LASIK - Is It Right For You?
Posted on: 15 April 2015
One of the most important senses that a human being possess is their sense of sight. The loss of your sense of sight will mean a severe alteration of your lifestyle. While some forms of sight loss cannot be corrected currently, there are methods that can restore your visual capacity in many instances. One of those methods is known as LASIK surgery.
What is LASIK Eye Surgery?
The term LASIK is an acronym that stands for the term Laser-assisted in situ Keratomileusis. LASIK eye surgery is a procedure that is designed to correct certain deficiencies or damage. It is a refractive surgery, designed to change the way that light enters the eye. This is done in order to treat afflictions such as astigmatism or myopia.
The basic LASIK process will be performed by cutting a small flap in the eye. Afterward a laser will be used to correct focusing problems in the eye while the cornea is reshaped. This sort of procedure does not require shots or needles, but the surgeon will place anesthetic drops into your eyes so that the surgery may be performed with little to no pain. The procedure is performed quickly and is an outpatient procedure.
Is LASIK Right for You?
The usefulness of LASIK for your needs will be determined by your specific issue. While it is an excellent method of repairing issues with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, it is not usually a good method of correcting presbyopia.
As people age, it is common for the ability to focus your eyes on nearby objects to weaken. This condition, known as presbyopia, can cause it to be difficult to read small print among other things. LASIK can easily treat distance vision issues or minor nearsightedness, but presbyopia may be worsened after LASIK surgery.
Possible Complications
LASIK surgery is no different than any other surgery. There are risks that the procedure will present to you. The flap cut into the eye may become infected. Your eyes may feel dryer than they normally do. You may experience strange visual effects like halos around lights during the night.
Severe complications are rare, so rare in fact that many surgeons report that less than one percent out their patients will have a severe complication. Most of the more common issues can be corrected with minor enhancement surgeries to perfect the original surgery or through other means, such as medicated eye drops. Talk with an optometrist to see if LASIK surgery could be right for you.
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