Five Facts About Lasik Everyone Should Know
This is a mini consumer information report focusing on some important facts that anyone considering Lasik eye surgery should be aware of.
1. Lasik surgery does not automatically mean perfect vision.
There's a misconception among a lot of normally well informed people that having Lasik surgery will automatically bestow 20/20 vision on them. I was talking with a good friend on mine and he was under the impression that having the surgery means that you will have perfect eyesight and never have to wear glasses ever again once you've had the procedure. The reality of the situation is more about improvement than perfection.
Most people do have improved vision after undergoing the laser treatment but let's take a closer look at what the percentages are.
Statistically speaking roughly 58% of patients who undergo Lasik eye surgery achieve 20/20 vision. About 94% of people who've had the procedure wind up with 20/40 vision or better which is good enough to pass the test for a driver's license.
2. One round of Lasik may not be enough.
You may have to go back for the Lasik treatment again, it's what the Lasik industry sometimes calls "refinements".
Occasionally the first round of surgery doesn't correct all the corneal aberrations that were altering your eyesight and you go back to improve the initial results. Sometimes after some initial improvement your eyesight undergoes a regression to diminished visual capabilities.
In both cases another round of eye surgery may be desirable to achieve gains in visual acuity. This is not a situation that a doctor can predict but it's definitely something to keep in mind as it can make the overall expense higher than expected. Discuss the possibily with your doctor, especially if you're on a tight budget.
3. Not everyone is a good candidate for Lasik
There are many circumstances or conditions that would make someone not well suited for this procedure.
For instance you should probably be at least 20 years old so that your eyes have stopped their growth. You shouldn't have thin corneas or be prone to dry eyes. There are dozens of medical conditions that would preclude you from being a good candidate for laser surgery.
It's very important to reveal your full medical history to your doctor and to undergo a proper consultation before considering the treatment. Do as much reading and research as you can up front so that you can get full value out of your consultation with the Lasik doctor. It's your health; get informed and ask questions.
4. You may need the more expensive custom Wavefront option.
Depending on the shape of your cornea, you may need to undergo custom Lasik. Custom Lasik relies on complicated 3d mapping generated by the Wavefront software to help guide the surgical laser. Wavefront Lasik is done in those case when a person's cornea has too many abnormalities for regular Lasik and far greater care needs to be taken with mapping of the corneal surface.
Your doctor will be able to determine whether or not custom Lasik is well suited to your needs. This will drive the price up from the regularily advertised rates for Lasik surgery. Your doctor should be able to estimate what kind of financial impact this will have if it's determined that this is the best surgical solution for your needs.
5. Lasik is a surgical procedure and there can be complications.
Although the process usually takes under 15 minutes and the majority of people are happy with the results, it is still a surgical procedure. And any surgical procedure carries with it a certain amount of risk. It's hard to get concrete statistics on the failure rate of Lasik surgery but I have seen a five percent problem rate reported. And the Lasik surgery related problems can be quite undesirable.
Take your time and weigh the risk versus benefits of having the operation. Make sure you are totally comfortable with your decision before going forward. You'll be happy you did.
