Other day I was at my friends place watching soccer. While everyone was enjoying the match, I was stressed out. You know why? i had forgotten by eye glasses at home.. :(
Soon my friends realised it and got a topic to joke around. I then decided to get a laser eye treatment & get rid of my spectacles.
Therefore, I started researching on the web. Here is what I learnt...
Source: wikipedia
Definition
LASIK or Lasik (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. LASIK is performed by ophthalmologists using a laser.[1] LASIK is similar to other surgical corrective procedures such as photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, (also called ASA, Advanced Surface Ablation) though it provides benefits such as faster patient recovery. Both LASIK and PRK represent advances over radial keratotomy in the surgical treatment of vision problems, and are thus viable alternatives to wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses for many patients.
LASIK eye treatment is the ideal remedy for:
Laser Eye Treatment Risks
Source: ezinearticles
1. Loss of Vision
Complete loss of vision due to laser treatment is so rare that there are not statistics for this complication. However, there are reports of partial vision loss as a result of surgery. The US Food and Drug Administration also reports that out of 1 million surgeries, 3% report some loss of vision.
2. Aberrations
Aberrations in vision following laser treatment for eyes can mean many things. At the most extreme end, it means that you have double vision, stunning halos, massive starbursts and/or ghosting. Additional surgery is usually needed to correct these aberrations.The positive end of things might just be increased light sensitivity or some slight starbursting and/or glaring from lights at night, putting a damper on going out without sunglasses in the summer and night driving. These aberrations, while annoying, usually do not qualify for follow up surgery. Most people simply learn to live with these issues, which are reported by about 3.5% of patients according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
3. Dry Eye
If you usually suffer from dry eye, you may be disqualified from surgery as this is one of the most common side effects of laser eye treatments. The risk of developing severe dry eye as a result of the procedures varies from person to person, but most patients do complain of some level of dry eye in the first few months after treatment. If you still have dry eye six months after eye surgery, talk with your doctor or surgeon. While most cases are treatable with over the counter drops, in some cases prescription rewetting drops may be needed. In truly severe cases, alterations to the tear ducts and eye drainage system can be made as a last resort.
4. Over-correction or Under-correction
The final major category of risk for laser treatments is that the level of correction may not be perfect on the first try. This can be caused by a number of factors, including completely natural factors based on the way your eye heals after surgery. Most doctors include the cost of follow up "touch ups" in the price of the surgery, although most correction errors are addressed with glasses or contacts. Fewer than 10% of patients will ever need a touch up, even though patients are often seen with glasses after surgery. It can be frustrating to think that after you have paid for surgery you would still need vision correction, but the truth is that while laser surgery improves vision it does not always perfect vision. Additionally, reading glasses may represent a reasonable compromise over an additional laser eye treatment which may not benefit you.
What do you suggest? Is laser eye treatment safe? Well look like... but I still fear.. :)
Soon my friends realised it and got a topic to joke around. I then decided to get a laser eye treatment & get rid of my spectacles.
Therefore, I started researching on the web. Here is what I learnt...
Source: wikipedia
Definition
LASIK or Lasik (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. LASIK is performed by ophthalmologists using a laser.[1] LASIK is similar to other surgical corrective procedures such as photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, (also called ASA, Advanced Surface Ablation) though it provides benefits such as faster patient recovery. Both LASIK and PRK represent advances over radial keratotomy in the surgical treatment of vision problems, and are thus viable alternatives to wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses for many patients.
LASIK eye treatment is the ideal remedy for:
- Any person who would like to get rid himself/herself from dependency on lasses or contact lenses.
- Any professional in various sports like swimming, cricket, squash, badminton, skiing, tennis and other outdoor sports.
- Anyone seeking employment in the armed forces or merchant navy and professional pilots and individuals with interest in acting and modeling.
- People who are intolerant to contact lenses (soft, semi-soft and hard) which give rise to irritation, watering and redness of the eyes.
- Anyone who would like to discard spectacles and contact lenses for cosmetic reasons.
Pre-operative procedure:
- Refraction : To check the correct number of spectacles
- Corneal topography : To map the power of cornea
- Corneal pachymetry : To measure the thickness of cornea
- Keratometry : To measure the curvature of cornea
- Slit-lamp examination : To assess the condition of the cornea
- Tonometry : To check the eye pressure
- Retinal check-up
- Do not rub your eyes for one month.
- Avoid swimming, steam bath, sauna and Turkish bath for one month. Bathe carefully closing your eyes under the shower and do not allow water to go in the eyes.
- Avoid gardening or field work or dirty and dusty environment for one week.
- You can watch TV or read in moderation within two days of the procedure. Though not harmful, doing these activities for a long time could make you feel tired and cause strain in the eyes.
- Post-operative care is as important as the surgery. Do not forget to use the prescribed eye- drops.
- It is advisable to use sunglasses for two weeks when going outdoors to avoid glare.
Laser Eye Treatment Risks
Source: ezinearticles
1. Loss of Vision
Complete loss of vision due to laser treatment is so rare that there are not statistics for this complication. However, there are reports of partial vision loss as a result of surgery. The US Food and Drug Administration also reports that out of 1 million surgeries, 3% report some loss of vision.
2. Aberrations
Aberrations in vision following laser treatment for eyes can mean many things. At the most extreme end, it means that you have double vision, stunning halos, massive starbursts and/or ghosting. Additional surgery is usually needed to correct these aberrations.The positive end of things might just be increased light sensitivity or some slight starbursting and/or glaring from lights at night, putting a damper on going out without sunglasses in the summer and night driving. These aberrations, while annoying, usually do not qualify for follow up surgery. Most people simply learn to live with these issues, which are reported by about 3.5% of patients according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
3. Dry Eye
If you usually suffer from dry eye, you may be disqualified from surgery as this is one of the most common side effects of laser eye treatments. The risk of developing severe dry eye as a result of the procedures varies from person to person, but most patients do complain of some level of dry eye in the first few months after treatment. If you still have dry eye six months after eye surgery, talk with your doctor or surgeon. While most cases are treatable with over the counter drops, in some cases prescription rewetting drops may be needed. In truly severe cases, alterations to the tear ducts and eye drainage system can be made as a last resort.
4. Over-correction or Under-correction
The final major category of risk for laser treatments is that the level of correction may not be perfect on the first try. This can be caused by a number of factors, including completely natural factors based on the way your eye heals after surgery. Most doctors include the cost of follow up "touch ups" in the price of the surgery, although most correction errors are addressed with glasses or contacts. Fewer than 10% of patients will ever need a touch up, even though patients are often seen with glasses after surgery. It can be frustrating to think that after you have paid for surgery you would still need vision correction, but the truth is that while laser surgery improves vision it does not always perfect vision. Additionally, reading glasses may represent a reasonable compromise over an additional laser eye treatment which may not benefit you.
What do you suggest? Is laser eye treatment safe? Well look like... but I still fear.. :)
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