All you need to know about LASIK surgery
All you need to know about LASIK surgery
LASIK Surgery
LASIK Surgery, or Laser Eye Surgery, is a procedure aimed at enhancing vision. Individuals suffering from nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, can undergo the surgery to be free from the burden of eyeglasses or contact lenses.
LASIK refers to ‘Laser in Situ Keratomileusis’. This procedure employs a specialized laser designed to cure refractive errors, enhance vision, and reduce the need for glasses or contact lenses.
While performing the surgery your surgeon will use a laser to cure the impairment in the cornea. The cornea is a dome-shaped part in the forefront of the eye that focuses light onto the retina situated at the back of the eye that forms an image. If the cornea gets impaired, the light then travels through the lens or the tear films, which may lead to blurry vision. By repairing the cornea, LASIK Surgery treats the eye’s capability of focusing, thereby enhancing the quality of your vision.
Benefits of LASIK Surgery
The importance of healthy eyesight is vital and hence keeping your eyesight intact is of paramount importance and feasible by employing LASIK Surgery.
- It repairs the vision
- It causes minimal pain
- Vision is corrected almost immediately
- As it is bladeless, no bandages or stitches are required
- There is a dramatic reduction in eyeglass or contact lens dependence
Risks of LASIK you should know before getting operated.
LASIK surgery has proved out to be an effective method for people with eyesight issues. However, like any other surgical procedure, it also comes along with some risks. To decide whether to get the surgery administered or not, you must know the potential risks and complications and analyze them carefully before proceeding with surgery.
Enlisted below are some of the risk factors you must be aware of
1 – You may require a second time : The majority of the patients are satisfied by the result LASIK produces, but at times it is possible that it may not achieve the desired result. One may have to undergo a second surgery to achieve a quality vision, called an enhancement, to better your vision. Patients with more severe impairment are at higher risk for needing an enhancement. This enhancement may be performed after a couple of months to allow your eyes to heal appropriately from the first surgery. In some rare cases, you may not be able to have an enhancement if your corneas are too thin or abnormally shaped after surgery.
2 – The glasses may not vanish immediately: Though this is extremely rare still you must discuss this with your surgeon. Also if both of your eyes are operated on for farsighted vision, you may still need glasses for nearsightedness if presbyopia develops as a part of the aging process.
3 – Your results may not be permanent: Again a rare risk but some patients may experience a degradation in the desired treatment effect after some years. Patients with hyperopia or farsightedness are prone to suffer from this condition. Regression can be re-treated, by adhering to the enhancement surgery after the initial LASIK.
4 – You may experience Dry-Eye symptoms: Experiencing some dry-eye symptoms right after the surgery is considered to be normal. If you notice symptoms such as burning and redness or even decreased vision along with the dry-eyes after surgery. Then you should consult your eye doctor about the same as this condition often turns out to be permanent and may require medication.
5 – Loss of vision is also a possibility: This is the rarest of the risks that one might face after a LASIK surgery. This may occur due to flap-related complications, infection, or equipment malfunction.
What to expect after the surgery?
After the surgery, a person may feel a little itchiness or a burning sensation, in their eyes. One may also experience mild pain or discomfort. However, while these symptoms are temporary & normal one must restrain from rubbing their eye, as this could cause damage and develop a need for further surgery.
People may also experience:
- Sensitivity toward hard light
- Glare in the eyes
- Bloodshot eye
These symptoms are also temporary and usually disappear within a couple of days.
The eye doctor may prescribe a course of anti-inflammatory and antibiotics eye drops for a course of 5-14 days. Some people may require protective goggles to protect the eyes while sleeping or to help with dry eyes.
Recovery time
Although people would be able to see through the eye immediately, it may take a course of 3-6 months for the eye to heal completely.
It is advisable to avoid any sort of sport for a course of at least one month after getting operated on since it is vital to avoid any sort of infection, using any cosmetic products around the eyes may also be restricted by the doctor for at least two weeks following the surgery.
