6 Things to Know before Getting LASIK
For many people with refractive vision errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, LASIK provides an excellent solution that will help restore clear vision. The procedure has been approved by the FDA for 20 years and by now, millions of people have enjoyed the benefits associated with LASIK.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, approximately 700,000 LASIK procedures are performed each year in the United States. In addition, the American Refractive Surgery Council has reported that approximately 99% of LASIK patients achieve 20/40 vision or better and over 90% of patients achieve 20/20 vision or better. Considering the large sample size of patients undergoing LASIK, this is a truly impressive success rate.
If you’re tired of the hassles associated with wearing glasses and contacts every day, LASIK may be able to help you eliminate this dependence on corrective lenses once and for all. However, it’s important to fully understand the procedure before moving forward with surgery. This will not only help you set realistic expectations for your outcome, but it will also ensure that you do everything required on your end to facilitate the best possible results.
Your Surgeon Matters
The skill and experience of your surgeon plays an important role in the results you achieve. No two people have the exact same eyes or the exact same vision issue. Therefore, your procedure must be customized to address your unique needs and goals. Working with a LASIK surgeon who has performed thousands of procedures throughout his career will increase the likelihood that these subtleties are accounted for during LASIK.
When evaluating LASIK surgeons, make sure to consider the following:
· How long has the surgeon been performing LASIK?
· How many LASIK procedures has the surgeon performed during his/her career?
· What pre-operative and post-operative care is provided as part of this procedure, and is there an additional cost for this care?
· Is there a charge for any potential enhancement procedures needed?
· What type of results has the surgeon achieved on patients with similar refractive errors?
· Will the latest and most advanced technology be used during my procedure?
Inquiring about technology is important. You will want to work with a LASIK surgeon that uses the most advanced technology since this will improve the precision of your results, reduce your risk of complications, and lower your chances of needing an enhancement procedure.
Follow All Pre-Surgery Instructions
Your doctor gives you these pre-surgery instructions for a reason. Following them carefully will set you up for a successful procedure, while ignoring them may increase the likelihood of complications.
Two of the most important directives you’ll receive from your surgeon are:
· Discontinue wearing soft contact lenses at least 2 weeks prior to undergoing LASIK (discontinue wearing hard or gas permeable lenses at least 3 weeks before surgery)
· Stop wearing makeup before LASIK
The first instruction may be the most important to follow. When you wear contact lenses, it alters the shape of your cornea. In order for the laser to properly adjust the curvature of your cornea, you will need to give your eyes time to return to their original shape before LASIK is performed. This takes several weeks to occur. While the guidelines listed above are minimum requirements, you will actually benefit from giving your eyes even more of a break from contacts before your surgery day.
The reason to discontinue wearing makeup before LASIK is to reduce the risk of developing an infection after the surgery has been completed. No one likes an infection. This can seriously impact your healing, comfort and results. Foregoing makeup for a few days is a worthwhile tradeoff for avoiding an infection.
You may Need Glasses after LASIK
While it’s common for LASIK to eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses, this does not occur 100% of the time. As stated above, approximately 99% of patients achieve 20/40 vision or better after LASIK. This is generally the level of vision required to operate a motor vehicle without corrective lenses. So in most instances, you will no longer need glasses after your procedure.
However, there are limitations to what can be achieved with LASIK. If you have a severe prescription, you may experience significant improvement in your vision after LASIK, but still require glasses to provide truly clear, sharp vision. In cases of extremely severe refractive errors, you may find that you aren’t a good candidate for LASIK at all. During your consultation, you should ask your surgeon what type of results you can reasonably expect to achieve from your procedure. Many patients find that they are still happy with their results even if they need glasses after surgery.
You may Experience Mild Side Effects while Your Eyes Heal
While serious complications are very rare, it’s common to experience certain side effects during the healing process. These include:
· Dry eyes
· Halos and glare around bright lights
· Light sensitivity
· Blurry vision and fluctuations in the quality of vision
· Tearing
These issues will gradually subside as your eyes heal and are generally nothing to be concerned about. However, you should always report any of these issues to your surgeon so that he can monitor them throughout your recovery.
You’ll Need to Take a Break from Sports
You’ll need to avoid participating in contact sports and other physical, athletic activities for approximately 4–6 weeks. During this time, the corneal flap is still healing and an injury sustained in a sports accident can potentially damage your eye. It’s important to take every possible precaution to protect your eyes until they are fully healed.
Not Everyone Is a LASIK Candidate, but there Are Alternatives
It’s important to understand that not everyone is a good LASIK candidate. Some factors that may prevent you from successfully undergoing LASIK include:
· Corneas that are too thin to accommodate the creation of a LASIK flap
· Corneas that are severely misshapen
· Severe vision problems (prescription stronger than +6.00 diopters for hyperopia, stronger than -12.00 diopters for myopia, and more than 6 diopters of astigmatism)
· Bad case of chronic dry eye syndrome
· Corneal scarring and other issues that impact the health of your eyes
In these instances, you may still be able to achieve clear vision through an alternative procedure such as Visian ICL or PRK. During your initial consultation, you should ask your doctor which option will deliver the best possible outcome for your unique vision issue.
Dr. Richard Foulkes is an ophthalmologist serving patients in the Chicago area for over 20 years. LASIK surgery is a primary focus of his practice.
