PLX Academy · News · 15 June 2022
Summer is the perfect time for a long-term vision correction and also a life-changing convenience. The idea is to enjoy outdoors activities and sports to the fullest, especially swimming during the summer holidays without eyeglasses or contacts. With LASIK you will be able to see clearly and to enhance your day-to-day life and reduce the hassles associated with corrective eyewear.
Up to 800,000 people undergo the LASIK procedure in the U.S. each year. About 96% of patients reach their vision goals afterwards. LASIK, commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and for astigmatism. The goal of the procedure is to reshape the cornea. With this, the light that enters the eye becomes more focused on the retina. This then results in sharper images and in general, clearer vision. This requires finesse and cutting-edge developments in digital imaging technology, which give LASIK specialists the ability to see detailed images of the cornea as they work.
Why are the numbers of interventions and positive patient experiences so high ? Lasik is quick, effective, long-lasting, and safe. It is almost always pain-free and has little downtime. In fact, with proper preparation, the entire process can only take 15 minutes — and that is for both eyes!
Keep in mind though that most LASIK procedure patients are between 18 and 65 years old. Their eyes are still in somewhat good health, so they may be healthy enough to undergo laser surgery. Also, people that qualify for laser eye surgery still depend on a case-to-case basis. For instance, some people younger than 18 can still get LASIK surgery. A good example is young patients suffering from neurological disorders. You want to make sure you work only with experienced ophthalmologists. They are the ones who can better tell you whether LASIK or another treatment is your best option.
The Mayo Clinic writes that the procedure is best suited for people who have only a moderate degree of refractive distortions to their vision and otherwise do not have significant problems with their sight. Some eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, keratoconus, dry eye, inflammation and infections affecting the eye, eyelid disorders, or large pupils, may make this intervention inappropriate for you. Your overall health can have an impact on your eligibility for LASIK eye surgery. If you have diabetes or certain autoimmune diseases, you may not be a good candidate for LASIK.
Patients who are active participants in contact sports, such as football, wrestling, or boxing, and with a high risk of impacting their face and eyes due to the sport, might not be good candidates for this kind of surgery.
Well before the surgery, a doctor will ask detailed questions about the patient’s eye health and perform an evaluation on the eyes to make sure there are no unknown conditions that might complicate the process.Getting a comprehensive eye exam is a great way to ensure your eyes are healthy and gives you the opportunity to talk to your eye doctor about your vision correction needs and what the next steps should be if you want to look at a procedure like LASIK.