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LASIK
Eye Surgery Information to help the
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Some
patients may develop debilitating visual symptoms. Some patients develop
glare, halos, and/or double vision that can seriously affect nighttime
vision. Even with good vision on the vision chart, some patients do not see
as well in situations of low contrast, such as at night or in fog, after
LASIK as compared to before LASIK. Fortunately, the use of scanning-tracking
Excimer Lasers deliver large optical treatment zones and provide good
coverage of the pupil. This, along with custom wavefront guided LASIK
protocols, so that higher order optical aberrations that cause night vision,
glare, halo and decreased contrast can readily be treated has significantly
minimized the incidence of these symptoms.
You may be
under corrected or over corrected.
While a very large percentage of
patients achieve 20/40 vision and are able to pass a driver's test without
correction, a lesser percent of patients achieve 20/20 vision without
glasses or contacts. If you have some specific goals that you would like to
achieve without being dependent on eyeglasses and contact lenses, then
chances are a mild degree of under correction or over correction is not
likely to impact your chances of a successful treatment. If you absolutely
MUST have 20/20 vision you may require additional treatment, but additional
treatment may not be possible. You may still need glasses or contact lenses
after surgery. While specialized monovision LASIK may help you achieve your
reading vision goals, if you used reading glasses before surgery, you may
still need reading glasses after LASIK surgery.
Some
patients may develop severe dry eyes.
As a result of LASIK Eye Surgery,
your eye may temporarily not be able to produce enough tears to keep the eye
moist and comfortable. Dry eye cannot only cause discomfort, but can
actually reduce the quality of your vision due to instability of the tear
film which acts as an optical surface. It is important that during your
LASIK consultation, the LASIK surgeon carefully and thoroughly evaluate your
tear film and if necessary prescribe lubricating eye drops, prescription eye
drops called Restasis, to help you make more of you own natural tears, and
/or insert punctual plugs to help you retain more of your natural tears.
Rarely, dry eyes after LASIK may be permanent.
Results are
generally not as good in patients with very large prescriptions of any type.
Patients with very high prescriptions do not have as good predictability and
may often require a second treatment procedure to obtain the best possible
results. By discussing your lifestyle goals and setting realistic
expectations with your LASIK surgeon, you can have the best chance of
achieving everything that you wish.
Only somewhat limited long term data is available. Whereas soft contact lenses have been available since the early 70's, LASIK is a relatively new technology. LASIK Eye Surgery globally has been performed since 1995, but the first Excimer Laser was approved by the FDA for LASIK in 1998. Therefore, the long-term safety and effectiveness of LASIK beyond 15 years is not yet known as compared to long-term safety and effectiveness of contact lenses being available for 30 years.
Back
:
If I
wear eyeglasses, How should I choose between contact lenses
and LASIK? ;
Vision Performance
;
Convenience & Comfort
;
Lifestyle Enhancement
;
Safety and Risk Factors
Next
:
If I wear contact lenses, How
should I make the decision to have LASIK?
;
Do I need to know anything
special if I am a contact lens wearer, about to have LASIK Eye Surgery?
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