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What Not To Do  After LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK eye surgery is probably the safest, quickest and easiest way to improve your vision. The healing process happens quickly and for most patients, the process is uneventful. However, in spite of all the cards being stacked in your favor, it is important that you follow the recovery procedure your doctor has outlined for you in order to insure a speedy recovery without any complications.

First and foremost, you’ll need to apply the medications prescribed by your doctor according to the established schedule. In most cases, you’ll have a steroid based medication that you’ll apply quite frequently during the first four hours after LASIK eye surgery. Also, you may have antibiotic eye drops that will help prevent any infection. Be sure to adhere to the schedule with these medications, especially during the first four hours.

After the first four hours, you’ll still use these same medications, but the frequency will be reduced to one every six hours.

You should also have a supply of artificial tears to provide lubrication to your eye. Use these drops according to the established schedule and also at anytime your eyes feel dry. Keeping your eyes moist greatly enhances the healing process, so don’t skimp on the artificial tears.

As you start to get back into your normal daily activities, there are certain things you’ll need to avoid -

– Don’t get involved in any activities that could result in an object coming into contact with your eyes.
– When you shower, don’t allow the water stream to hit your eyes.
– Don’t get soap or shampoo in your eyes.
– Don’t get dust or pet hair in your eyes.
– Don’t rub your eyes.
– Don’t go out in bright sunlight without sun glasses.
– Don’t let your eyes get too dry – use the artificial tears as often as needed.
– Don’t rub your eyes while you’re sleeping – a special mask, provided by your doctor will protect your eyes while sleeping.

It is absolutely imperative that you faithfully follow your doctor’s schedule for medications, especially during the first week after your procedure. You’ve probably been given a steroid based medication to promote quick healing, so be sure to use it. Also, you may have been prescribed antibiotic eye drops to prevent an infection, so be sure to use them as recommended.

Your eyes are important and you’ll want to protect them thru the healing process. Be absolutely sure to follow your doctor’s instructions and you should have a quick, successful recovery!

Are There Risks Associated With LASIK Eye Surgery

Refractive surgery (LASIK) often produces amazing results, however, as with any medical procedure, there are risks involved. If you’re considering LASIK, it’s important that you are aware of the limitations and possible complications that may arise.

According to FDA reports, nearly 100% of LASIK patients have good results and no complications, but you need to be aware that there are things that can and do go wrong. Some problems include double or triple vision, light distortion so severe that patients can’t drive at night, or eyes so dry that they have to wear goggles when going outside.

Some patients experience infections, inflammation of the eye, redness, blurriness or eye irritation. In many cases, LASIK eye surgery can eliminate your need for corrective lenses, but that’s not always the result. Sometimes, LASIK will drastically reduce your dependence on corrective lenses, but you may still require corrective lenses for some activities, such as reading. It’s best to think of LASIK as reducing your dependency upon corrective lenses – not necessarily as eliminating your need for them.

Diffuse lamellar keratitis is a post operative LASIK risk that happens when a foreign substance, such as a hair or speck of dirt gets trapped behind the corneal flap. If this happens to you, you may experience pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, along with the sensation that something is trapped in your eye. Rubbing will only intensify the problem and may lead to further complications, such as infection or tearing or dislodging of the corneal flap. Diffuse lamellar keratitis usually occurs as the result of the patient not exercising proper precautions during the healing period after LASIK eye surgery.

One of the most common complications of LASIK eye surgery is a slipped flap. The flap that was created during the LASIK procedure may become detached from the rest of the cornea. Most doctors recommend that you go home and sleep for several hours after completing the LASIK procedure in order to allow the cornea to start its healing process. That’s good advice and can substantially reduce your chances of experiencing a slipped flap.

Even without LASIK eye surgery, it’s expected that everyone’s eyes will change slightly with the passage of time – it’s just a natural part of life. After LASIK, your eyes will still follow their natural course of changing with time, so LASIK shouldn’t necessarily be considered a permanent solution. For most people however, their vision will not change enough to require any additional treatments, especially when the original procedure was done to correct for poor distant vision.

The information provided here is not intended to scare you away from LASIK eye surgery, since it has been a blessing to a great many people. For many who have chosen LASIK, it has meant that they are no longer dependent on corrective lenses in order to have good vision. It’s highly recommended that you talk with your doctor about LASIK and how any possible risks or side effects relate to your own personal circumstances.

Why Are People Raving About LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK eye surgery can perform miracles – it can give you relief from wearing corrective lenses. It can cure nearsightedness, astigmatism and farsightedness. The procedure is quick and painless, offering almost immediate results. And due to advances in technology and the wide demand for this type of service, LASIK is quite economical.

LASIK eye surgery is now so common that millions of people have decided that it was time to abandon their corrective lenses, once and for all. There are so many LASIK clinics that you’re likely to find one close by, no matter where you live.

With LASIK vision correction procedures, most patients experience new, clear vision that’s potentially near perfect.

There are a great many benefits to LASIK eye surgery -

1) Clear vision
2) Eliminate the need for corrective lenses
3) Easier participation if recreational activities
4) Better vision than when using corrective lenses
5) Boost in self-confidence
6) More career opportunities likely to be available
7) Your appearance will be enhanced
Eliminate infection risks associated with contact lenses
9) Procedure is quick and painless
10) Healing process happens fast
11) No more contact lens discomfort
12) Pass your driver’s license test without glasses
13) Glasses restriction removed from driver’s license
14) Newest technology precisely maps eye contour for near perfect results
15) Overall vision, including peripheral vision improves
16) Quick, almost immediate results
17) Solves most vision problems – nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism

LASIK eye surgery has become more affordable in recent times. The technology has made significant improvements and the process is essentially automated to a large extent. The more progressive LASIK eye surgery centers invest heavily in the latest technology, automating not only the actual LASIK procedure, but also the data gathering process that happens first, during your evaluation. You eyes are examined by a computer and precise contour data is recorded. This data is then used during the surgery procedure to make sure that your resulting vision will be as close to perfection as possible.

LASIK Monocular Vision Correction

For the last several years, doctors have been hesitant to recommend LASIK eye surgery for patients who were farsighted.

Such patients could see clearly at a distance, but had trouble focusing on close up objects. This is a common problem for many people as they age and usually starts showing symptoms in the early to late 40s. The first sign of becoming farsighted is that these people have to hold reading material farther and farther away in order to be able to focus clearly. Eventually, they find that their arms are no longer lengthy enough to achieve proper focus.

LASIK eye surgery can resolve the problem of being farsighted, but at the expense of losing distance focusing. A typical farsighted person can see distant objects with no problem, but while LASIK surgery can solve the close focusing problem, the distance focusing is sacrificed in the process. Most people would consider this as just trading one problem for another.

However, research has shown that there is a way that LASIK eye surgery can help patients that suffer from farsightedness. It seems that the brain possesses powerful capabilities when processing images. The LASIK solution for farsightedness is to perform the procedure on one eye only, hence the name ‘monocular’.

An eye exam is used to determine which eye is best suited for distance viewing and that eye remains unaltered. The other eye undergoes the LASIK procedure and is then optimized for close object focusing. When the patient views an object, whether it’s near or far away, the brain accepts images from both eyes and merges the images thru complex processing. In essence, one eye focuses on far away objects and the other eye focuses on close up objects. The brain uses both images and the end result is that patients can now see close up and far away – problem solved!

If you’re at the age where you’ve just begun to notice your farsightedness, it may be best to wait a couple of years before having the LASIK eye surgery. The reasoning is that during the initial onset of farsightedness, your eyes tend to change frequently, so if you have the procedure done too early, your changing eyes could negate the results in a year or two, so you may need to have the procedure repeated. If you wait until your eyes stabilize, or at least the changing process slows, you’re likely to realize longer lasting results.

Many LASIK surgery doctors have been offering an option when you elect to have the procedure – for a fairly small extra fee, they’ll provide you with lifetime repeat procedures for free if they’re ever needed. This way, if your eyes do change as you age, you can have the LASIK procedure repeated at no additional cost. This can be a wise investment if you’re in the 40 to 50 age group.

If you have the monocular vision correction procedure, you’ll find that it does take a little getting used to. After all, your eyes have been providing very similar signals to your brain for a long time. Now that each eye focuses differently, your brain has to adapt and process the different images into a single view.

Are Implantable Contact Lens An Alternative to LASIK Eye Surgery?

Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery. But what if you still want to improve your vision while reducing or eliminating the need for glasses or contacts?

A popular alternative to LASIK eye surgery is ICL, or Implantable Contact Lens, also sometimes referred to as a permanent contact lens. An ICL is a soft lens that is attached to the eye for correcting nearsightedness. An Implanted Contact Lens is intended to be permanent, but it can be replaced if changes are needed in the future. Unlike LASIK eye surgery, the ICL procedure is completely reversible.

There are certain advantages to ICL over LASIK. For example, with LASIK, permanent changes are made to your eye and those changes are something you’ll have to live with. If the LASIK procedure worked out you’re OK, but if it didn’t, you’re stuck with it. In stark contrast, Implantable Contact Lenses can be changed out at any time if corrections are needed.

If you’ve previously worn contact lenses, you already know the hassles of normal contacts – cleaning, soaking, removing and replacing, etc. But with implantable contact lenses, all those frustrations immediately disappear. The implants are permanent and should never require any attention unless your vision changes as you age. Implantable contact lenses provide the same vision improvements as normal temporary contact lenses, but they require none of the attention and maintenance of normal contact lenses.

The ICL procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis and you’ll experience little or no pain. A mild sedative is administered to provide a calming effect and a 1/8 inch incision is made for insertion of the lens. Once inserted, the lens is properly positioned. In almost all cases, sutures are not required to close the incision point. If you’re having the procedure performed on both eyes, they’ll both be completed in a single session. The entire procedure is usually completed within about 30 minutes.

Upon completion of the ICL procedure, you’ll be sent to a ‘post-op’ area for recovery. Once staff members determine that you’re stable, you’ll be sent home to relax for the remainder of the day. You’ll need to return the next day for a follow-up exam, just to make sure that everything is OK.

There may be some mild haziness upon completion of the implantation, but this usually clears itself within a short period of time. Most patients see quick improvements in vision, with about 90% of normal vision restored within the first 24 hours. Normally, your vision on the second day will be good enough to allow you to drive yourself to the examination.

The main issue of concern with implantable contact lenses is the risk of infection. Infection is a serious condition that can result in the loss of vision, so your doctor will take the necessary precautions while performing the procedure.

Implantable contact lenses are a reasonable alternative to LASIK eye surgery for patients who have trouble seeing at a distance. However, ICL does not help you if you need reading glasses.