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eLearning Series:
Lasik Eye Surgery Questions & Answers
( 50 articles
in this series )
Lasik
Surgery Results: The Hype
Laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis, or
Lasik, is a procedure that has assisted people around the world
reduce their need to wear glasses or contact lenses. But just
how effective is Lasik surgery?
Putting It into Perspective
The CRSQA, which is a surgeon certification organization,
has placed strict requirements on its members. One of these
requirements is that all members must prove that at least 90%
of their patients achieve at least 20/40 uncorrected vision
after the procedure. In addition, the organization requires
its members show that at least 50% of its members achieve 20/20
vision.
Furthermore, the surgeon will set a corrected vision goal
for the patient prior to surgery. To maintain membership in
the CRSQA, the surgeon must be within one diopter of this target
with 85% of his or her patients, and half of their patients
must be within a half diopter.
Most surgeons find these guidelines to be reasonable. What
does this mean for you? Basically, the odds are that you have
at least a 50% chance of having perfect vision after your surgery
if your surgeon belongs to this organization, because he has
proven this success rate. In addition, you theoretically have
an 85% chance of meeting the vision goal your surgeon establishes
with you prior to the surgery.
Even surgeons who are not members of CRSQA are likely to be
able to live up to these same standards, as most professionals
consider these figures to be pretty simple to attain, or surpass.
But your best bet would be to seek out a CRSQA member, just
for your own security and benefit.
Getting Results
For most people, their vision improves immediately after the
Lasik surgery is completed. For others, their vision improves
gradually over the days or weeks following the procedure. Most
people achieve 20/20 vision or better from Lasik, but others
only achieve 20/40 or worse. 20/40, however, is still pretty
good vision. In fact, most states consider this to be good
enough for driving.
For
some patients, it will still be necessary to wear glasses
or contact lenses after completing Lasik surgery. The prescription,
however, will be much lower than it was before the surgery.
If problems result in the surgical procedure, it is often best
to have your Lasik surgeon take care of the problem. The doctor
who did the Lasik procedure will know best what you need to
have done to correct any problems. If you lost faith in your
doctor, then it may be best to seek out a new Lasik provider.
Be sure to take all of your files and be ready to give all
details pertaining to your Lasik treatment.
Benefits of Lasik
Lasik does have potential complications and risks, but the
outstanding benefits of Lasik, for most people, far outweigh
the potential risk. For example, many people simply do not
like the feeling of dependence up on their glasses or contact
lenses. This dependence is even frightening at times, such
as in the case of an emergency situation. Many people with
poor vision even worry about how they could possibly function
without their glasses or contact lenses because their vision
is so poor. Lasik surgery eliminates this concern. Even if
the vision is not corrected to 20/20, the vision will almost
certainly be better than it was prior to the surgery. Ultimately,
this makes the patient less dependent on glasses on contact
lenses in order to function.
In addition, contact lenses and glasses are simply uncomfortable
for many people with poor vision. Glasses can be heavy and
dig into the bridge of a person’s nose. They can fall off easily,
or cause headaches by clinging too tightly to the person’s
head. Often people do not like searching for their glasses
in the night or they misplace them. Many people feel that getting
rid of their glasses or bifocals will be a blessing. Many people
cannot wear contacts because they can’t bear the feeling of
having an object in their eye. For yet others, contact lenses
cause dry eye, which can be very uncomfortable. For these people,
Lasik provides an attractive alternative to contact lenses
and glasses. Furthermore, Lasik corrected vision is often better
than the vision improvement gained through glasses or contact
lenses.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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