LASIK Surgery - Are You Suitable Candidate?
I guess you’re all familiar with refractive surgery – surgery that corrects visual acuity with the purpose of reducing or eliminating the need for contacts and glasses. Well, in today’s fast-paced technological world, one of the most commonly performed refractive surgery is what the experts call as LASIK surgery. You may hear people calling it “LASIX”, but the name actually stands for “Laser-Assisted-In-Situ-Keratomileusis”.
LASIK Surgery
It is given that LASIK surgery procedure is intended to decrease or eliminate the person’s dependency on glasses or contact lenses. This LASIK surgery procedure is actually “outpatient”, thus you have the chance to go home after the operation.
It is performed by a refractive surgeon in order to correct any refractive problems like myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.
Basically, the LASIK surgery permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, with the use of excimer laser. Also, a knife, medically known as microkeratome, is used to cut a flap in the cornea. Then, a hinge is left at one end of this flap.
The flap is folded back revealing the stroma, which is the middle section of the cornea. The LASIK surgery procedure further involves vaporization of a portion of the stroma, and that what allows you to smell somewhat like a burning hair during the LASIK surgery procedure. After which, the flap is re-placed on its original position.
Is LASIK Surgery Suitable For You?
One specific truth when it comes to LASIK surgery is that, it is not for everyone. There are a number of medical conditions that some people have that make them poor candidates for this refractive procedure.
Well, these conditions are in the first place rare and can only be determined or detected during your preoperative test with what is called a Corneal Topographical Map.
Some Preoperative Tests include:
- Complete Eye Examination
- Computerized Topographical Analysis
- Tonometry
- Contrast Sensitivity Analysis
- Pachymetry
Today just about anyone can get corrective LASIK surgery. However there are a few exceptions to this rather generalized statement. These are the minimum requirements that guide most doctors in their decision to qualify or disqualify a patient for LASIK surgery
- Your refractive error should be stable
- You should be at least 18 years of age or older
- No other ophthalmologic disorders
- No other general disorders
Your refractive error is the degree to which light reaches the back of the eye. This is the cause of astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia. This problem is easily fixed with glasses, and with today’s new technology LASIK surgery is now an option for many patients.
Candidates for this LASER surgery should be affected by at least one eye condition. These eye conditions can include vision problems such as myopia-also called nearsightedness, astigmatism-which is blurred vision caused by an irregular shaped cornea, hyperopia- also known as farsightedness or a combination of any of these.
You should be at least 18 years of age or older before considering LASIK surgery. This is because your body is still developing and changing, including your eyes. Your eyes are still growing and changing their shape until you reach full maturity.
Ophthalmologic disorders are disorders in the eye. Examples of these optical disorders are cataracts and glaucoma. These problems need to be take care of in advance if at all possible to avoid complications with LASER surgery and recovery.
Other disorders such has arthritis should not be present either as it will slow the healing process. Many physiological disorders have been know to cause undo stress on the eyes, and it is for this reason that LASIK surgery is not recommended for people with general disorders.