Is LASIK Right For You?

Is LASIK Right For You?
By Sara Roberts

There are 24.6 million LASIK surgeries performed worldwide and an estimated number of over one million LASIK procedures performed annually in the USA alone. With the prevalence and increasing popularity of LASIK to improve and correct vision, and with a high satisfaction rate for those who underwent the procedure, you may find yourself asking - am I a good candidate for it?
Good candidates for the LASIK procedure are people who are over 18 years of age and have stable prescription glasses or contact lenses for two years. Surgeons want to find out if you have stable vision since people aged 18 and younger have visions that are still developing. Another criteria would be having vision problems such as near-sightedness (myopia), far-sightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism or any combination of these with low or moderated degrees of refractive error. People who want to be free from using contact lenses and glasses, and have realistic expectations of surgery results are also good candidates.
Patients with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's disease, HIV, AIDS, lupus, or other chronic diseases are not good candidates. The same is true for people taking certain medications such as steroids, retinoic acid since they may also impair wound healing and affect the outcome of the surgery.
This procedure is not for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding. Pregnant women have fluctuating hormones which causes increased retention of body fluids that may change the shape of your cornea and temporarily change your vision. After surgery, patients are often required to take antibiotics and other medications to promote healing and prevent infections. These medications when ingested by women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding may harm or pose risks to their babies.
Another criteria worth mentioning is to find out if you have sufficient corneal thickness and pupil size. The surgeon would need to cut out a flap of your cornea to sculpt it so having sufficient thickness is important since operating on thin corneas may cause blindness complications. Pupil size is also important in order to help the surgeon plan the corrective procedure better and also to take into consideration your night vision after LASIK surgery. Patients with dry eyes should not undergo this procedure since LASIK may worsen your condition.
Not everyone is eligible to undergo LASIK. Patients should consult their doctors first for potential risks and complications before undergoing any procedure. It also wise to learn more about the procedure itself, the outcomes, short term and long term complications, risks and benefits of this procedure. Lastly, get a list of reputable surgeons who have competency and adequate experience of performing this procedure.