Lasik surgery

Lasik surgery has become a new popular procedure performed on people who may have less than perfect vision. If you have heard of Lasik and are wondering what exactly it is and whether or not it is the right procedure for you, then continue reading to get some information about this surgery.

Lasik is a type of laser eye surgery that is designed for those people suffering from being near-sighted and often people with far-sightedness. Near-sightedness is also called myopia and far-sightedness is called hyperopia. Depending on each individual case and type of cornea impairment a person has depends on how successful the procedure will be. Not everyone will qualify for this type of surgery. People with astimagtism may not be able to benefit from the surgery. Advertisements about getting perfect vision through Lasik can be quite deceiving. A person that suffers from myopia or near-sightedness can usually see objects that are near and have a problem focusing on objects that are farther in the distance. For these patients a bit of the cornea needs to be removed to help the eye focus. People suffering from hyperopia or far-sightedness can focus better on distant objects but can not focus well up close. With Lasik surgery, a person who is far-sighted will need their cornea to be steepened.

Through the process of Lasik laser surgery, the surgeon cuts a bit of the corneal tissue on the eye to create a small flap. In order to do this a microkeratome is used. A microkeratome is a special knife used to perform these types of surgeries. Now days, a laser may be used to perform the actual incision as well as the procedure itself. After a flap is created, the surgeon will either remove some of the tissue beneath the flap or reshape the cornea with a laser. This process is performed to reshape the cornea in hopes of improving focusing power and correcting poor vision. Once the cornea has been repaired the flap of tissue is put in place and the eye is finished. The entire procedure usually lasts about 5 minutes per eye. The worse your vision is to start with the longer the procedure may take but usually it lasts only minutes.

Since the surgeon is responsible for the precise cutting of the tissue, it is very important to have a very skilled eye surgeon that has practice in this type of procedure. Results from Lasik surgery tend to be very good and the recovery time after the procedure is minimal. Most often patients feel little discomfort and are able to return to work the next day. Some people achieve vision of 20/40 while others will achieve perfect vision of 20/20. Although some people may have ultimate results, not everyone will be so lucky. A lot of people may still need some form of glasses or contacts however the prescription strength may be tremendously lessened. Other times a person may notice marked improvement in their vision and years later notice a decline in vision once again.

In order to decide if Lasik is for you it is necessary to be evaluated by your regular eye doctor. Depending on your current prescription you may or may not be a candidate for Lasik. Your eye doctor should be able to recommend the right type of laser eye surgery for you. Lasik is just one of the possible options and if you do not qualify for Lasik you may qualify for another vision repairmen procedure. Whatever you decide, make sure to get well informed on the procedure and what to expect post op so you are fully educated on the entire process.

Last updated on Jul 11th, 2009 and filed under Vision Care. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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