LASIK or Laser in-situ keratomileusis is a popular and effective eye surgery which is used to correct common refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, and astigmatism. This surgery has already been conducted on 35 million people worldwide, which has helped them get rid of eye-wears and achieve improved vision.
Since developing refractive error is so common these days and as it can happen to any age group, so this special “Laser” surgery, LASIK is a boon to all those who wish to get clearer vision and get rid of their irritating eye-wears.
Through this article, we have given detailed LASIK eye surgery information that you will need to get prepared for the surgery!
How is LASIK eye surgery done?
LASIK eye surgery uses a cool laser beam to reshape the cornea (the clear frontal part of the eye) so that the light travelling in air can properly focus on the retina which is located in the backside of the eye.
The steps involved in the LASIK eye surgery are:
Pre-surgical tests: Several eye check-ups are conducted prior to the actual LASIK eye surgery to collect data about the patient’s eyes and to ensure whether the patient is ready for the surgery. These tests involve detailed studying of the eye condition, health condition, any medication that the patient is taking and health history.
Recommendation for the surgery: After the tests are completed, the patient’s ophthalmologist decides which eye surgery is most suitable for the patient to go through, since not everyone qualifies for LASIK eye surgery. However, since LASIK eye surgery is the most effective and safest eye surgery so it is mostly recommended by the ophthalmologist around the world.
LASIK treatment for eyes: In the LASIK eye surgery, the patient’s eyes are first inspected by the surgeon. If the surgeon finds that the patient is ready for the surgery, he/she will proceed with the surgery procedure. The procedure involves a cool laser beam which is used to remove the required microscopic tissue from the cornea to reshape it. The tissue removal amount varies according to the refractive error the patient has developed. After the cornea is re-shaped, the patient gets improved vision within the next few days.
Post-surgical tests: After successful LASIK eye surgery, the patient’s eyes have to go through regular eye-check-ups to ensure that there is no problem in the eyes.
Most of the patients, who go through LASIK eye surgery, attain a perfect 40/40 vision within few weeks post-surgery.
What are the potential side-effects of LASIK eye surgery?
Like other surgeries, LASIK eye surgery also has some side-effects which are temporary and can be easily dealt with by easy treatments.
The common side-effects of LASIK eye surgery are:
Infection: Only 1 in 10,000 surgeries have the chance of infection post-surgery. However, even if the surgery leads to some sort of serious infection, it can be easily treated by using eye-drops or other medication. The infection may cause heaviness, irritation and itchiness in the eyes. However, the chances of developing infection are very rare so you need not worry about it.
Dry eyes: Developing the problem of dry eyes is very common with the patients of LASIK eye surgery. Almost all patients develop some degrees of dry eye because of the slow healing process of the cornea. However, this problem remains only for 6 months or it may take some more time in few cases. Generally, within a year, the patient is relieved of this problem. To keep the patient’s eyes moisturized, a special eye-drop is prescribed which has to be used on regular basis after the surgery.
Night vision problems: In the early stages of cornea healing, the patients have several night vision problems such as glare from lights, halos around lights or hazy night vision. However, if the problem remains persistent, a special wave front treatment is conducted to rectify this eye problem. But in most cases, night vision problems reduce as the healing process increases.
Re-treatment of LASIK operated eyes: There have been few cases where the LASIK operated patient has not achieved satisfactory vision. In such cases, re-treatment which may or may not involve another surgery is required to overcome the vision problems.
‘Flap’ complications: To gain access to the corneal tissue during a LASIK surgery, a ‘flap’ is created over the cornea so that reshaping of corneal tissue can be done. However, in few cases, the flap gets misplaced or gets detached from the eyes. Therefore, in such situations, the patients may have to go through an extra surgery to get the flap positioned in its right place.
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How should a patient prepare for a LASIK Eye surgery?
As soon as you are recommended for a LASIK eye surgery by your ophthalmologist, he or she will brief you about the several preparations you need to do before going through the surgery.
In the following, we have mentioned the general instructions which are given to the patients. However, for better lasik eye surgery information, you should seek guidance from your ophthalmologist:
LASIK eye surgery involves re-shaping of the cornea, therefore, if a patient wears rigid gas permeable contact lenses, then he or she is recommended not to wear them for at least three weeks prior to the ‘pre-surgical tests’. The reason behind such recommendation is that these lenses changes the actual lens size of your eyes which may result in inaccurate ‘eye topography creation’ during your pre-surgery tests.
If you are an eye-glass wearer, then you should get your eye powers re-checked and carry your eye glasses with you to your surgeon, so your prescription can be reviewed properly.
On the day of the surgery, the patient is recommended to have light meals before going for the surgery.
It’s advised to show all your prescribed medicines to your ophthalmologist or surgeon before the surgery.
Avoid wearing any kind of eye make-up or bulky accessories in your hair for the surgery. This may interfere in conducting smooth hassle-free surgery.
If on the day of the surgery, you feel sick, it’s better to postpone the surgery by informing the surgeon.
Conclusion: LASIK treatment for the eyes is the most effective eye surgery for the ones who wish to get improved vision and get rid of their eye-wears. If you get the lasik eye surgery information from your ophthalmologist, & recommends you this surgery, then you have to follow certain rules prior to the surgery for getting accurate vision. After successful LASIK eye surgery, you may face some common side-effects such as glare from lights, hazy vision, eye-pressure but they can be easily treated with medications. So, if you have been recommended this LASIK eye surgery, then you need to worry about it too much since this is a very common eye surgery and the chances of inaccuracy are very rare.