LASIK is an elective optical surgery that’s used for correcting vision, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. It’s the short for laser in-situ keratomileusis and involves reshaping the cornea. Is LASIK safe? What are the benefits of LASIK? In this post, we are discussing some of the basic aspects about the procedure.
What are the benefits of LASIK?
More than 95% patients get expected vision with LASIK, and it remains one of the successful options for vision correction. The LASIK procedure doesn’t involve any stiches or invasive surgical steps, so it can be done effectively without additional risks. Most patients don’t need contact lenses & eyeglasses after LASIK, or have reduced dependency. Nevertheless, this is a technically complex and advanced surgery, and only a reliable and experienced eye specialist should advice on LASIK. There are a few risks and side effect, which must be discussed with your doctor beforehand, and keep in mind that complete vision correction may not be possible.
Initial tests for LASIK
Patients must go through an elaborate screening to qualify for LASIK. In some cases – if you have thin cornea for instance, your doctor may not give a nod to LASIK eye surgery. Tests include checking corneal thickness, corneal mapping, and checking for eye pressure.
What happens during the procedure?
LASIK is considered to be a safe eye surgery. An instrument known as microkeratome (in some cases femtosecond laser is used) is used by the doctor to create a flap in the cornea, and this is a painless step. The cornea will be then reshaped, so that light goes onto the retina as required, to correct vision. Once that’s done, the corneal flap is placed back in place. LASIK is done under local anesthesia, using eye drops, and the whole procedure doesn’t take more than 10 minutes. There is little downtime involved with the surgery, but you may have blurry vision for a day, so bring someone with you. Your doctor will also ask you to come back for a second check, after a day or two, just to check everything.
Final word
If you are interested in LASIK surgery, consider talking to an eye expert and figure out whether you can consider the procedure in the first place. Your doctor will also give a fair idea of what to expect from the procedure, aftercare, and risks, if any. Done by an expert, LASIK could give you the vision you want.
Comments are closed.