With the active lifestyles we lead today, people want to rid
themselves of their glasses and contact lenses so many are
turning to lasik surgery. Lasik is considered a surgical
procedure with the objective of reducing your need for those
glasses or contacts. Lasik actually stands for Laser-Assisted In
Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure using an excimer laser to
change the shape of your eye's cornea, which is the clear
covering in front. Basically, the surgery consists of cutting a
flap in the cornea making sure to leave one end connected. With
the use of a computer controlled, highly precise laser, a
portion of the stroma is vaporized. The flap is put back in
place for quick and relatively painless healing to occur.
So why is changing the shape of the cornea so important? The
cornea is the part of the eye that helps create an image on the
retina by focusing light. It basically works the same way as a
camera lens. When vision is blurred or distorted, it often means
that the shape of your cornea and your eye are not perfect and
therefore when the light is refracted onto the retina, images
come across as blurry. Lasik surgery is also referred to as
refractive surgery with the goal of reshaping the cornea so that
its focusing ability is improved to a point where glasses and
contact lenses may no longer be required. Lasik results may not
get rid of glasses or contacts completely, but there is a strong
likelihood that your prescription will be significantly reduced
moving you closer to 20/20 vision.
Surprisingly enough, not everyone is an ideal candidate for
lasik or other refractive eye surgery. Because there is no long
term data recorded regarding the long term affects of this
surgery, if you are not fully confident in the procedure, this
is likely not for you. You need to trust your surgeon and the
techniques they use at all times. Although the cost of lasik
surgery continues to go down, it is still not cheap and not
covered by most health plans. You may have to do some budgeting
before you go ahead with it. If you have had a new prescription
is the past year, it is an indication that your eyes are
unstable and therefore should wait before going ahead with any
form of refractive surgery. If you suffer from autoimmune
diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, have diabetes or
are on certain mediations, proper healing from the surgery may
not be possible.
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