No matter how young or old you are the health of your eyes is of the utmost importance. Our eye sight is an essential element in our everyday lives.   It is important to remember this when making decisions regarding your vision.  There are many choices when it comes to correcting issues with your vision such as eye glasses, contacts, and LASIK.  When choosing an option that is right for you a lot of people start to consider undergoing the LASIK procedure.  The thing most people are worried about is that they aren’t the right age to have the LASIK procedure performed.  If that is you, keep on reading.

What is the perfect age to have LASIK performed?

Ophthalmologists and LASIK surgeons both agree that a patients age means less than the stability of their vision when determining if they should have laser vision correction performed.  Patients that have has the same prescription for a period of time are most likely ready to have the LASIK procedure done.  This often occurs for patients in their twenties. 

Are there career benefits to LASIK?

Depending on your career, clear vision without the hindrance of eye glasses or contacts can be extremely beneficial.  Athletes are one category of individuals who would have an advantage with laser vision correction.  Contacts are not the same hindrance as eye glasses can be however there is always the concern about losing one or getting dirt in it while in the midst of an activity.

Can my eyesight continue to change one it has been corrected by LASIK?

Your vision can still change once the LASIK procedure is performed.  Laser surgery helps to increase your vision to its best but even after LASIK it can still continue to change naturally over time. Statistics show that about 10% of LASIK patients will need to have touch up procedures performed after LASIK is done. This is especially true the more drastic your vision correction was. 

If you are interested in finding out more about LASIK and how it can benefit you talk to family, friends, co-workers, and the people you trust for LASIK surgeon recommendations.  This allows you to narrow down providers before hitting the internet for reviews and scheduling consultations. 

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

Having LASIK performed may mean that you no longer have to wear corrective lenses to properly see. However, how do you know if you are a good candidate or not?  What should you consider when you are weighing out your corrective vision options?  Obviously if you are tired of having to put contacts in every morning or are sick of wearing glasses you start to consider laser eye surgery. 

LASIK is a type of refractive eye surgery that is done that helps patience achieve 20/25 vision or greater.  This is optimal for most activities that we will participate in.  Often, patients do eventually need glasses as they age or even for nighttime driving.

The complications experienced with LASIK are rare.  In fact, LASIK has a high success rate.  Dry eye is the most common issue experienced after LASIK.  This usually ends up clearing up with the use of eye drops.  It can last up to a few months however, this is rare.

Your specific results will depend on a number of factors including your refractive error.  Patients that suffer from mild nearsightedness have reported greater success from refractive surgery than patients with a high degree of far or near sightedness or an astigmatism. 

What Happens During LASIK?

There are a number of variations of laser refractive surgery.  For our purposes we will refer to them under the term LASIK. With normal vision, images are focused on the retina in the back of the eye.  When your eye sight is less than perfect it means that the image is being focused elsewhere, which results in blurred vision. 

Normally, images are focused on the retina which is in the back of your eye. With nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) or astigmatism, they end up being focused elsewhere, resulting in blurred vision.  This is corrected by reshaping the cornea to provide the proper refraction thus correcting your vision.   Before your surgery begins your eye, surgeon will take detailed measurements of your eye. The laser is then used to properly remove parts of the corneal tissue until proper vision has been achieved. 

In order to be a candidate for LASIK there are a number of requirements that must be met.  Patients must be in good health and free of diseases that could restrict healing.  Overall you must have healthy eyes that suffer only a moderate degree of refractive errors and you are not or have not experienced any unusual vision issues.  Age related vision disorders such as cataracts are not cured during LASIK.  Cataract surgery is different than LASIK.  If you have an active job or lifestyle where you can not take time off to recover, then LASIK is not appropriate for you.  Recovering from LASIK surgery is fairly simple but does require you to avoid intense workouts or activities where you could suffer a blow to the head for at least a month. 

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

Preparing for any surgical procedure comes with its fair share of anxiety, LASIK is no different.  Laser surgery for vision correction has a number of benefits.  Knowing the end benefit, vision without corrective contact lenses or glasses, is only half the battle.  Preparation ahead of time to put your mind at ease is the other half.  Below we will answer the top questions we get during LASIK consultations.  As always, if you have questions that did not get answered during your FREE consultation with the LASIK specialists at Rohr Eye & Laser Center, patients can call the office at any time.

Will LASIK hurt?

The number one question we are asked involved the pain level that is experienced with LASIK.  The truth is that most patients experience very little pain or discomfort during surgery.  In fact, many patients explain the sensation as a slight pressure that is felt as the laser is reshaping the cornea.  Of course, everyone’s pain tolerance is different but overall this is the experience patients have described after their procedure.

What occurs during the LASIK procedure?

The actual LASIK procedure itself is fairly quick and easy.  Numbing drops are applied to the eyes.  Once this occurs, doctors will cut a very thin flap on the surface of the cornea.  The surgeon will use the laser to shape the cornea according to the prescription from the most recent eye exam.  After this is finished the eye surgeon will carefully place the flap back into place and perform the same procedure on the other eye.  Lasers are used in both the creation of the flap and shaping the cornea although in the past a thin blade had been used to create the flap.

Is LASIK performed on both eyes at the same time?

YES!  Laser vision correction can be performed on both eyes at one time.  With LASIK, vision improvement is virtually instantaneous, and healing is minimal.  During LASIK the laser is only used for about 60 seconds per eye.  Although LASIK can be performed on both eyes at the same time some patients prefer to have one eye done at a time.  This is possible however, rare.

Do surgeons use anesthesia during LASIK?

No, anesthesia is not given during the LASIK procedure but instead eye drops are put into the eye just prior to the procedure.  Some patients with higher levels of anxiety about the procedure require oral medication to be given for relaxation.  Needles and intravenous drugs are not required.

How long does the LASIK process take?

LASIK is a quick process surprisingly.  On average the procedure can take less than 15 minutes once the patient is settled in the treatment room.  The laser aspect of the procedure usually takes less than 60 seconds per eye.

If I blink during LASIK what happens?

Surgeons use a speculum to keep patients’ eyes from blinking.  Some patients remark that there is a slight pressure from the speculum.  Patients are told to focus on a blinking light throughout the procedure.  Movements of the eye are expected, lasers that are used include an eye tracker which accounts for movement and helps to ensure accurate delivery of laser pulses.  

What are the side effects of LASIK?

Although infrequently experienced there are some side effects that patients experience following LASIK.  The most common side effect is dry eye which is easily remedied through over-the-counter artificial tears.  Rare side effects include:

• Inconsistent vision
• Difficult night vision with halos
• Sensitivity to light

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

When you seek a consultation from a surgeon specializing in LASIK it is to determine if you are a candidate for laser vision corrections surgery.  If it is determined that you are a candidate, the surgeon will begin discussing the most appropriate surgical option to correct your unique vision issue.  During the consultation you will be educated on the benefits and risks of LASIK surgery.   It is important to remember that a consultation with a LASIK surgeon does not obligate you to have the procedure nor does it mean that you are no longer able to ask questions and gather more information.  A consultation is the starting point into the process of determining if surgery is the vision correction route best suited for you.

Candidates must meet a certain set of criteria before they are considered for LASIK which includes:

Age:

LASIK candidates must be eighteen years or older.

Health:

In order to be a candidate for LASIK, patients must be generally healthy.  They should be free of health problems such as diabetes, vascular disease, autoimmune disease, or on medication that interferes with the immune response. 

Eye Health/Problems:

Candidates should also be free of eye disease including: glaucoma, cataracts, corneal diseases, retinal and optic nerve disease, or keratoconus.  They should also not have eye conditions such as herpes zoster and simplex.  Surgeons will do an eye exam before surgery however, it is important that candidates inform them of issues such as lazy eye, eye muscle imbalance, and other eye conditions that can affect healing.  Candidates should also inform eye surgeons of other health issues such as mental health or issues with health.  Obviously, the eye should also be free of any injury or infection.  Dry eye should also not affect candidates.

Pregnancy/Nursing:

If you are pregnant or nursing you will not be eligible for LASIK.  In fact, LASIK candidates must have had at least three menstrual cycles after they are done nursing and not expecting in order to be eligible for laser surgery.  Pregnancy hormones may affect the effectiveness of your prescription which also makes them ineligible for LASIK.

Stable Vision:

LASIK vision candidates need to have had stable vision for at least one year before they are considered for laser vision surgery procedures. 

Contacts:

In order for patients to have LASIK they must stop wearing their contacts for at least two weeks prior to the surgery.  This helps to stabilize the cornea and will give surgeons an accurate valuation of your prescription prior to the procedure.

LASIK is a viable option in the treatment of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms.  The goal of LASIK is to reduce the dependency of glasses and contacts with the end goal of 20/20 vision, although this is not guaranteed.

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

Refractive and laser eye surgery, known also as vision correction surgery, is implied to surgical procedures that repair problems with vision.  In the last decade there have been huge developments in the process of vision correction using lasers.  Both refractive and laser eye surgery allow patients to see better than they previously. 

Many laser eye vision correction surgeries are done by reshaping the eyes cornea.  The cornea is the front part of the eye that lets light pass through it and focus it on the retina, which is the back of the eye.  Other surgical procedures are done by replacing the natural lens of the eye.

LASIK, otherwise known as laser in-situ keratomileusis, is a surgery that assists in nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms.  The surgeon will reshape the tissues found underneath the cornea, so the light can focus properly.  A flap is made in the outer layer of the cornea in order to access the tissues that lay underneath.  This flap is what differentiates LASIK from other surgical vision procedures.  During LASIK surgeons may also use wavefront technology.  This technology creates a detailed picture of the cornea to use as a guide during surgery.

During Epi-LASIK, a surgeon separates the thin layers of tissue from the cornea and then reshape them using a laser.  The area is protected by using a soft contact lens to hold the flap in place while the tissues are healing.  

PRK, otherwise known as photorefractive keratectomy, is a surgery that assists in the correction of mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms.  Similar to LASIK a laser is used in PRK to reshape the cornea.  In PRK the laser is only used on the cornea and not the tissues underneath.  Similar to LASIK, wavefront technology is used in PRK to obtain a picture of the cornea.

LASEK, otherwise known as laser epithelial keratomileusis, is a surgery that is very similar to PRK that assists in nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms. Surgeons create a flap and use an alcohol solution that loosens the tissue and the laser is then used to reshape the cornea.  Once this part of the procedure is complete the surgeon will put a soft contact in place to hold the flap while it heals. 

During Epi-LASEK, a surgeon cuts a small flap within the cornea while using an alcohol solution to separate the thin layer of tissue for the cornea, reshapes it with the laser, and is protected by a soft contact lens holding the flap in place for healing.

RLE, refractive lens exchange is known by a few different common names including PRELEX, CLE, and RLR.  This is the same surgery that is done for cataracts.  Surgeons make a small cut at the edge of the cornea.  They then remove the eyes natural lens and replace it with a plastic or silicone lens.  This surgery is used to correct severe farsightedness and nearsightedness.  The surgery works for patients with dry eye, thin corneas, and minor issues with their corneas. 

Surgical laser vision correction is safe and effective.  Similar to any surgery there are known side effects that can include: infection, a delay in healing, under or over correction, worse vision, corneal haze, halo effect, regression, and/or flap damage.  All of which are rare but can occur.  It is important to always talk in depth with your laser vision correction surgeon before the procedure about any questions or concerns you may have.

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

There are a number of benefits that come from corrective eye surgery such as LASIK.  Having perfect or close to perfect vision without the hassle of glasses and contacts. There is a great deal of annoyance that comes along with wearing glasses or contacts.  When you are engaging in physical activity, enjoying some time in the water, or what not you always worry about your glasses being in a safe place or if you will get sand in a contact. There is a lot of agitation that comes along with making sure the device you use to see properly doesn’t break or get something in it.

Living An Active Lifestyle

Laser corrective eye surgery makes athletics of all types simpler.   Many an athlete has come into the office complaining about the inconvenience of wearing glasses and contacts in contact sports.  LASIK is an attractive option for athletes. It is important however, that they give themselves enough time off in between surgery and heading into action to allow their eyes to heal.  Even if you are not a professional athlete, if you have a particularly active life style LASIK is beneficial as well.  Simple outdoor activities like jogging, hiking, camping, and more are all made simpler without having to worry about carrying contact solution with you or be concerned if you break a lens while out on the trail.  Laser eye surgery can elevate your active lifestyle.

Traveling Made Simpler

Vacations are made easier with laser vision surgery as well.  Anyone who has ever taken a trip knows how difficult it is to pack and prepare for a trip.  Now factor in the supplies you need to see along with spares in case you lose a contact or miss placing your glasses without having a suitable solution.  Your trip could easily become a disaster.  Imagine spending the entire vacation looking for a suitable replacement for your glasses or contacts rather than enjoying your time away.

Care Free Living

LASIK allows patients to go glasses free and still see without the discomfort that is often experienced with the use of contact lens.  This typically comes into play when preparing for a special event like your wedding day.  Brides are often disinterested in wearing their glasses on their wedding day however still want to be able to see, without the irritation of contact lenses.  LASIK gives patients the opportunity to just get up and go without a care in the world.  Imagine waking up and not having to consider the means at which you will see.

Cost Saving Solution

Another benefit of LASIK surgery comes from the money that is saved.  It is estimated that Americans spend upwards of 30 billion dollars a year on eye care solutions each year.  On average LASIK costs about $2,000 per eye which may seem costly however when you add the cost of yearly eye exams, contacts, glasses and the products to care for them properly you are spending upwards of $500 a year.  Considering you will need these products for the rest of your life and LASIK is a one-time expense, the savings is seen relatively quickly.

Laser vision correction is becoming an incredibly popular surgical option to improve vision for a number of reasons. LASIK is convenient and allows people to pursue a comfortable and confident lifestyle.  The many benefits that come from living a life without the addition of glasses and contacts allow us to see why laser vision surgery has become such a popular option to provide high quality vision.

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.