ophthalmologist if LASIK is appropriate and effective for you and your eyes.

Consider also the second and third opinion in this case to see if LASIK for the correction of lazy eye can see. Be careful, because the medical field is also a business and people can easily fall prey to profit. Make sure you have a surgeon confidence to be established which foremostly welfare and well-being in mind.

Like every medical procedure has some risks of refractive surgery. For example, approximately 1-2% of patients have not so good with the glasses after LASIK as they before surgery with glasses. This undesirable result is called “loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and is usually caused by abnormal healing after an uneventful operation.

Please note that you can still experience some unwanted side effects after LASIK, even if your visual acuity 20/20 or better.

LASIK complications (or any other method of refractive surgery such as PRK, EPI-LASIK or LASEK) are rare, and most can be successfully managed by your ophthalmologist.

Epithelial ingrowth is just one of several possible LASIK complications. This is when cells from the surface layer of the cornea (the epithelium) grows beneath the corneal flap, after being replaced in the laser-treated area was started. Epithelial ingrowth may not become apparent until several weeks after the operation. (This is a basic post-operative visits with your eye doctor are important.)

When epithelial cells grow under the corneal flap, they can obscure and interfere with light in the eye, distorting vision. If that happens, you can eliminate your LASIK surgeon the problem by surgically lifting the flap and the removal of “The Wayward epithelial cells, which normally consists of clear vision. (Sometimes a bandage contact lens may be used for a few days to help the valve seal better and reduce the risk of recurrence of epithelial ingrowth to.)

(Epithelial ingrowth is not a potential complication of PRK, EPI-LASIK, LASEK or LASIK, because no style flaps are created in these proceedings.)

You can minimize the risk of complications after refractive surgery, giving your careful choice of refractive surgery and the optometrist or ophthalmologist who do you, pre-and postoperative care. Likewise, it is very important to follow the advice of your doctor and do not miss any scheduled postoperative visits.

Minor complications of LASIK
Minor LASIK complications are temporary in most cases and are often easily treated by your healthcare provider. They include, but are not limited to:

• Mild inflammation
• Dry Eyes
• Epithelial looseness or ingrowth
• moved, displaced, and / or folding doors.

Major complications of LASIK
Major complications are rare complications associated with LASIK. These complications occur in fewer than 1 in 100 cases.�
Major complications of LASIK may include, but are not limited to:

• Severe infections
• Severe bleeding
• Flap complications
• Inflammation
• Retinal detachment
• Thinning of the cornea
• Decentralization when the laser is not right in the eye, centered
• Under-or overcorrection
• Mechanical equipment failure
• Perforation or a hole in the cornea
• Other rare and unlikely events.

A leading refractive surgery industry analysts, the average price for LASIK in the United States in 2009, conducted approx. U.S. $ 2,100 per eye. This figure is essentially unchanged from the previous year.

The price depends on you actually pay for your LASIK surgery, a number of factors, including:

• The type of laser technology you choose
• The type of surgical instrument used to create the corneal flap
• Whether testing pre-op and follow-up visits are covered in the fee
• Whether the post-op medications are covered in the fee
• Regardless of whether rechallenge (if necessary) are covered in the fee
• The ability, reputation and experience of your surgeon
• The municipality and the region of the country where you live

LASIK Options

The cheapest option (not wavefront guided created) LASIK with the corneal flap with a mechanical microkeratome. It is also the oldest LASIK technology.
Although the results are generally very good with standard LASIK, it has a higher risk for certain complications, including flap problems. Nighttime glare and other visual disturbances may also more frequently after standard LASIK compared to newer technology and more advanced wavefront LASIK.

The most expensive option is usually made of wavefront guided LASIK with the latest generation of excimer laser and the corneal flap created with the latest generation of femtosecond (IntraLase) laser. The wavefront-guided technology uses a precise computer-generated image of view of the excimer laser guide because it distorts the cornea, which is often better visual results than standard LASIK. And with a laser to create the corneal flap eliminates the risk of complications for most areas safe, comfortable psychologically LASIK.

Expect to pay about $ 350 to $ 500 per eye for wavefront creates guided LASIK with a laser created corneal flap, compared to standard LASIK with a flap with a microkeratome blade.
Costs on the same 2008 report cited above, wavefront-guided LASIK flap with the IntraLase, an average of $ 2357) per eye ($ 4.714 for each eye, while the average cost for LASIK with a standard microkeratome flap $ 1694 per eye ($ 3,388) for both eyes.

Lasik Eye Surgery for Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a fairly common structural disorder of the eye. It occurs when the external lens, the cornea changes its shape to be spherical natural elliptical shape like a rugby ball. This light enters the eye causes as broken unevenly and at home two points Split – instead of a clear image of the retina at the back of the eye.

What is astigmatism?

If you have astigmatism, you will hardly see the two objects close-up and away, and if not resolved can cause squinting and headaches. Wearing glasses or contact lenses to mask the problem so that both eyes to focus properly. However, do not really cure astigmatism and in some cases may even aggravate it.

The special contact lenses worn astigmatism May temporarily solved overnight, or for a permanent result, there are several surgical options, including laser eye surgery. Although somewhat more complex (the treatment of myopia nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness), the laser eye surgery is still very effective in cases of astigmatism.