Traditional Lasik surgery uses a scalpel to create a small flap in the eye, and then a laser reshapes the eye in order to focus accurately.  There are two more recent forms of Lasik, one that entirely uses a laser and does away with the scalpel.  Another variation uses a three dimension waveform for people with unusual eye shapes, and both of these are worth discussing with your ophthalmologist.

Those people with very thin corneas or other issues that make Lasik not a good candidate for their particular case can consider implantable contact lens surgery.  This is known as ICL in the eye surgeon’s lingo, and is a good alternative to Lasik to permanently correct vision.  These lenses function in exactly the same way as removable lenses, except that they remain permanently in the eye.  Like Lasik, they reshape the eye in order for it to focus accurately.  The patient will not feel the lens once the operation has been performed.

Lasik and ICL are similar in several ways.  Lasik can improve vision affected by nearsightedness and astigmatism, and ICL can improve these vision deficiencies also.  Both Lasik and ICL also have some of the same risks, one of these being that the correction is not accurate after the first operation is done.  Lasik is a much more frequently performed procedure, and less than 3 percent (according to the FDA) of these patients need to undergo additional surgery to further correct vision after the first Lasik procedure is done.

Like any operation, there is a chance of infection in either a Lasik procedure or an ICL operation.  Good post-operative care by the patient will minimize this and regular checkups at the Lasik or eye care center will nearly always clear this up without further complication.  In a small percentage of the cases, either Lasik or ICL patients may not achieve perfect vision and may need to continue to wear corrective eyewear, though usually not at the same strength as the original eyewear.

One advantage of ICL over Lasik is that ICL is a reversible procedure, where the implanted lens can be removed later if that becomes necessary.  Lasik involves the reshaping of the cornea to bring objects accurately into focus, and is permanent.  However, for a typical, healthy patient either Lasik or ICL will generally bring about the desired improvement in vision.

Lasik is generally a less invasive procedure, and this is reflected in the current cost of the operation.  The current price for a Lasik procedure is between $500 and $2500 per eye, depending on the type of procedure and the presiding physician.  A typical price for ICL is between $1500 and $3000 per eye.  Do some investigation into the options offered, and select the eye procedure that is best for your personal case.

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My operation went exactly as described, with no pain or real discomfort at all.  My Lasik physician was clear, stating each step that he completed so that I would know the Lasik procedure was proceeding as expected, and more quickly than I had imagined.  I know that all of the discussion I had earlier with the Lasik professionals stated the operation generally took less than twenty minutes, but I was still surprised.

At the end of the operation, my Lasik doctor replaced the flap to its correct position in my eye and covered it with some kind of clear goop.  Even at that time I could notice a distinct improvement in my vision.  I was instructed to wear goggles over my eyes for five nights in order to prevent me rubbing my eyes while I was sleeping.  I guess they assumed that any good Lasik patient would not do that when awake.

In addition, I followed all post-op Lasik procedure instruction to the letter.  I slept immediately after the Lasik procedure was done (after I made it home, of course), used the eye drops religiously, and did not try to strain my eyes by reading everything that I could.  I was amazed the immediate improvement in vision that Lasik makes, just as if there was a set of weightless contact lenses.  Very impressive.

My biggest problem in Lasik procedure recovery was a result of epithelial erosion.  The flap that is made in the eye during the Lasik procedure is made from epithelial cells.  Once the flap is replaced at the end of the Lasik procedure, these cells start to regenerate in order to fill in the line where the flap has been cut.  All of this is normal post-op Lasik healing.  However, in my case the cells would grow fine, but at night my eyes tended to dry out when I was asleep.  So, when I woke up, my eyelid would pull up some of the new cells from their place where they belonged, where if my eye was sufficiently moist they would have stayed in place.

I told this to my Lasik physician, who said this side effect just makes healing a little longer and it was not a serious side effect.  When I went for a checkup to the Lasik center (which I highly recommend any time a Lasik client has any post-op worries or questions) they decided that I needed a thicker, more jelly like version of the eye drops to use at night.  This worked well, and the rest of my post-Lasik recovery went well. 
I am a strong advocate of the Lasik vision correction procedure.  I also strongly suggest interviewing a number of positions, and do not put low cost as the highest priority.  Your eyes are very important, and a highly competent Lasik physician is the most important factor.

Rory Goettsche is a writer for Uniformhaven.com who sells cherokee scrubs, urbane scrubs on sale and lab coat as well as a lot of other products.

The use of a specialized cold beam laser to reshape the cornea of the eye providing clear vision is involved in the Lasik laser vision correction procedure. There are many side effects associated with this procedure that the patient should be aware of.  

The most common side effect after surgery is a continued dependency on corrective lenses. Sometimes lenses are needed for night driving, reading or in some cases, all the time. You may still require glasses post surgery although, the prescription won’t be nearly as strong as it was before having Lasik. Additional treatments may not completely eliminate this effect.  

A slightly higher risk for the dependence of other corrective lenses is involved with those that have extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness than patients with fewer vision problems. Patients will need to have an understanding of realistic expectations for the surgery prior to committing to Lasik laser vision correction.  

Other visual complications can be a risk with Lasik laser vision correction. Some patients may experience halos, glares, or even double vision after having the surgery done. This occurs frequently after daylight hours while driving at night.

One of the risks with Lasik laser vision correction is dry eye, or keratoconjunctivitis sicca, also known as KCS.   The laser severs some of the nerves in the eye as it repairs the shape of the cornea during the Lasik procedure. For a few, permanent damage can occur, which results in dry eye as the nerve endings are unable to send and receive the information that makes the tear ducts produce tears when the eye is too dry however, the nerves typically correct themselves after a short while. This condition can be controlled with the long term use of medicated drops but vision may be impaired due to the irritation and dryness of the eye.

A small percentage of Lasik laser eye correction patients are diagnosed with an infection as a result of the surgery. This rarely occurs and is easily treated with oral and topical medications. For example, a Northern California center makes available seminars with an eye doctor in Stockton for Lasik in Stockton so the client is aware several week’s before scheduling the procedure.

Cloudy vision is a typical effect after surgery. This is a temporary effect and often diminishes within the first twenty-four hours. Minor irritation is a result as well and is often described as having a grain of sand in the eye. This is also temporary and will resolve itself in a few days.

Comprehending common Lasik laser eye correction risks can assist in enabling individuals to make an educated choice regarding the surgery. Additional dangers and side effects will be discussed with the eye care professional and Lasik surgeon during counseling prior to having Lasik performed. Assessing these risks may help determine if indeed an individual is a candidate for Lasik laser vision correction.

Age Requirement

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 eye surgery candidate should be stable for at least one year, and preferably for longer than that.For the same reason stated previously, the shape of the eye must stay the same after the surgery in order for the procedure to maintain its effectiveness.

Another point that is worth mentioning about Lasik eye surgery.  There is no maximum age, as many patients in their fifties to their eighties have had a very successful Lasik procedure.The primary concern in these situations is a lack of tear production for proper healing and lubrication when the surgery is over.

Health

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.Moreover, no chronic eye issues must be present, such as herpes infection.

A critical part is also the potential Lasik patient’s medical history.Individuals may not qualify for the Lasik procedure if they have recurring conditions, such as autoimmune disorders like Lupus.  You should be very clear about any and all medical conditions that are current, or even completed ones in the past.In addition, pregnant women, or ones who are nursing, should avoid having lasik surgery for awhile.

Generally speaking, a qualified Lasik physician would not recommend the Lasik procedure to someone with dry eye syndrome.  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.

More: Lasik Eye Surgery Complications

If you are willing to listen I’m now going to give you my story of how I came about choosing LASIK.  First off, I don’t have a really great vision but it isn’t horrible either.  For instance, whenever I go to the movies I don’t need to wear my glasses, but when I drive around town, in order to see the street signs correctly to react in time I do. LASIK for me was not a necessity, but I just figured that it would make my life a lot easier. I am outdoors very frequently, backpacking, climbing hills, and mountain biking. Glasses have always had a very short lifespan with me, and quite frequently I am playing in the dirt which is really a horrible thing when you have contact lenses.  LASIK eye surgery look very appealing to me for these reasons.

The paragraph above might make you think I am a “manly guy” (hope so, think so!), so why on earth would I be afraid of a little Lasik scalpel? Technically, LASIK doesn’t even really use a scalpel but instead it uses a thing called a microkeratome blade which is still an incredibly sharp object that is quite close to my eye as part of the procedure.  LASIK surgeons these days don’t have to use a microkeratome blade anymore though, as they have advanced technology that allows them to make the incision with a laser instead, which is far better than blade.  This is the fact that nobody is perfect, and I myself have had way too many accidents to feel comfortable with somebody getting near my eye with a sharp object.

Well I went and talked to three completely different and independent LASIK surgeons, and every one of them assured me that as a 28-year-old man in a really great health, with mild to moderate nearsightedness that I was probably one of the best candidates for a successful LASIK eye surgery procedure.  After discussing this procedure with the surgeons, I scheduled my operation with the surgeon that had by far the best record, and who spent the most time going over the process with me.

I didn’t feel any pain during the LASIK surgery, though I took the sedative that they offered me and I even accepted the comfort of a little teddy bear that they offered.  The only really bizarre thing that I a can recall about the procedure itself was the smell of something quite similar to burning hair. I suppose that was my eye.  It’s a good thing they didn’t tell me to expect that smell as if they would have you might not have been so quick to sign up.

That was a few years ago now, and as it turns out I guess I was a near perfect candidate for the procedure, as my eyes are both 20/20 vision and they haven’t changed at all a long time now. Despite any naysayers out there, if you have been deemed a good candidate for a LASIK vision correction procedure, grab a hold of that teddy bear and get it done.

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The fear that most people have when they are considering a LASIK surgery is whether there is going to be any pain throughout the procedure as well as after. Since the surgeon works on a patient that is not put to sleep, this is a very widely held fear. Before the surgeon even thinks about touching your eyes, he will apply numbing drops as well as give a mild sedative to the patients so they can relax and be comfortable throughout.   About all you will feel throughout the procedure is a small pressure to your eyeball, which is common and doesn’t really hurt at all.

The surgeon does use a laser in the eye to help reshape the cornea during the Lasik procedure. The many people have the concern of moving their eyeball when the laser shines in it and developing injuries and their eyeball from the effects of the LASIK laser beam. The truth of it is though is that the laser beam is only used for a period of about 10 to 15 seconds per eye, and the machine has a system that tracks your eyeball so that the laser beam only works when your eye is in the right position.

Another thing that people are really afraid about when contemplating any type of medical procedure is the scalpel. The LASIK eye surgery procedure makes use of a very small microkeratome blade to make the incision on the eye, but this isn’t always so as some of the more recent LASIK eye surgery technology makes use of the laser to create the flap so there is no sharp object used at all.  There isn’t any real reason to be concerned about them being cut on with a scalpel in this procedure as the surgeon doesn’t use one.

A lot of people have the fear of going blind or having other serious consequences because of horror stories they might have heard about this or any other type of procedure.  According the government statistics taken by the FDA, there are no reported cases of blindness due to a Lasik operation. The truth is that there is very little risk of any type of permanent complication arising from a LASIK surgery procedure. You have less than 1% chance of getting any type of permanent damage caused from a LASIK eye surgery procedure that is serious, and you have less than a 3% chance for any type of nonserious complications such as light halos.  It is an extremely rare occasion that somebody doesn’t have a lot better vision when going through a LASIK procedure.

If it is really a big concern of yours that somebody is going to be working on your eyeball while you can see them, please take into consideration that your eyeball is going to be completely numb and you will be on a mild sedative.  If the thought of actually seeing somebody’s hand approaching our eyeball is a frightening thought, take comfort in the fact that you will have drops put in your eyes it is going to black out your vision for a period of 10 or 15 seconds which is plenty of time for the procedure to be done in that eye.

I pray that I have touched on most of your fears concerning the LASIK eye surgery procedure with this introduction.  For all of you out there who could benefit from this procedure, and experience the freedom of not having to wear glasses anymore, then visit your local clinic today and speak with them about any of the thoughts you might have concerning LASIK surgery.

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