Laser Eye Surgery Articles                

Laser eye surgery, is it right for you?.........15th Aug 2009

Whether or not laser or epi-lasik eye surgery is right for you depends on several factors.

You must be an adult, preferably over 21. This is because your eyesight could still be changing but it usually settles around the early/mid twenties.

Mature candidates need to listen to the surgeon's opinion in view of things such as cataracts.

Your eyes must be healthy.

Conditions such as dry eye symptom may affect your chances of being able to have laser vision treatment, although in some instances, dry eyes can be treated prior to surgery.

Your eyesight will also need to have been unchanged for at least a year before laser vision or epi-lasik surgery can be contemplated.

Your general state of health must be considered. If you suffer from a degenerative or immune deficiency disease laser vision surgery may not be suitable for you if your body has a problem healing.

Your current eye condition and prescription are also major factors. If your condition is too severe for this kind of procedure, your surgeon will be able to offer advice on other options such as implants.

During your consultation your health and any medication you take will be discussed, and your surgeon will state whether or not you are a suitable candidate.

It is not recommended to arrange laser vision surgery whilst you are pregnant or a nursing mother as your hormones are erratic during pregnancy and it is often several months following the birth before these hormonal changes settle. Laser vision surgery focuses on your cornea and any hormone change due to pregnancy could alter the shape of your cornea, causing changes to your eyesight. Plus the fact that antibiotics or steroids may be prescribed for use either before or after laser vision surgery and these drugs could be harmful to an unborn or nursing baby.

Epi-lasik is a new procedure developed to solve problems which have occurred with Lasik/Lasek treatments. In fact Epi-lasik, although slightly different, could be considered a cross between the other two. The corneal flap is still created but a blunt plastic rotating blade is used in epi-lasik. This also separates the epithelial sheet from the eye without using the alcohol used in Lasek, eliminating the risk of alcohol reaction.

Following laser treatment, a contact lens is inserted on top of the replaced flap which allows the cells to grow back. Approximately three days after Epi-lasik it may be possible to remove the contact lens.

Epi-lasik is suitable for people with thin corneas or those who engage in contact sports as the flap will not move after Epi-lasik. But the Epi-lasik procedure is more painful than Lasik.

Should your surgeon recommend Epi-lasik, ask them why.

How about costs? Most clinics offer finance and operate their own structured financial package - some offer zero or low interest loans, others require a deposit followed by regular monthly payments.

The decision to proceed with surgery is yours and providing you have carried out sufficient research concerning your vision problems, the credibility of the specialist and the lasik or epi-lasik procedures, you should be in a position to now determine whether or not lasik or epi-lasik is right for you.