The results of LASIK surgery are much akin to the results of being pestered by a pet day after day. Instead of the healing of bruises or incisions, LASIK surgery is accompanied by more burning and itching of an area that you are completely unable to scratch or cool. At this point, any touching of the eye could undo everything the surgery just repaired.

Your vision will be blurry because of the watering and tearing up of your eye, but you cannot under any circumstances touch your eye. The eye may appear dry or bloodshot for several days, if this occurs you should consider taking time off of work. If you experience severe pain from LASIK surgery at any time you should contact your surgeon.

Within 24-48 hours after your surgery you should have a post-operative exam to make sure everything is healing well. At regular intervals after the LASIK surgery up to six months you should continue seeing your doctor for checkups.

At the first visit after LASIK surgery your doctor will remove the shield and make sure your eye is responding correctly to the surgery. You will not be able to use contact lenses for sometime to keep from further irritation and you may have to use drops or artificial tears to help with lubricating the eye.

You will be urged to abstain from any contact sports or activities for several days as well as continuing to keep from lotions or perfumes that could irritate the eye. The doctor may advise you to regularly wash your eyes out in the weeks following LASIK surgery to prevent infection.

It may take several months to stabilize your vision after LASIK surgery has taken place. You may experience some small visual impairment during this time, including halos or glare due to the eye’s healing process. These are normal in the first few months after surgery, but if they persist you should contact your doctor.

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CUSTOM LASIK uses three dimensional images of your eyes and how they accept light to determine the best route for your surgery. This procedure called custom LASIK using wave-front technology is more precise than any pair of glasses, contacts, or even other LASIK procedures.

By using a few simple computer-generated tests to analyze the way your eye refracts light, the computer determines the best course of action. The fact that this custom LASIK uses the three dimensional image particular to the patient, the chance for an uneven or poorly constructed flap over the cornea is reduced.
There are more hoops for you to jump through if you are going to be a patient in custom LASIK surgery:

You must be qualified by the FDA based on your eye condition before receiving custom LASIK. Your doctor will present your choices regarding extra costs for your custom LASIK. Your doctor will determine if your eye’s condition is such that custom LASIK presents the best result.
What are the advantages of custom LASIK?

Better chance of 20/20 vision or better.
Reduced chance of night vision disturbances or glaring.
Reduced chance of losing visual quality or contrast sensitivity.

Studies show that despite the cost of custom LASIK, more people are opting for this procedure than regular LASIK. However, it is important to discuss with your doctor what is correctable before the surgery. Even though custom LASIK is the most efficient form of LASIK it does not correct any type of eye problem at this time.

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While many people who are rejected for LASIK are rejected for thin corneas, bladeless LASIK offers these people a second chance. IntraLase lasers offer a more controlled environment in the bladeless LASIK surgery. Instead of cutting through with a blade, the laser is guided by computer technology.

The IntraLase laser allows for more curvature during the BLADELESS LASIK surgery, reducing the margin for error. The fact that it is a laser and not a blade also lends to the idea of avoiding infections or contaminations. Bladeless LASIK prevents long-term recovery that accompanies most surgeries.

Prior to LASIK a lot of people had unsafe or imperfect surgeries to correct vision that eliminated them from the opportunity to try LASIK. With bladeless LASIK, these potential customers get a second chance because of the near 100% success rate of the procedure.

Some patients follow traditional LASIK with follow-ups to make other corneal flaps or reduce eye-irritation. Bladeless LASIK with InterLase appear to have reduced the possibility of this happening.

The natural reaction to the thought of bladeless LASIK is that it eliminates the need for a practiced and season doctor to perform the surgery.

While it may be true to a point, the fact is that bladeless LASIK requires a good deal of knowledge in physics and engineering. While surgeons may have only been required to have knowledge of medicine and anatomy in the past, they now must be computer savvy. The advantages of bladeless LASIK seem to boil down to two basic ideas, a higher success rate and less chance of follow-up procedures.

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Compare what each LASIK surgeon relies on as their procedure of choice. Do they rely on the traditional LASIK that uses a blade to make the incision or do they use “bladeless” InterLase lasers to make all of the cuts. Ask what they believe is most reliable and what they do the most.

Set forth a base of criteria that you will hold each LASIK surgeon to. Don’t base it solely on cost or on the doctor’s experience, but see if they perform what you feel most comfortable with. This decision will affect YOU for the rest of YOUR life, not the surgeon’s.

Do your homework to avoid scams related to the “20/20 vision or guaranteed money back”. Make sure you check these doctors against the consumer affairs office or better business bureau to ensure that they do good practice. Understand what your rights are when it comes to having surgery and LASIK in general.

Understand what can happen during the surgery and ask your potential LASIK surgeon how they handle a situation that could potentially end a procedure. There is a chance a mistake could lead to permanent damage to your eye without even a chance to have corrective surgery.

Ask the same questions of your LASIK surgeon in relation to how he deals with situations after surgery. Question your LASIK surgeon about how they handle migration of the flap, inflammation or infection, intensive eye drop treatments, or additional procedures after the initial surgery.

LASIK surgeons are also held to an FDA standard regarding the type of laser used during the surgery. Make sure you find out what laser your potential LASIK surgeon uses and double-check it against the FDA’s approved list.

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You definitely need to stop wearing your contact lenses in the weeks leading up to your consultation before LASIK. Since the surgery is dependent on the shape and measurement of your cornea you must let it regain its shape. Lenses sometimes reshape the cornea themselves, causing problems with LASIK. Here are some FDA recommendations based on your contact lenses:

Soft contact lenses should be removed and not worn for at least two weeks prior to your LASIK evaluation.

Rigid gas permeable lenses should be removed and not worn for at least three weeks prior to LASIK evaluation.

Hard lenses should be removed and not worn for at least four weeks prior to LASIK evaluation.

When you meet the doctor to discuss LASIK eye surgery you should let him know a few things about yourself. Let the doctor know about any past or present medical and eye conditions as well as all medications you are taking or are allergic to. It is important that you disclose all of this to your doctor before deciding if LASIK is right for you.

After you’ve disclosed this personal information to the doctor, you should then discuss if you are a good candidate for LASIK surgery. Let him explain to you the risks, benefits, and alternatives of the surgery as well as what you can expect from beginning to end.

You should stop using any lotions, perfumes, or creams the day before the surgery as well as any makeup that may cause debris to get in the eye. The doctor may even request that you scrub and wash out your eyes for a good time before LASIK surgery to prevent the chance of any type of infection.

Finally, you should definitely arrange with a loved one for transportation to and from the LASIK surgery. Before LASIK surgery some doctors will arrange for you to take some medicine to help you relax that could impair your vision and reaction time. After LASIK surgery you may need a few days to recover your vision, hence the need to arrange for a drive home.

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LASIK risk continues to drop as doctors and engineers perfect the equipment used in the process. The risks involved in LASIK also drop as doctors continue to screen for the right candidates to have the surgery. Research now shows that with the right pre-testing and surgical care the risk of any complications in LASIK surgery are less than 1%.

The most common risk with LASIK surgery is a complication with the flap created by the surgeon to cover the cornea. In traditional LASIK surgery the flap is created when tissue is cut by a surgical tool known as a microkeratome. Since this tool, a metal blade is used by a human being there remains a risk related to human error.

When this type of traditional LASIK is performed the risk is when the flap is then used as the natural bandage at the end of the surgery it is not the right size. Therefore, the complication is an irregular bandage that irritates the eye and causes what is known as an irregular astigmatism. This LASIK risk is greatly reduced by a newer “bladeless” LASIK procedure.

In bladeless LASIK the risk of complication is reduced because the blade or microkeratome is no longer used. It is replaced by IntraLase, or another type of laser, that eliminates the human error.

When assessing these LASIK risks it is recommended that when you are considering LASIK surgery that you ask your doctor how he/she goes about correcting these problems. Some complications that arise from LASIK can be made even worse by over or under correction. Ask your doctor as part of your original process how they handle this situation.

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Don’t simply go to the lowest cost when choosing a surgeon; consider the following that may increase cost. Leasing or purchasing of the laser as well as maintenance of the blades or lasers can increase LASIK cost.

Per eye fee to the developer or manufacturer of the laser to pay for the cost of the machine. Gowns, masks, gloves, medications, or surgical solutions to keep the operating room sterile and safe. Advertising and insurance for the office.

The cost of LASIK can be reduced if the surgeon is part of the staff, eliminating his fee. When you are considering different LASIK surgery opportunities you should question your surgeon on what is included in the cost of the LASIK surgery.

What is and isn’t included in the LASIK cost?
What will I be charged for if complications occur or enhancements are needed?
What is the cost for LASIK medications such as anti-inflammatory or painkillers?
What is the cost for temporary contact lenses if they are needed after LASIK?
What is the cost of the follow-up visits related to LASIK?

Finally, you should get in contact with your insurance company to determine if they will cover the cost of the LASIK surgery. Some insurance companies don’t cover LASIK cost because they consider the surgery to be cosmetic.

If financing is not a problem you should strongly consider using the LASIK surgeon who best suits your needs and concerns. The FDA considers the average cost of LASIK surgery to be $1,344 in 2005, a significant decrease from the original numbers listed in 2002 of nearly $1,600. Many consider this LASIK cost to be marginal in relation to the comfort created by newly improved vision.

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Not everyone who wants LASIK vision correction is necessarily a good candidate to have the surgery. You should consider a few things before you settle on LASIK:

If you don’t like to take a chance every now and then, you probably shouldn’t have LASIK vision correction. There are possibilities of complications as a result of LASIK that you should research before having the procedure done.

If having LASIK vision correction could affect your career or is not covered by your insurance you should think of another alternative. The cost of LASIK is getting cheaper, but is still quite expensive and you’ll want to make sure it isn’t prohibited by your employer.

You must be an adult with refractive instability to be accepted for LASIK vision correction. Refractive instability is determined by patients who are 20 or younger with fluctuating hormones due to such things as diabetes or someone who is pregnant or breastfeeding or taking medications that cause fluctuation in vision.

If you regularly engage in contact sports or suffer from a condition or disease that may affect wound healing you should consider an alternative to LASIK vision correction. There are a number of other situations you should discuss with your doctor prior to LASIK vision correction.

If you have herpes or shingles involving the eye area you should disclose this information to your LASIK doctor. Also, any glaucoma, ocular hypertension, eye diseases, eye injuries, previous eye surgeries, or keratoconus should be discussed.

You should also ask your doctor to screen you for the following conditions prior to LASIK vision correction: Blepharitis Large pupils Thin corneas Any Previous refractive surgeries Dry eyes Once you have researched all of these conditions or discussed them with a LASIK surgeon you can determine if you are a candidate for LASIK vision correction.

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