Throughout childhood and the teens, a person's vision often does not remain stable. The body is constantly developing and changing. LASIK is a permanent procedure. For this reason, LASIK may not be performed on minors. Once your child is 18 or older, and his or her glasses or contacts prescription has been stable for at least a year or two, he or she may wish to consider LASIK corrective eye surgery.

Patients with practically every amount of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism are enjoying great results from the LASIK procedure. A complete examination is needed to determine how much laser vision correction can be achieved.

Yes, usually to read small print. Currently, nearly all lenses implanted in the USA are monofocal. This means they focus at only one particular distance (focusing distance depends on lens power). If your lens gives you perfect distance vision, you will have to use glasses to read. If your lens gives you perfect reading vision, you will have to use glasses to see clearly at distance.

Many people achieve 20/20 vision, or better, after undergoing LASIK eye surgery. Although patients experience an improvement in their vision, some may still need to wear corrective lenses for certain tasks, though the necessary power of correction will be much smaller than before. The result of the LASIK procedure is also influenced by the amount of correction needed.

ocular condition called presbyopia generally occurs in individuals between the ages of 40 and 50 and is responsible for increased difficulty in reading small print. Inside the eye, a change in the natural crystalline lens results in presbyopia. Because LASIK does not treat the lens inside the eye, LASIK cannot correct this condition. Many patients with presbyopia elect to have LASIK eye surgery using a correction called monovision.

Many patients over 40 years old who receive LASIK eye surgery to treat their distance vision will need reading glasses for close vision. This is a condition called presbyopia, in which the lens of the eye progressively weakens, making it more difficult to read small print. However, monovision is a great alternative. Monovision allows patients to see distant objects with one eye and to read with the other eye.

Dr. Grandon can give patients excellent vision, but that does not retard the aging process. Normally people need reading glasses when they reach the ages between 45 and 50. Having had LASIK offers no exception to those patients. [The inability to see close brought on by aging is called presbyopia.] Occasionally, Dr. Grandon purposely leaves one eye (usually the non-dominant eye) a little nearsighted to delay the patient's need for reading glasses.

Yes. Poor vision, cataracts and glaucoma do not eliminate someone's ability to donate. Suitability is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Your old glasses may be adequate at first. You won’t harm the eye by wearing old glasses. After a couple of weeks the eye may be ready for testing and preliminary lens replacement. However, if you wait until about 4-6 weeks, refraction will be more stable.

In general, the prescription of glasses is more accurate than any type of refractive surgery. However, the vast majority of patients do not require glasses after refractive surgery.

Yes, the extremely low complication rate has been a primary reason for the popularity of LASIK worldwide. The risk of a serious problem resulting in any loss of vision is about 0.01 percent. More common but less serious problems include under or over corrections, flap-related problems, infection, dry eyes, and night vision problems. There have been no cases of blindness or loss of the eye with LASIK in the United States.

There is minimal discomfort with LASIK. Some patients even report absolutely no discomfort during the laser vision correction procedure. At Ocala Eye, topical anesthetic (numbing) eye drops are used prior to the procedure. As the microkeratome is applied to the surface of the eye, some patients may experience a pressure sensation. The cutting of the flap itself is painless, as is the laser treatment.

LASIK is a surgical procedure designed to correct common vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. During the procedure, the LASIK surgeon uses an excimer laser to correct abnormalities in the cornea’s curvature that negatively affect the way images are processed by your eye. LASIK belongs to a group of vision correction procedures collectively referred to as refractive surgery, of which it is the most popular.

Through LASIK eye surgery, numerous Michigan residents have safely eliminated or reduced their dependence on glasses. However, as with all surgical procedures, there are risks associated with laser vision correction. Potential complications of LASIK include: In rare instances, patients may experience reduction in visual acuity. These risks can be addressed at your consultation. Complications affect only a small minority of patients.

LASIK surgery is approved for patients 18 years or older who are nearsighted or farsighted, with or without astigmatism. Your vision must be stable for at least one year before the procedure can be performed. Both the health of your eyes and your overall health must be taken into consideration, as well. Pregnant women, for example, should not have LASIK surgery done. The best LASIK surgery candidates tend to be people who are dissatisfied with their contact lenses or glasses.

There are risks involved with any surgical procedure. However, because LASIK surgery uses a cool beam of light that is computer controlled, there is little chance of error. In the U.S. alone, the procedure has been performed well over a million times. According to recent data, 98% of patients treated with LASIK for nearsightedness and/or astigmatism see well enough to pass a driver’s test without glasses in all 50 states.

The treatment, itself, has been reported by most patients as being painless. You may experience discomfort and a “gritty” feeling in the first 24 to 48 hours after LASIK surgery. Our Sacramento area patients can be given medication to curb this discomfort.

Many patients seeking refractive surgery do so because they have dry eyes and are unable to wear contact lenses anymore. It is important that your dry eyes be treated. This usually involves the use of tear supplements and punctum plugs (tiny silicone plugs placed in the tear drainage openings of your eyelid) that delay the drainage of your own tears so your eyes will stay moist.

Ke Ala Ike offers a complete step-by-step description of preparations, procedures and post-operative actions. For details, view our video documentary in our Refractive Surgery section. Yes, most candidates are suitable for the same-day treatment. However, patients must carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages and discuss them in detail with the surgeon.

LASIK surgery is known for having a particularly quick recovery, partly because the flap acts as a natural bandage for the cornea. Patients can usually return to work in a day or two, although it is best to take a few days off and take it easy to allow proper healing. One should wait a week or two before recommencing strenuous activities, and at least a month or more before contact sports.

LASIK stands for Laser In Situ Keratomileusis. It is a form of refractive surgery, which corrects near or far-sightedness and astigmatism. It cannot correct presbyopia, but treatment is sometimes aimed at leaving one eye slightly short-sighted in order to account for this condition. For more information on presbyopia, see our Optical Terms section. LASIK can only be performed by an eye surgeon. Use is made of a microsurgical instrument to create a flap through the cornea (front part of the eye).

No. LASIK will only eliminate your need for glasses for distance vision. If you have good distance vision, but only need glasses to read you have presbyopia and are not a candidate for LASIK.

Patients with virtually every degree of nearsightedness are enjoying good outcomes with LASIK. We are able to treat mild to moderate degrees of farsightedness and astigmatism. For more extreme farsightedness, implantable contact lenses may be an option. Our counselor will be happy to discuss this procedure with you during your free evaluation.

Reading glasses will be required only for people nearing 40 yrs and above. This is due to ageing process. However your surgeon may be able to help you by compromising on distant vision or monovision.

If you are over the age of 40 and do not get monovision, you will have to wear reading glasses. Some patients with monovision opt for driving glasses to wear at night time, but usually are free of glasses for their other needs. If your vision is not optimal after LASIK, and an enhancement is not an option, glasses or contacts may be needed to improve your vision.

Children should be taught to remove their glasses using both hands without twisting the frame. They should keep them in a protective case and not put them face down on any surface. Use water or liquid soap and a soft cloth to clean them and avoid rough paper towels or tissues. If the glasses are damaged or badly scratched take them back to your optometrist for repair or replacement. Children's glasses usually need to be readjusted every few months; more frequently than for adults.