LASIK surgery may eliminate the need to wear eyeglasses, but for at least some people it is too risky. Are you a good candidate for LASIK surgery?
If you are tired of wearing contacts or eyeglasses, you will probably want to consider LASIK surgery. After all, this surgical procedure has been hugely successful and most people who have had this are happy with the results. But LASIK surgery does have some risks, and it is not the best vision-correction option for many people.
Who should have LASIK surgery?
During a LASIK surgery, the surgeon will create a flap in your cornea and then use a laser to correct the focusing problems. LASIK surgery can treat conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Proper evaluation of the eyes is required before the surgery.
Can LASIK surgery correct presbyopia?
Many people in their 40s have difficulty focusing on nearby objects. This makes reading small print difficult. LASIK surgery may improve your distance vision, but if you have presbyopia, it can worsen your ability to see things close up.
In this case, your best bet is to have your eyesight corrected for monovision. When you have monovision, one of your eyes is corrected for distant vision and the other is corrected for near vision. But adjusting to monovision can be difficult. You should consider doing a trial with contacts, before undergoing the surgical procedure.
LASIK surgery risks
The risks include overcorrection, undercorrection or astigmatism. If during the procedure, the laser extracts too much or too little tissue from your eyes, you will not get the results you wanted. Uneven tissue removal can cause astigmatism.
After undergoing the surgery, you may experience difficulty seeing at night. You may notice double vision or halos around bright eyes. Also the flap removal during the procedure may result in complications like infection or swelling.
Dry eyes
Dry eyes are a common problem that many patients experience after the procedure. LASIK surgery may decrease your eye’s ability to produce tears and consequently your eye can get unusually dry.
Factors that increases the risk
You are more likely to experience complications if you have a problem that affects your body’s ability to heal. People suffering from HIV, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus have an increased risk of complications including infections and incomplete healing. Those who take an immunosuppressive medication are also unlikely to have a positive outcome after LASIK surgery.
If you already have dry eyes, the LASIK surgery will worsen the situation. People who have very thin corneas are also not good candidates for LASIK surgery.