How to Get Laser Eye Surgery
For people with very poor eyesight, laser eye surgery is one of the many ways to restore a person’s clear, vivid, and perfect vision. Millions of people have laser eye surgery every year to correct vision problems that make glasses or contact lenses inconvenient. If you plan to get laser eye surgery for yourself, a friend, or a family member, here are some things you have to know about.
What is Laser Eye Surgery?
The eye works by bending and refracting light to allow the brain to discern and distinguish shapes, dimensions, depth, and colors of images and objects. The eye is a very complicated organ that is shaped and designed in such a way that the light rays are refracted perfectly to the retina and receptor cells in the eye. Not all people have perfect vision, and their eyesight may be corrected through the use of glasses or contact lenses. Some vision problems may be so severe that the eye needs to be corrected through surgery.
Laser eye surgery is also called refractive surgery. Before advanced techniques and methods in optical medicine, ophthalmologists used to treat abnormalities on the cornea, lens, or retina with invasive methods like incisions and traditional surgical methods applied on the eye. Laser eye surgery uses a device called an excimer laser to make precise operations on the sensitive parts of the eye. Laser eye surgery aims to correct defects and problems with the eye in the least invasive, safest way possible.
Kinds of Laser Eye Surgery
laser eye surgeryThe kind of laser surgery method that will be used by your doctor depends on the cause and the nature of your vision problems. There are two common types of laser eye surgery:
Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is the most common optical surgery used for astigmatism and other vision problems that cannot be adequately corrected with glasses. LASIK remodels the cornea to correct the refraction of light to the retina. A small flap on the cornea is created by the LASIK operation. LASIK is preferred by many patients because of the very short recovery time required for the operation to heal.
Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelium Keratomlieusis (LASEK) is similar to LASIK, although it does not create the permanent flap on the cornea like LASIK does. LASEK does take a longer time to heal than LASIK, although it does not make any serious modifications on the cornea.
Consult Your Doctor
Your ophthalmologist is the only person qualified to prescribe a particular treatment for vision problems. Some ophthalmologists would opt to provide you a pair of specially designed glasses, although you may choose laser eye surgery after he or she explains the advantages and disadvantages of ophthalmic surgery. If you do opt to take laser eye surgery, you should consult your insurance provider first to see if your current health plan covers the costs of the surgical procedure.
Perfect vision is important for any job, task, or duty you have to perform. With laser eye surgery, you can have a clear, vivid view of just about anything, without having to worry about putting your glasses on or wearing your contact lenses.