Find a LASIK Surgeon in Your Area.  

Previous Posts

Archives

Powered by Blogger

The LASIK Directory Blog

Welcome to the LASIK Blog, a resource for people interested in LASIK surgery. This consumer-friendly blog is intended to be used as a central resource to answer common questions about LASIK and to point you in the right direction.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Candidate Screening Helps Ensure LASIK Satisfaction

More than 700,000 Americans opt for LASIK surgery each year to correct refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Advances in LASIK technology have made the procedure routine and relatively safe, and the vast majority of LASIK patients are very happy with the results. However, complications do occur from time to time, and there are many people who end up regretting their decision to undergo LASIK.

Sadly, many of these cases could be easily avoided by more thorough screening by the ophthalmologist during the diagnostic process. By making sure a person is an ideal candidate for LASIK, ophthalmologists can severely reduce the instances of poor results and dissatisfied patients.

The most common complications from LASIK include dry eyes and night vision problems, such as halos, glare, or starbursts. Some patients may also experience double vision after their procedure. The instances of these complications could be reduced by screening out poor candidates who have dry eyes, large pupils, or irregularly shaped corneas.

However, there is another factor in determining candidacy for LASIK that has nothing to do with your eyes. A recent study indicates that people who are prone to depression are three times as likely to be dissatisfied with their LASIK results as patients who are less prone to depression. By screening for depression before deciding to perform LASIK on a patient, ophthalmologists can substantially increase the satisfaction rate of their patients.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Is LASIK Painful?

Many laser eye surgeons find that they are frequently asked the same question at an initial consultation with a patient: "Does LASIK surgery hurt?" Fortunately, the answer to this question is no.

Before surgery, LASIK patients are given topical anesthetic eye drops to numb the eye. This ensures that you will not feel any pain during your laser eye surgery. However, you may feel a brief sensation of pressure while your ophthalmologist applies the vacuum ring to stabilize your eye.

Many patients worry that the blade used to create the corneal flap before surgery will cause pain. However, this is not the case. Furthermore, advances in LASIK technology provide you with a bladeless option for your LASIK procedure. By opting for Intralase, your corneal flap will be created with a laser instead of a blade.

Some patients experience a mild burning sensation for a few hours following their surgery. However, this is very minor and resembles the sensation your eyes feel after swimming in a chlorinated pool.

You will generally feel fine within a few hours of your surgery, and by the following morning, you will be amazed at the improvement to your eyesight.

You can use the links at the bottom of the page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.

Labels:

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Benefits of LASIK

Many Americans suffer from refractive disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, forcing them to endure the inconvenience of glasses or contact lenses every day of their lives. While these vision correction methods enable people to see well enough to go about their daily lives, they are far from ideal solutions to the problem.

Glasses and contact lenses can adversely impact many areas of your life. Many people experience dry eyes from wearing contact lenses at work, especially when they spend all day in front of a computer screen. Others wearing glasses suffer from headaches due to the weight of their glasses on the bridge of their nose, making it difficult to perform work tasks.

Contacts and glasses can also impair your ability to participate in athletics or other vigorous activities. Sports such as swimming or diving create a problem for contact lens wearers, since water can easily get into your eyes and irritate your lenses. Other activities may cause sweat to get into your lenses, causing irritation in your eyes, while many athletes run the risk of breaking their glasses when wearing them while participating in sports.

LASIK surgery offers you a way to achieve excellent vision so that you can be rid of the hassles of glasses and contact lenses once and for all. Advances in LASIK technology have made the procedure very safe and effective. The majority of LASIK patients do not need corrective lenses after surgery, and they experience very few, if any, complications associated with the procedure.

If you are tired of dealing with glasses or contact lenses every day, you may want to visit your ophthalmologist to find out if you are an ideal candidate for LASIK.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, March 13, 2009

New British Marksman Champion Attributes Success to LASIK

Russell Simmonds has always aspired to be a world champion marksman. However, his poor vision posed a great obstacle to accomplishing this goal.

In 2002, Simmonds had Wavefront LASIK surgery performed to improve his vision. As a result of his LASIK surgery, he now has better than 20/20 vision. The improvements to his eyesight have greatly contributed to his ability to hone his shooting skills over the last seven years.

Recently, Simmonds was finally able to achieve his goal. Last November, he became the F class British champion and European champion. As a result, he will get to represent Great Britain in the World Marksman Championships later this year.

There are many other athletes and competitors across the world who have experienced similar boosts in performance thanks to successful laser eye surgery. Advances in LASIK technology have made the procedure much safer for athletes in many sports. However, it is important to wait to resume competition until your eyes have completely healed. If you sustain an eye injury before fully healing after your surgery, you risk serious complications and vision loss.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Protect your Eyes Now, Have Better Vision Later

Just as certain lifestyle adjustments will go a long way towards improving your overall health as you age, taking the time to protect your eyes now will help you maintain better vision down the road. By following a few simple tips, you can decrease your risk of serious vision problems as you age.

For young people (20's and 30's), perhaps the best thing to do is to wear sunglasses as often as possible. Ultraviolet rays will increase your risk of many eye diseases, as well as myopia and skin cancer around the eyes. If you work in front of a computer screen all day, take frequent screen breaks and use an antiglare screen filter to help reduce the eye damage caused by prolonged computer use.

For many people with refractive errors such as nearsightedness, your vision may level off in your early 30's. If so, you may want to consider LASIK surgery to correct your vision. Check with your ophthalmologist to see if you are an ideal candidate for LASIK.

As you enter your 40's, you should go for a regular eye exam every year or two to detect early stages of vision disorders such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). When detected early, these disorders are treatable. However, if they persist for long enough, you run the risk of serious vision problems, including blindness.

It is also important to stay physically fit. By getting at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week, you will decrease your risk of diabetes, which is a major cause of vision disorders.

People in their 50's, 60's, and 70's should make sure to eat plenty of dark, leafy greens. The antioxidants in these vegetables will lower your risk of AMD. Foods containing high concentrations of vitamins E and C, beta-carotene, and zinc will also help reduce the risk of vision disorders.

Many post-menopausal women experience dry eyes. If you suffer from this condition, you may want to use eye drops regularly to ensure that your eyes are properly lubricated.

By following these simple steps, you can substantially reduce your risk of eye problems as you age, so that you can maintain the proper vision to enjoy a healthy and happy life.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified ophthalmologist in your area.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Rare Eye Surgery Saves Woman's Eyesight

Doctors performed a rare surgery on a woman to help save her eyesight. The woman has been experiencing unusually low pressure in her eyes. Over time, this low pressure has damaged her eye sight, and she has almost become blind.

In order to increase the pressure in her eyes, doctors inserted a pump into her abdomen. This pump transports fluid to her eyes so that they will stay inflated. The woman's eye surgeon received mixed reactions from colleagues when this unusual surgery was proposed. However, it seems to have been a success.

Once her eye pressure returns to normal, she will most likely receive a corneal transplant to improve her vision. A corneal transplant is a procedure that replaces the damaged part of your cornea with corneal tissue provided by a donor.

This procedure, also called a keratoplasty, is very common. Approximately 40,000 corneal transplants are performed every year in the United States. For many patients with damaged corneas, this procedure is instrumental in restoring lost vision. Corneal transplants are also performed to treat the following conditions:

  • Thinning of the cornea
  • Corneal scarring
  • Clouding of the cornea
  • Swelling of the cornea
  • Complications caused by a previous eye surgery

You can use the links at the bottom of the page to find a qualified ophthalmologist in your area.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

How Well Will I See After LASIK?

At your initial consultation with your LASIK surgeon, you will most likely want to find out how well you will see after your laser eye surgery. Unfortunately, that is a complicated question to answer.

There is no way to predict your vision after LASIK surgery with any degree of certainty. There are many factors that contribute to how well you will see after your procedure, including the degree of your refractive error, type of refractive error, and shape of your cornea. However, it is possible for your LASIK surgeon to provide you with a general idea of what your vision will be like after your surgery.

In general, the more severe your refractive error, the less likely you are to achieve 20/20 vision after your surgery. Similarly, if you only have a mild refractive error, you are more likely to achieve 20/20 vision.

Even if you still need glasses after your surgery, your vision will be substantially improved from its pre-LASIK level. Also, you can often improve your vision even more with a follow-up LASIK procedure.

Most LASIK patients experience vastly improved vision from their procedure and do not need glasses in the future. Approximately 95% of LASIK patients achieve 20/40 vision or better. In general, 20/40 vision will allow you to pass a vision test to receive a driver's license without corrective lenses. Roughly 67% of LASIK patients achieve 20/20 vision or better after their laser eye surgery.

Be wary of any ophthalmologist who guarantees you a particular result for your LASIK procedure. However, your eye doctor should be able to set reasonable expectations for your vision range following your surgery.

You can use the links at the bottom of this page to find a qualified LASIK surgeon in your area.

 
Click on a link to find a LASIK surgeon in that state.

Disclaimer: The content on our website and this page about LASIK surgery is for informational purposes only. To learn more about LASIK surgery in your area and situation, please contact a LASIK surgeon above or click here to let us find an eye doctor for you.