| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (F.A.Q.) |
| AM I A CANDIDATE FOR LASIK? |
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Most people having Laser Vision Correction are tired of or bothered by glasses and don't like the hassle of contacts. Others need to be free from glasses or contacts for their jobs or sports. Candidates must be 18 years or older, have a stable glasses prescription for 18 months, have eyes free of disease, and have realistic expectations. The surgery can correct up to about 6 diopters of astigmatism, and up to 5 diopters of farsightedness and 14 diopters of myopia. The only way to know for sure if you are a candidate is to have a thorough eye examination.
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| WHAT DOES THE LASIK EXAM ENTAIL? |
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Soft contact lens wearers must be out of their lenses for 3 days prior to their exam, and Gas Permeable or Hard lens wearers must be out of their lenses for 3 weeks prior to their exam. Your eye exam will last about 1-2 hours. This will be a cycloplegic exam, meaning your eyes will be dilated in order for our doctors to determine your best possible correction. Wavescan measurements and corneal mappings are performed to verify the health and integrity of your corneas. Corneal pachymetry readings are performed to determine the thickness of the cornea. The above mentioned testing is done in addition to a regular eye examination.
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| What surgical alternatives are there other than LASIK? |
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RK, AK, PRK, INTACTS and Phakic IOL
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| WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS WITH OTHER SURGICAL PROCEDURES? |
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RK (Radial Keratotomy) and AK (Astigmatic Keratotomy) use a diamond blade to make deep cuts around the center of the cornea or periphery. It can correct only low to moderate degrees of nearsightedness and astigmatism.
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) uses and Excimer Laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism by removing small amounts of tissues from the front of the cornea. It is more uncomfortable for the patient than LASIK, and generally visual rehabilitation is longer. PRK is usually done one eye at a time.
INTACTS (Intra-corneal rings) is a newer refractive procedure which involves the placement of plastic rings within the cornea to alter the anterior corneal curvature. It is limited only to those patients with very low degrees of nearsightedness and cannot correct farsightedness or astigmatism.
Phakic IOL (Intraocular Lens) is a refractive procedure which involves placing a specially designed intraocular lens inside the eye to correct for high degrees of nearsightedness and farsightedness. |
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| WHY CHOOSE LASIK OVER OTHER REFRACTIVE PROCEDURES? |
- Accurate and precise surgery
- eye has natural appearance
- quick recovery time
- minimal to no post operative discomfort or pain
- corrects large ranges of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism
- ability to fine tune smaller corrections
- Same day bilateral correction
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| WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF COMPLICATIONS? |
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The chance of a serious vision threatening complication is less than 1 percent. Some possible complications are infection (rarely occurs), undercorrection or overcorrection (which can be further corrected), night glare (which is usually temporary), and corneal flap risks (also very rare).
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| CAN I RETURN TO WORK AND SPORTS IMMEDIATELY? |
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Yes, generally most patients return to work/sports within 1 to 3 days.
Cautions include:
Avoid all water sports for one month.
Protective eye wear is required when participating in contact sports.
Avoid outdoor activities such as yard work, windy or dirty environments for at least one week after surgery.
If you smoke, smoking is permitted, but it is a known irritant to the eye.
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| IF YOU CORRECT MY EYES FOR FAR AWAY VISION, WILL I EVER NEED GLASSES? |
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Yes, persons in the presbyopic age range will still need a reading prescription in the form of reading glasses following the LASIK procedure. Presbyopia is a condition of the eye occurring naturally somewhere around the early to mid-forties for virtually all people. Presbyopia is the loss of accommodation of the eye or the ability of the eye to focus on materials held close to the face.
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| CAN I HAVE BOTH EYES DONE AT THE SAME TIME WITH LASIK? |
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Yes, most patients have both eyes done at the same time.
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