Millions of people around the world and thousands right here in Greenville, SC have turned to LASIK eye surgery to correct their vision.
Generally speaking, most people who suffer from poor vision but are in fairly good health otherwise are good candidates for LASIK.
Scheduling an appointment at our Greenville office is the easiest way to determine whether or not LASIK eye surgery is the best choice to correct your vision. And, at Carolina Cornea, every single patient receives Total Surgeon Care LASIK – your LASIK eye surgeon, Dr. Anne Parker, will consult with you personally before the operation, take your eye measurements, and discuss all of your options with you. The best surgical outcome depends on careful evaluation of your eyes before the surgery and having your LASIK surgeon perform that exam means you have started the process in the very best way.
Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind before scheduling your first appointment with Carolina Cornea:
LASIK Eye Surgery Corrects Your Vision To Either Reduce or Eliminate your Need for Glasses or Contact Lenses
LASIK is a refractive eye surgery during which an eye surgeon creates a flap in the cornea and then uses a laser to reshape the cornea and correct the refractive error in the eye. LASIK surgery has the best outcomes for patients with moderate refractive error:
Nearsightedness (myopia): Nearby objects are clear, distant objects are blurry
Farsightedness (hyperopia): Distant objects are clear, nearby objects are blurry
Astigmatism: Overall blurry vision
In patients under age 40, LASIK with eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses, but for those over age 40, the lens inside the eye stiffens as we age and LASIK does not correct this. Thus, for example, a 50 year old having LASIK will have excellent distance vision without glasses or contact lenses, but he or she should expect to need reading glasses for near tasks as this is secondary to the aging changes inside the eye and LASIK cannot correct this by changing the curve of the cornea on the outside of the eye.
Other vision problems, including cataracts and glaucoma will not be improved by LASIK eye surgery. LASIK affects the outside of the eye (the corneal curvature) and neither worsens or improves conditions inside the eye.
Patients Must Meet Certain Conditions Before Choosing LASIK Eye Surgery
While you don’t have to be in perfect health in order to have LASIK surgery, there are some health conditions as well as stages of life that can disqualify you as a LASIK candidate or make the surgery less likely to be effective.
Here is a quick checklist before you schedule your first LASIK eye surgery appointment in Greenville:
Age: Candidates must be at least 20 years old. Typically, anyone under 20 does not have a stable enough prescription for LASIK eye surgery. Your eyesight is still developing, and you refractive error will likely change before adulthood, negating the benefits of LASIK. Candidates must have had a stable prescription for at least one year prior to LASIK.
Eye Health: In addition to cataracts and glaucoma, patients should also be free of other eye diseases, including corneal disease and keratoconus, as well as certain eye conditions such as herpes simplex and herpes zoster. Patients should also delay surgery if they currently have an eye infection or injury.
Overall Health: LASIK eye surgery candidates should not have any diseases or conditions that compromise their immune response, which could slow healing. Examples include uncontrolled diabetes, autoimmune disease, and collagen vascular disease.
Eye Disorders: LASIK candidates should discuss all eye problems with their surgeon before surgery. Conditions like amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (muscle imbalance), or keloid scarring from previous surgical healing don’t necessarily disqualify a candidate from LASIK eye surgery but could affect your LASIK surgery or recovery and should be taken into account.
Nursing/Pregnancy: The hormones present during pregnancy and nursing may affect the stability of your prescription. If you are pregnant or nursing, you are not eligible for LASIK eye surgery until at least three menstrual cycles after you have stopped nursing.
We Can Help Correct Your Vision Using Other Procedures As Well
Even if you aren’t a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery, you should still schedule an appointment with Carolina Cornea. Dr. Anne Parker will thoroughly assess your eye health and can direct you toward other procedures that will help correct your vision. Cataract surgery, for example, is a quick, painless procedure that often has even more dramatic results than LASIK for patients who have decreased vision from cataracts. At Carolina Cornea, we are passionate about helping you see clearly at every stage of life and can’t wait to join you on your journey toward your best vision.
