The laser assisted in situ keratomileusis surgery, also known as LASIK surgery is a laser eye surgery employed in the treatment of astigmatism (blurred vision), hyperopia (farsightedness) and myopia (nearsightedness)
It is a type of refractive surgery and the procedure entails the reshaping of the cornea with a laser or microkeratome for better positioning. This ensures that light entering the eye correctly focuses on the retina and the result is an improved and clearer vision. It is an outpatient procedure that takes about 10 minutes for each eye. Results are often visible within the next 24 hours after surgery while vision takes between few days and several weeks to stabilize.
LASIK is much preferred because it reduces and in many cases eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses. But, the LASIK eye surgery is not for everyone. Your optometrist will examine you and decide this based on certain factors that will determine if you are a good candidate or not.
A lasik candidate needs to be at least 18 or 21 years old, depending on the laser to be used. The age limit is a necessary precaution because for candidates younger than 18 years of age, growth is still occurring in different parts of the body as well as the eye. It is only in extreme cases that candidates below 18 are considered for the lasik eye surgery. This rarely occurs though as there is an increasing necessity for this surgery by candidates aged 40 years and above due to eye-related problems associated with middle age or developments due to lifestyle.
The older a patient is with any of the listed eye problems, particularly farsightedness, the higher the tendency for worsening if nothing is done about it. Lasik eye surgery offers men and women over 40, a chance to see better without having to depend on contact lens or glasses for their daily activities.
In fact, once you are over 40, you need to see your doctor for periodic tests as some of the considerations for the surgery, such as presbyopia, hyperopia and myopia, crop up with age and are true even for those who have had seemingly perfect vision all their life.
This is to be expected though because certain features of the eye such as the lens, change with age and cannot be expected to function optimally as in the past.
The lasik eye surgery is a painless and safe procedure with immediate results. It is a selective procedure and may not be the go to option if you have any eye defect other than loss of reading and distance vision
It is however prospect to be expected and okay to consider it as a better option and permanent solution than glasses and contact lens once you’re over 40. You however need to see your doctor first or a Lasik surgeon before you decide and once you reach a decision, go through the options and processes available for you together.
Thanks to an advance research and technology, high tech lasik technology is in use today with remarkable results to show for it.
Learn more about laser vision surgery from our professional ophthalmologists including correction for glaucoma, cataracts, astigmatism, dry eyes, and more. To contact an eye doctor near you to discuss corrective eye surgery visit our website at http://www.michiganlasik.com/ or call us to make an appointment at 877.579.0202.