Friday, January 9, 2009

Can LASIK Surgery be Perfomed on Everyone

LASIK are becoming popular and there are plenty of eye patients interested, and want to know the benefits, the risks, and how the Lasik procedure works. The first LASIK operation consideration are the requirements to meet for each candidate. Before you undergo with the procedure, you must talk about your case with your doctor; here are some tips you can follow first hand.

First, the eye should be properly matured. Individuals 18-years old and younger cannot undergo LASIK, for it is likely that the shape of their eye will continue to shift for several years. If the eye shape change after the Lasik operation is done, the clarity of vision will be affected. Some Lasik doctors recommend waiting until age 25 in some cases.

In addition to an age cutoff, the vision prescription for the Lasik nominee should be steady for at least one year, and preferably for longer than that. The reason being that LASIK procedure can only be successful if the eye stops changing its shape.

One comment about age cutoffs should be made with regard to Lasik surgery. There is no maximum age, a lot of patients in their 50s and 80s have seen dramatic sight improvment after LASIK. The important consideration in these cases is sufficient tear production for successful healing and lubrication after the Lasik sight correction.

The eyes of the Lasik candidate should be healthy. That is to say the patient should not have suffered any eye injury or infection a year before the operation. In addition, they must not have any recurring eye problem, such as a history of herpes infection in the eyes.

The medical history of a prospective Lasik client also plays an important part. Some long-term conditions, like an autoimmune diseases like Lupus, will prevent some people from being considered by the LASIK doctors surgery procedure. Be on the lookout for current eye conditions you might which you do not know, or even to those past conditions too. Moreover, pregnant or lactating mommies should postpone LASIK operation scheduled.

Patients with dry eye condition are prohibited to take LASIK, mainly because LASIK dry eyes is a serious concern for many doctors. The tear production is crucial for a successful LASIK, although this can be remedied using artificial tear drops. Peole whose eyes can expand very extensively are also not a good patient for a LASIK procedure.

If you do not meet the above criteria for a good LASIK patient, you should look for another alternative. If your eye qualifies under the criteria for LASIK and you can find the best physician in your area to do the procedure, then LASIK should be your best option to correct eye problem. Visit the nearest respected LASIK center in your area and ask the full implication of the operation now.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

How Much Does Lasik Surgery Cost – What Affects Lasik Eye Surgery Price?

The first thing that must be considered when you consider lasik laser eye surgery procedure is the price. It´s hard to offer a fixed price because there are several factors that change the final amount from one case to another.

The first one is the geographical location. For example: a famous surgeon from Beverly Hills is considerably more expensive than another one from Pennsylvania.
Also, the treatment facility must be taken into account because a small private clinic won´t charge the same price as a hospital or a specialized eye treatment center.

Another important factor is the reputation of the surgeon and of the center. It´s obvious that a professional doctor will ask more money for the procedure than any his colleagues.

After considering all the above mentioned factors you´ll probably want to know the average price for the lasik laser eye surgery. Well, the standard rate used globally is about $2000.

But to this amount, you should add money for local taxes, surgeon´s reputation, geographical location and last but not least the doctor´s royalty fee. Either way, you should know that for most surgeons the price is pretty much the same.

If you wonder about additional costs, you should know that your doctor must quote the total amount during your first eye-consult. In addition to all that you´ll have to pay for the follow-up treatment and post-op medication if needed.

There are strong competition in the field of lasik eye surgery and that´s why many surgeons offer some form of discounts in order to remain competitive. Usually they publish the coupons on the local newspaper or on the Internet but just to be sure, when you go see the doctor for the consult you might wanna ask him about any discounts offers.

For example there are a few surgeons that offer discounts to patients that pay cash for the procedure while others offer senior citizen discounts.

Also, if you´re really looking to find a good bargain for your surgery and you don´t mind going to other cities then you should start a research on the Internet.

As I said before the geographical location is very important and if you´re lucky you can find an affordable treatment center perfect for your budget. This means that you´ll get your surgery and you´ll enjoy a very pleasant vacation in the same time.

Wondering how much does lasik surgery cost? Visit my lasik eye surgery site for more information.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Get Ready By Checking The Laser Eye Surgery Facts

People who grow tired of putting on glasses or believe they look better without them might look to corrective surgery applying laser technology to rejuvenate their visual sharpness. If you are authentically mooting over the alternative of laser eye surgery then you truly need to get  all of the up to date and most dependable information obtainable on the issue.. Not everyone will constitute an effective candidate for lasik surgery and by studying the on hand laser eye surgery facts individuals can quickly ascertain if they qualify. After examining all of the facts about the procedure you can then move on, if you so decide,being a well educated patient
There are several laser eye surgery facts that likewise point to the success rate of the procedure. Finding Out what can be anticipated before the surgical procedure, during the operation and the proper follow up care is an all important component of the decision-making process and the laser eye surgery facts can help provide that information as well. One of the principal facts is that most insurance policies do not underwrite the operation if it is sought only for cosmetic purposes.

Those who wear contact lenses could have to delay while their eyes come back to their normal form before having the surgery performed, meaning they must wear specs until the day of the surgical procedure. They may likewise need to keep wearing glasses to even out the vision in the one eyeball that is not fixed according to the available laser eye surgery facts.

Success Rates Are In Potential Patients' Favor

In spite of many risks involved the probabilities for a successful operation are better than one might believe as there are far more reports of successes than of failures While the danger elements are enclosed in the laser eye surgery facts, the experience and knowledge of the surgeon executing the operation will greatly increase the chances of success.

The patient will be under local anesthetic only with a local sedative for the eyeball on which the operation is being executed. In most instances, the patient will go home the same day to set about the recuperative process and with the proper follow up care, after their recovery they will end up with much better visual acuity than they had before the surgery.

Being able to afford the operational costs may seem intimidating for some, but when the cost of optic examinations and glasses over their life-time is considered, the laser eye surgery facts point out that it can comprise a substantial price savings o'er the years succeeding the surgery.

Friday, December 26, 2008

How Laser Eye Surgery Works – Lasik And Photorefractive Eye Surgery

People with eye-related problems are becoming more and more interested in laser eye surgery and its benefits because this is known to be the most exciting ophthalmologic procedure.

To be more precise, this is a refractive eye surgery that can correct all types of refractive errors such as: astigmatism (distorted vision), myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness).

Even if the medicine offers various types of surgical techniques for correcting refractive errors, the laser eye surgery was labelled by the American Academy of Ophthalmology the most technically advanced and precise one.

The excimer laser was the first laser ever approved for eye surgery and it´s used to correct myopia. Now, this laser is used in two different procedures: Laser in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) and Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK).

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)

The surgeon maps and measures the patient´s eye before the procedure in order to analyse the problem. Then, he uses a few local anesthetic eye drops and reshapes the cornea eliminating tiny amounts of tissue from the outer surface.

Next, the doctor uses an ultra violet beam of light and cuts notches the size of human hair. Each pulse of light can remove a 39 millionth of an inch of cornel tissue in only 12 billionths of a second.

According to same studies, only 5% of the patients still use permanent glasses after the surgery while 15% need visual aids only when driving.

Laser in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)

The LASIK procedure is more complicated than PRK but it´s a solution for solving all types of myopia.

The surgeon uses the Microkeratome to cut a corneal tissue flap in order to replace it. Everything depends on the doctor because with LASIK he has to make a very precise incision.
The patient only feels a little discomfort and sometimes an irritation but those won´t last too long. In most cases, the patients returned to their normal life in only two or three days.

With LASIK there can be only one side effect and that is occasional glare at night.
Anyway, everyone should know that even if the results are said to be permanent, the age can influence the final results and in some cases the doctor may even suggested re-surgery.

Learn more facts about lasik surgery and where to get the best lasik treatment travel package at my lasik eye surgery site.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Corrective Laser Eye Surgery – Advances In Lasik Eye Surgery Procedures

In order to correct vision, surgeons use lasers to reshape the cornea by intervening on the tissues on the underlying or stromal layer. The medicine currently comprises two very effective types of laser eye surgery: the Photo Refractive Keratectomy (PRK) and the Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK).

In Photo Refractive Keratectomy, the doctor manually scrapes away the cornea and corrects the vision using an excimer laser. Unfortunately the epithelium layer will grow back in time, not to mention that the recovery period is longer than with LASIK.

On the other side, PRK procedure involves fewer risks because the surgeon doesn´t cut the cornea.

LASEK (Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileus) is the new and improved PRK and uses a solution with alcohol to soften the area before removing the epithelium. After the excimer laser reshapes the stroma, the surgeon replaces the epithelium. With LASEK the healing process is shorter than with PRK.

Next, LASEK developed into Epi-LASEK. The doctor preserves a living layer of the epithelium using a separator and after the vision is corrected with excimer laser, the layer is replaced. The healing process is even shorter now.

LASIK or Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis cuts the cornea flap with a microkeratome metal blade, reshapes the eye with an excimer laser and repositions the flap. This procedure corrects vision right away and the patient will only experience some blurriness during the next 24-hours.

Custom Vue LASIK is pretty much the same thing as LASIK but it uses Wavefront software. The technology used is 25% more accurate than any standard method and is used to map the optical system and to guide the laser to change the stroma.

With Custom Intra LASIKthe flap is made using a femtosecond Intralase laser. Then with the help of Wavefront guidance the excimer laser corrects the visual errors.

According to the experts this is the most advanced procedure for corneal flap creation but unfortunately it is also the most expensive one.

Learn more about lasik eye surgery as well as the common lasik eye surgery problems.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

My Experience with Lasik Surgery

Today I want to tell you about my personal experience with LASIK procedure and how LASIK in fact changed my life.

When I got to talk to the Lasik docotr, he was encouraging but realistic. He stated that one of my eyes would be a good candidate for total vision correction, but the other eye would likely see only some (though possibly major) improvement. He stated that about one of his Lasik procedures per month are with clients with the same level of poor vision of my worst eye.  So that made me feel good!  

I would also like to encourage those people with some problems to go ahead and visit their local Lasik center (in my case I went to the Denver Lasik Eye Surgery clinic and I can't complain!) to talk to the professionals there. As I mentioned earlier, I have had some occasional problems with dry eyes. I also have pupils that dilate easily. These conditions that I have with my eyes can be a possible cause of complication, but the doctor said that the conditions are not that severe to defer the procedure. Do go and discuss your individual case.

I cannot say that the information I was given made me totally relaxed about the whole procedure. Before I had the procedure done, I tried to reason with myself not to get it.  I followed all what the Lasik doctors told me to do  after the procedure, and I am so happy with the results! I could see much better even directly after the operation was over, and things have continued to improve. I personally do not have any of the problems that are often mentioned as effects, such as halos around lights, etc. I would strongly encourage anyone to be brave enough to go down to your Lasik center and at least talk about the Lasik procedure with a knowledgeable professional.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Lasik Eye Procedure – What Happens During A Lasik Eye Surgery

People that were forced to wear contacts or glasses all their life can now leave these aids behind by using a new and innovative LASIK procedure called the LASIK eye surgery.

This new type of refractive eye surgery can be risky but in most cases after detailed testing and consultation the final result is a good one. If you worry about the duration of the surgery, you should know that everything lasts only a few minutes but in order to obtain good results you should be very careful about the pre and post operative appointments.

It is very important to choose a good eye surgeon and after he evaluates he´ll establish the details of the procedure. He´ll let you know if you´re a good candidate or not, he´ll explain the procedure, the complications, the risks and the final result and together you´ll set the post-op appointment.

A few weeks before the LASIK eye procedure it´s recommended that you use only glasses and no contact lens because the shape of the cornea plays the most important role during evaluation.

When the procedure starts you´ll be sitting in a chair while the doctor will put numbing drops in your eyes. After he cleans up the area around the eyes, he´ll use a machine that will keep your eye lids open.

You might feel pretty weird because our eye lids are programmed to shut but if you stay relaxed you won´t feel a thing. The lasik eye surgeon use various types of machines and that´s why the level of discomfort can vary a lot from one patient to another.

Next, you´ll have to look straight into a laser placed over your eye while the surgeon will complete the procedure.

Everything happens very fast and the discomfort will only last a few seconds. All the above mentioned details sound scary and when you think that everything happens in the eye you might reconsider but you shouldn´t. LASIK eye procedure is very safe and most candidates leave the hospital with excellent results.

Wondering how much does lasik cost? Visit my lasik eye surgery site for more information.