Misconceptions About LASIK Eye Surgery

Many people don't fully understand the details of LASIK eye surgery, even people who are undergoing the procedure! Don't be someone who waits until after your surgery to discover the things you should have known beforehand. The following are the real truths behind the two most common misconceptions about LASIK eye surgery.

1. After LASIK eye surgery I'll Never Need Glasses/Contacts Again

Depending on your age and the issues with your vision, you may or may not need corrective lenses of some kind immediately after LASIK eye surgery or later on, as you age. The vast majority of patients who undergo LASIK refractive surgery report significant improvements in their vision, which generally allow them to drive without glasses within days of their surgery. A small percentage of LASIK patients require "enhancement" surgery, which is a second LASIK eye surgery, conducted to fix any over- or under-correction of your vision resulting from the initial LASIK surgery.

Also, many people, as they age (generally between the ages of 40 and 50), develop poor vision for reading (called presbyopia). If you had LASIK surgery prior to developing presbyopia, you could still need reading glasses as you get older. Presbyopia is sometimes treated with Monovision LASIK, which corrects one eye for distance vision and the other eye for close vision.

However, patients with Monovision are still counseled to keep glasses on hand for those times when perfect distance or close vision or good depth perception (which requires both eyes) is necessary. For most people, LASIK eye surgery reduces their use of glasses to only very specific situations and specialty vision needs.

2. LASIK eye surgery wouldn't be so common if it was risky.

LASIK is surgery and all surgery comes with certain risks. More than one million people had LASIK eye surgery in the United States in 2006, and less than 1% of those patients experienced significant complications. This means that statistically, your chances of having a LASIK eye surgery without significant complications are very good.

However, given that this is surgery on your eyes, and your eyes play a vital role in your everyday life, the risks of LASIK are something you want to be aware of and take into consideration when deciding whether LASIK is right for you. The possible complications can range from minor (and temporary) increases in dry eye symptoms, to visually debilitating and permanent dry eye symptoms. A small percentage of patients lose vision at specific distances, which cannot be fixed after surgery with any kinds of corrective lenses or follow-up surgery. Another small percentage of patients develop glare, halos, or double vision. For some these problems are temporary, but for others they're permanent and especially noticeable in challenging visual situations, such as at night or in fog. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, LASIK eye surgery is safe and effective for most corrections. (The worse your vision is prior to surgery, the less likely LASIK is right for you.) Many ophthalmologists believe

that the risks of long-term contact lens use may exceed the risk of LASIK, although the fact that LASIK has only been around for just over 10 years means that the long-term effects of LASIK can not yet be known.

Conclusion

In general, the thing to keep in mind is that all but statistically few LASIK patients end up with improved vision and good results. However, those who experience complications from LASIK eye surgery tend to be VERY unhappy (and vocal) about it. You don't get your money back whether your vision is better or worse after LASIK eye surgery.

You shouldn't let a vocal unhappy minority convince you that LASIK eye surgery is terrible any more than you should let slick marketing campaigns convince you that it's risk-free and perfect. Carefully discuss the visual situations you hope to correct, your various expectations, and all potential risks and complications with your LASIK surgeon in a (often free) consultation prior to surgery. And, as with any major medical procedure, it's wise to get a second opinion.

About the Author
Did you find these tips on LASIK eye surgery useful? You can learn a lot more about LASIK that can help you do what's right for YOUR eyes by clicking here. Cambria Reid researches and writes in-depth articles on LASIK laser eye surgery, its risks, costs, FAQs, benefits, and more for the popular http://www.Likely-LASIK.com.