Lasik Eye Surgery – Is it safe?

Posted by admin in Eye Care on Aug 21st, 2009

Wearing glasses and contact lenses is a tiresome daily routine that many people seek to avoid at all means. For a long period of time people with visual problems had no much choice but to wear these sight supporting gadgets. But this is not the case anymore as opticians have come up with eye laser surgeries that permanently correct the sight problems once and for all. Lasik eye surgery is one such procedure that is carried out to reshape the cornea without working directly on the outer surface of the cornea. The whole idea behind the operation is to change the focal point of the eye so that it focuses on the retina.

 
How is it performed?
The surgeon cuts the cornea either using a small cornea cutting instrument or a laser, thus creating a flap. The flap is then folded back so that a particular amount of the cornea tissue is removed using the laser. This enables the reshaping of the cornea. An ultraviolet light is then passed through the cornea to further reshape it and enable it to focus and refract light on the retina. The flap is then replaced to protect the eye from damages.

Benefits of the Lasik Eye Surgery to the Patient
*    The procedure has fast results that are realized a day or two after the surgery.
*    It can be performed on out-patient basis thus the patient caters only for the cost of the operation.
*    It’s a permanent sight correction mechanism eliminating need for supportive eyewear.
*    The procedure is relatively cheap.
*    It’s a non-invasive form of surgery that is only performed once with no need for follow-up surgeries.  
*    Lasik is performed on those with moderate visual problems to prevent the problems from increasing further.

Lasik Eye Surgery – Side Effects
Like any other surgical operations, this procedure may present some complications to the patient. These may include:
*    Patients experiencing inflammation or scarring which is a natural reaction of the cornea when it detects any foreign material in the eye.
*    The flap of the eye, usually cut when reshaping the cornea may sometimes be incorrectly cut such that it gets injured. This condition is referred to as keratectasia and results in the weakening and bulging of the cornea.
*    The patient may also experience slightly blurred vision especially at night.  
*    Patients may develop the dry eyes syndrome where the eye is not able to produce enough tears to keep them moist. This results in a general discomfort of the eyes.
*    Some patients may develop eye infections after the procedure.
*    There may be over or under correction of the visual problem. Thus patients may end up wearing glasses or lenses or going for another laser operation.

Conclusion
The patient should thoroughly consult with the doctor in order to weigh out the benefits against the risks of the operation. The procedure is likely to yield varying results on different patients thus the need for personal consultation.

Although the procedure has numerous side effects, it’s possible to mitigate the level of these effects. One way that is highly recommended by ophthalmologists is to have the treatment administered on one eye first as a way of testing its response to the procedure. Thus if the procedure does not work, the patient will look for an alternative procedure for the other eye.  Nevertheless some of the side effects like infections can be treated using common antibiotics.

Research has shown that Lasik eye surgery operations have a very high success rate with the amount of long term complications being less than half percent.

 

For more questions regarding Lasik eye surgery please refer
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