LASIK is a type of refractive eye surgery that eliminates dependency on corrective lenses.  It is, however, not the right decision for everyone.  It is important to determine if you are a good candidate for LASIK and that you weigh the decision to have the procedure before scheduling your surgery.  Are you tired of wearing glasses and contacts?  Read on to see if you are a candidate for laser vision correction surgery.

Most LASIK patients will achieve 20/25 vision or better after LASIK eye surgery.  This is appropriate vision for most activities; eventually however, some LASIK candidates will need glasses for reading or driving at night. 

The track record for LASIK surgery is good.  There are a few rare complications that result in vision loss.  In fact, most people are satisfied with the results of their procedure.  Common side effects of the surgery are dry eye and temporal visual disturbance but often clear up in a few weeks or a month.  They are rarely long-term and don’t require additional intervention.  Of course, the final results will depend on your refractive error. Candidates with mild nearsightedness have better success overall with refractive surgery while candidates with a high degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness with astigmatism have less predictable results overall. 

There are multiple differences in laser refractive surgery although LASIK is the generic term used for all of them.  Images are focused on the retina in the back of your eye.  When your vision is not perfect the images focus elsewhere and result in blurred vision. 

Nearsightedness results in objects far away to appear blurry whereas nearby objects are clearer.  The eyeball is normally longer or the cornea curves sharply which doesn’t allow the light rays to focus at the front of the retina and then blur distant objects.  Farsightedness on the other hand is where close objects are blurry but objects in the distance can be seen clearly.  This occurs because the eyeball is short or the cornea is flat, light then focuses behind the retina.  Astigmatisms cause overall blurry vision, the cornea curves or flattens unevenly.

Traditional methods of blurry vision are corrected by the bending of light rays with contacts or glasses.  Reshaping the cornea during LASIK provides the necessary refraction for vision correction.  Before surgery the surgeon will take detailed measurements of your eye.  They will then use a specialized cutting laser to alter the curve of the cornea.  The pulse of the laser beam removes a tiny bit of corneal tissue which allows your eye surgeon to flatten or steepen the curve of the cornea.  The surgeon will create a flap in the cornea and then raise it up before the cornea is reshaped. 

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs.  As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses.  More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

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