Ready To Lose Your Glasses?  Ten Tips To Choosing A LASIK or Laser Vision Correction Center

The world of ophthalmology is one of the fastest evolving fields of medicine.  Never before have so many new techniques and scientific breakthroughs emerged in such a short period of time.  LASIK eye surgery, which uses an excimer laser to reshape the cornea, offers millions of people the opportunity to reduce or eliminate their need for glasses or contacts.

Television and radio ads are filled with amazing stories about LASIK surgery as the fast and painless way to correct vision, but stories are also appearing about people for whom it was less than successful.  Before you opt to go under the beam, what can you do to help ensure that you will be happy with your results?

The key to safe surgery in any field of medicine is an informed patient.  Take a little time and research the LASIK center you are considering for laser eye surgery.

1. Find a doctor by getting referrals from other doctors or from patients who have had LASIK or laser vision correction.

2. Don’t be fooled by fancy advertisements about a particular laser center.  Choose the doctor, not the laser center.  Find out who will actually do your procedure, then ask about that doctor’s qualifications (e.g., board certification, special training).

3. Choose a doctor who has done at least 5,000 LASIK or eye laser surgeries.  What a doctor doesn’t know can hurt you.

4. Ask for information on your doctor’s LASIK eye correction complication rates.  If your doctor won’t tell you, find another one.  For top surgeons, the figure is under 3 in 1,000.

5. Ask what measures are taken to prevent infection.  Look for a center with a sterile or dust-free operating room. Make sure that disposable parts are not reused.  Insist that your eye be thoroughly sterilized, and insist that the surgical instruments be sterilized before your eye laser surgery to eliminate the risk of transmission of HIV or hepatitis.

6. Beware of advertisements pushing “low cost” LASIK eye surgery. Discount surgery is as good as a discount parachute.  The potential savings are not worth the risk of receiving less than expert care!

7. Expect to see very well after LASIK, but don’t expect to see perfectly.  Each patient gets a slightly different result.  The best surgeon in the world can’t guarantee 20/20 vision.  As with any eye laser surgery, results are as individual as each patient.  Beware of any doctor who promises 20/20 vision.

8. If you feel like you’re getting a hard sell, you probably are.  Go elsewhere.  You’re not buying a car; this is real LASIK  eye surgery.

9. If your level of nearsightedness is more than -11 or so, implantable lenses will probably offer better vision than LASIK.  Consider waiting until the new lenses are available.  Ask your doctor about them and other recent advances.

10. While you investigate, don’t lose sight of the benefits: for most people a lifetime of bad vision can be cured in 5 minutes.  LASIK eye surgery has improved the eyesight of millions of people around the world.

Dr. Maloney is director of the Maloney Vision Institute, located at 10921 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, California 90024, 1-877-EYESIGHT.

Taking The Confusion Out Of Laser Eye Surgery

Over recent years laser eye surgery has become a very popular phenomenon , but it still remains one of those operations that although highly advertised, there is the feeling that you are stepping into the unknown. People want reassurance from a knowledgeable and hopefully neutral health professional about safety issues and prognosis.

The main reason for this feeling of uncertainty is that Laser eye surgery can be purchased on the high street, but it is not available on the NHS, doctors are not fully informed of procedure, pros, cons or in fact any finer details, so are not able to reassure or offer information to the patient enquiring. Although General Practitioners are having increasingly more pressure put upon them to become familiar with the role of laser eye surgery and the management of eye conditions and have a good understanding of it.

It is though, a very hot topic, as a huge percent of the population wear spectacles, so this medical breakthrough can potentially have an effect on millions of people’s lives.

There are different types of laser eye treatments to treat many different types of eye conditions, this I feel is where a lot of the confusion arises. For example the pros and cons of treating glaucoma with laser eye surgery are going to be different from treating corneal disease or performing refractive error correction.

Laser eye surgery is nothing new as it has been used medically for decades. The different eye disorders that it can treat will constantly be evolving. The best advice is to speak to an ophthalmologist to get specific advice about the subject you are concerned with. They are the experts in this field and can advise you accordingly. In any case, if you are purchasing laser eye treatment from the high street, it is advisable to shop around, as the cost can vary from place to place.

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It almost seems surreal. You walk into your doctor’s office wearing your glasses or contact lenses, you receive numbing drops, and within a few minutes, your vision has been restored to what it was when you were 20 years old. You can walk out of the doctors’ surgery in half an hour, leaving your contacts and glasses behind! With Laser vision correction most people can say goodbye to glasses forever.

It’s amazing to imagine that a cool laser can actually change the shape of the cornea in your eyes. However that’s just what it does. The doctor will lift a small microscopic flap from your cornea and direct the laser beam to actually reshape the cornea so that light can be reflected more effectively. What this does is allow the eye to see properly again, eliminating the need for glasses or contacts.

Laser vision correction is very popular among actors who don’t like to be seen on screen wearing glasses. It is also a very common procedure for sports people and athletes, particularly those relying heavily on their eyesight… golfers and shooters for example.

It is important to find a doctor who will take the time to explain the procedure your laser vision correction will take in full, and answer all your questions.
Some questions that you may like to ask include:
What percent of this surgeons’ patients achieved uncorrected visual acuity?
How long has the surgeon been performing refractive surgery? Should be at least 3 years
How many laser procedures has the surgeon performed? Should be over 500
How many operations has the surgeon performed similar to yours? Should be at least 100
Has the surgeon ever had his malpractice insurance denied?
Has your surgeon ever had their license to practice medicine revoked?

While these may seem to be very direct and possibly even rude questions, just remember, this doctor is about to perform very invasive surgery on your eyes.

First performed about 1985, lasik eye surgery has certainly come a long way! What is now an outpatient procedure has opened up a whole new world of clear vision for those who wish to use it. It’s important to take extra special care with one’s eyes after the surgery, so that the risk of infection or any possible complication can be kept to an absolute minimum.

You can find more articles by Russell Savige on the [http://www.20-20-eyesight.com]cost of laser vision correction at his 20/20 vision and contact lenses website.