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eLearning Series:
Lasik Eye Surgery Questions & Answers
( 50 articles
in this series )
Contact
Lens Wearers Who Are Considering Lasik
If you wear contact lenses there are some things you should
consider before making the decision to have Lasik surgery.
Similarities. Both Lasik and contacts are able to correct
nearsightedness, farsightedness and, to some extent, astigmatism.
Both Lasik and contacts can eliminate the effect of minification
and peripheral distortion that might have been evident if and
when you wore glasses, because both options correct your vision
right at the surface of your eye.
Convenience. Extended wear contact lenses,
introduced in the late 1970s, made contact lenses far more
convenient than they
were previous to that. Extended wear contacts, however, did
not quite live up to their claims; it became evident that they
could not be worn continuously for the length of time that
had been claimed (usually 30-days) without problems occurring.
When “disposable” contact lenses were introduced it made wearing
contact lenses much more convenient but they were still a daily
concern. In the past few years, thanks to advances in contact
lens research and manufacture, the "30 Day Lenses" have
returned. Time will tell how successful these will be in providing
the convenience that contact lens wearers desire. The Lasik
procedure, for those who can take advantage of it is, of course,
the ultimate in convenience with no lenses to worry about at
all.
Comfort. Certainly Lasik wins the comfort 'derby' after, that
is, the initial discomfort of post-op recovery which, in more
extreme cases, may last up to six months. Contact lenses are
more “comfortable” for some people than for others because
of the varying degree of tolerance for discomfort between individuals
and new advances in the materials used to manufacture contacts
have made the lenses even more comfortable. The fact remains,
however (as reported in the Contact Lens Spectrum at http://www.clspectrum.com/article.aspx?article=12787)
that an estimated 2-3 million people of 'drop out' of contact
lens wear each year due to comfort and inconvenience factors.
That number equals approximately 10% of contact lens wearers.
Lifestyle
issues. Again, as far as being able to go about
your daily activities without the inconvenience and worry that
may be caused by contact lenses, gives Lasik another win in
the Lifestyle column.
Safety
and Risk. The two most important factors in any decision
you make in life are safety and risk. This varies by individual;
some people enjoy living their life “on the edge” while others
(probably the majority) prefer to keep a “safety barrier” of
some sort around them. Such is the choice between continuing
to wear contacts and electing Lasik surgery.
Wearing contact lenses, in spite of convenience, comfort and
lifestyle issues, is not normally 'risky business' . . . not
normally! Even when used as directed by your optometrist, some
complications can arise -- nothing normally sight-threatening
or remotely life-threatening but still problematic. Some contact
lens wearers have contact lens “fit” problems and some develop
'dry eye' or 'giant papillary conjunctivitis.' Dry eye usually
occurs in contact lens wearers who had dry eye (insufficient
natural eye lubrication) before wearing contacts. The conjunctivitis
problem usually occurs in patients who have been wearing lenses
for some number of years and who have not been as careful as
they possibly can to keep their contacts clean. Both conditions
are fairly easily treated.
According to the United States Food and Drug
Administration (see http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/298_lens.html), "The
most serious safety concern with any contact lens is related
to overnight use. Extended-wear (overnight) contact lenses--rigid
or soft--increase the risk of corneal ulcers, infection-caused
eruptions on the cornea that can lead to blindness. Symptoms
include vision changes, eye redness, eye discomfort or pain,
and excessive tearing."
Another contact lens concern that is potentially sight threatening
is the chance of a parasitic eye infection called “Acanthamoeba
Keratitis.” This difficult to treat infection is primarily
caused by not taking proper care of your contacts and may be
complicated by using hot tubs or by swimming.
Contact lenses have been marketed as "care free, trouble
free and risk free," you can clearly see that these claims
are subjective.
Lasik while it may win under the headings of convenience,
comfort and lifestyle requires some risk taking. Any type of
surgery presents a risk and while an estimated 96% to 98% of
the many millions of Lasik patients have no serious concerns,
even years after surgery, there are a great number of them
who have found that Lasik did not fully meet their expectations
(they still needed glasses or contacts after surgery). Some
small percent of Lasik patients are left with minor vision
problems and a very small percent have had catastrophic problems.
Such is the nature of any surgical procedure.
The choice is yours but it's not an easy one: contacts or
Lasik?
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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