April Kerr asked:

Everywhere you look there seems to be ads for LASIK eye surgery. The way they advertise the procedure can make you think that is will be the perfect solution to your vision problems. No more straining to read the ingredients on food packets or road signs. Simply undergo LASIK surgery and all there hassles will be a thing of the past.

However it is important to note that LASIK eye surgery may not be suitable for everyone so it’s important to read up as much as possible out the procedure.

The acronym LASIK means laser in-situ keratomy, eye surgery and uses an excimer which is a powerful laser. These have been specially designed to work on the delicate eye area. The laser can quickly re-shape the cornea (for treating nearsightedness) or the hyperopia (for treating farsightedness).

When the cornea is reshaped what happens is that tissue underneath is removed. So that the tissue can be worked on, a very small flap is pulled back from the surface of the cornea. The laser or microkeratome blade can be used to create this flap.

The laser zaps away excess tissue determined by the ophthalmologist whilst viewing an extremely detailed image of the cornea. This process can take only a matter of minutes and the patient won’t feel a thing. Vision can be corrected so swiftly that they are able to drive home aftwards.

The primary consideration when deciding if LASIK is for you is to look at the costs involved. Many health plans don’t cover this procedure as they believe it to be purely cosmetic.

The cost of surgery can vary greatly however the costs generally reflect the use of a reliable and experienced ophthalmologist and will cost several thousand dollars per eye. The cost is certainly not insignificant.

Cost isn’t the only consideration however. You can only undergo surgery if you have healthy eyes which have stopped changing. Other situations can also arise which prevent surgery.

When you go for your first consultation a number of tests will be performed to detect eye problems or diseases which could cause problems with the surgery. Because of hormones, LASIK surgery cannot be performed on pregnant women or on people with suppressed immune systems.

If you have the money to spend on surgery then LASIK may be a good way to improve your vision. The success rate is very high and the procedure is painless. There aren’t many reasons not to go ahead with treatment.

Dana Siconolfi asked:


Every year millions of nearsighted people decide that they’re tired of wearing glasses and begin looking for a more permanent solution to their eye problems. In the not too distant past, the solution would have meant going through a procedure called radial keratotomy in which incisions to the eye are made with a precision calibrated diamond knife.

Nowadays, most of these people are gaining 20/20 vision with the relatively new procedure of Lasik eye surgery. It was only a bit more than ten years ago that the FDA approved Summit Technology’s excimer laser to be used to correct nearsightedness.

So what exactly is Lasik eye surgery? The acronym “Lasik” stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. Lasik actually combines two distinct vision techniques for correcting the eyesight.

First, a knife, called a microkeratome is used to cut a flap in the cornea. The cornea is the translucent front part of the eye that acts as a protection for the eye. It also acts as the lens of the eye and controls the entry of light into the eye. The way light passes through the eye determines how well we are able to see the outside world. Common eye defects such as near sightedness are caused by refraction errors, that is, errors in the way light passes through the cornea.

The second vision technique used in Lasik is a computer-controlled laser which is used to vaporize a portion of the stroma, one of the five layers of the cornea. The stroma is, by far, the largest part of the cornea. It is essential to controlling the refraction of light through the cornea.

Parts of the stroma are vaporized to flatten the cornea. The amount of stroma that needs to be vaporized depends on your degree of nearsighteness. Once this is done, the cornea flap is replaced to its original position.

The combination of these two techniques allow surgeons to precisely correct the refractive errors in the eye that prevent you from having 20/20 vision.

Even though millions of people every year opt for Lasik surgery as a way of completely eliminating their dependence on glasses, refractive surgery is not to be taken lightly. Eye surgery is not trivial.

You will need to find not just a clinic, but also a physician who is experienced in vision corrective surgery. In fact, finding the right physician to perform your Lasik surgery is the most important decision you will make. Remember, you are about to place your future vision in the hands of whichever specialist you choose.

This is an exciting time for medical discoveries. The rate of new discoveries in the medical world are taking place at a dizzying pace. New and improved methods of surgery techniques are discovered and implemented everyday. You will want to find a doctor who keeps abreast of the latest developments in refractive eye surgery techniques and who is an active participant in the operations themselves.

If you take the time to choose the right physician, one you feel comfortable with and who is able to explain to your satisfaction, both the benefits and the risks involved, you should have no problems with your Lasik surgery.