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FAQ
LASIK - Frequently Asked Questions
What are the odds of eliminating my glasses?
At BEST LASIK Laser Eye Center, 100% of
patients will see well enough without
glasses to pass the DMV eye test ("20/40").
Just under 40% achieve 20/15 or better
acuity, while 96.6% achieve 20/20 or better
vision. The results are better for patients
with lower amounts of correction.
Does the treatment hurt?
With both PRK and LASIK, there is no pain or
discomfort at the time of surgery, as
anesthetic eye drops are used. With LASIK,
there may be a mild foreign body sensation
for several hours after care, accompanied by
a lot of tearing. After that, there should
be no discomfort at all. After PRK, there
can be mild to moderate discomfort for 1-3
days. The discomfort is minimized by use of
a 'band-aid' soft contact lens and special
eye drops. When epithelial healing is
complete, the lens is removed, there is no
further risk of discomfort. With LASIK, many
patients observe that they experience no
pain, no irritation, and not even any slight
foreign body or ‘eyelash’ sensation. Most
are pleasantly surprised at how little
discomfort they had, and usually mention
this when they talk about their experience.
Can I lose vision as a result of this
treatment?
This is one of the most important concerns
that patients have. No patient in our
practice has ever lost their vision, or
suffered any untoward accident or
misadventure leading to blindness (or even
serious vision compromise) as a result of
laser treatment. No patient in any of the
extensive FDA studies of excimer laser
treatment has suffered profound vision loss.
In the entire world experience, we are aware
of an extremely small number of cases
(approximately one per million surgeries
performed) that have caused serious eye or
vision problems. That includes surgeries
done by untrained or ill-trained surgeons,
experimental and “off-brand” lasers, and so
forth. It is the general consensus among
very experienced, competent US and European
surgeons that this should not happen in the
hands of good surgeons doing good work with
proper equipment.
Is this a “no-risk” procedure?
No surgical procedure is without risk. We
take risk every day when we get out of bed,
walk across a street, drive a car, or fly in
an airplane. We consider these “acceptable”
risks and a part of modern life. There are
certain risks involved in taking any action
(such as having LASIK) and there are risks
involved in not taking action. For example,
there is a small risk of blindness
associated with use of soft contact lenses
(due to amebic corneal infection in perhaps
1 per million contact lens wearers), and
risk of serious eye injury if glasses are
worn and facial trauma occurs. This latter
risk is also in the range of the “one in a
million”.
What about long-term results?
The long-term stability of laser vision
surgery is remarkable. In our practice, we
have seen patients retain excellent unaided
vision (in the range of “20/20” and even
“20/15”) for over 12 years, which means
since we first started performing laser
vision care in 1994. Laser vision correction
is at least 1,000 times more accurate, and
more stable, than any prior corrective
surgery ever performed, including radial
keratotomy (“RK”). Excimer laser surgery was
first performed in 1988. Extensive testing
around the world has confirmed that there
are no long-term health problems to the eye
from this type of care.
Will my eyes deteriorate in the future?
Most people see the eye doctor for a checkup
and prescription update every one to three
years. It is normal for a person’s optical
prescription to change a very small amount
every several years. This slow rate of
change “drift” of the prescription through
life is not worsened, nor is it eliminated,
by having LASIK. After LASIK, if the eyes
change, the change will be very slight and
should stay close to “zero prescription”
point where you want them!
What if I move during the procedure?
Many patients worry about this, and the
concern is sometimes substantial. Almost
everyone moves a tiny bit during the
procedure. Under the laser microscope, a
person's face and eyes can move (slightly)
in concert with normal breathing. This is
why we perform every surgery with “assisted
stabilization” to assure ideal rendering and
centration of the laser treatment, and/or we
use lasers with pupil-tracking systems.
Also, we can pause the laser treatment
whenever we want, and resume when it is
safe, stable, and proper to do so.
What if I blink when they’re doing the
laser?
The eyelids are gently held apart during the
laser treatment by a special instrument,
which feels a little odd, but doesn’t
typically hurt.
Will I need to wear an eye patch after
the procedure?
No. Some patients are given a “band-aid”
contact lens overnight to promote healing.
If I don't get a full correction, will I
be able to have a repeat procedure to
improve the results?
Approximately 5% of our patients return for
an enhancement procedure. These patients
have had a dramatic improvement in their
vision, but have not achieved a “perfect”
correction. After LASIK, a "touch-up" or
“enhancement” is even easier than the
original treatment, because we can find and
carefully lift the original flap.
What are the common problems and
complications?
By far the most common issue is
under-correction or over-correction. In this
case, vision will be “good, but not
perfect.” Further laser treatment, known as
an “enhancement” or a “touch-up”, can
improve the vision further by treating the
remaining optical imperfection. About 20% of
patients can experience optical consequences
during the healing process, including glare,
haloes at night, or ghost images. In almost
all cases, these disappear within several
weeks or months. Careful attention to detail
in centration and calibration of the laser,
as well as measurement of pupil size,
substantially lessens the
incidence of these
problems.
How many people have had PRK and LASIK?
As of early 2007, it is estimated that more
than 8 million people worldwide have had
laser vision care; about 50% of these were
performed in the U.S. However, as we stress
to each patient, what matters most are your
own eyes and the results in your own case,
not the number of patients that have gone
before you.
How soon can I return to work and other
activities?
The answer is different for PRK and LASIK.
We recommend a return to full work
activities no sooner than about 3 days after
PRK. For that reason, most people choose to
have their PRK on a Thursday or Friday. With
LASIK, my experience has been that many
patients often feel so good the day after
surgery that they feel like going right back
to work. It would not be realistic to
promise that everyone will
feel perfect the
next day after LASIK, but certainly the
overwhelming majority of individuals I have
cared for have expressed this sentiment.
Almost all other activities including
strenuous exercise, reading, and even
driving at night are OK as soon as you feel
comfortable.
Can my results be guaranteed?
As in any medical intervention, especially
any type of surgery or laser therapy, there
can be no guarantee of results in any
specific case. We work extremely hard to see
that each person we care for gets the
maximum possible benefit. Even though the
laser treatment is exquisitely precise and
our experience is quite significant,
variations in final visual result can arise
due to individual variations in healing, and
to other factors. We do offer a free
enhancement when it comes to ability to
achieve a particular visual result.
Will the treatment cause cataracts, or
influence the treatment of cataracts?
No. Laser corrective treatment does not
cause cataracts, and does not affect the
removal of cataracts.
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