By Danielle Briones
.... I lay in the bed at the LASIK surgical facility, eyes pried open with what appeared to be some medieval torture device, the wild-eyed surgeon coming at me with a scalpel. His accomplice, the nurse, stood ready behind him, aiming the high-tech laser system that was to obliterate my entire ocular cavity.
Clearly, I had a number of fears associated with LASIK surgery before undergoing the procedure in 2006. My paranoid visions of a crazy surgeon doing irreversible damage to my eyesight caused me to put off the procedure for five years. After undergoing surgery, I found that most of my fears were exaggerated and that 20/20 vision was definitely worth all the apprehension I had felt about LASIK.
Although millions of Americans are candidates for LASIK surgery, a significant portion elect not to undergo treatment due to fears associated with the procedure. It's not surprising, considering how heavily we rely on our vision. Remember the frustration that came from being blindfolded when playing games at birthday parties as children? Fumbling around to pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey or wildly bashing a candy-filled piñata while engulfed in utter darkness? Experiences such as these have helped us to understand the importance of our vision and have led some people to avoid vision correction surgery altogether. Here are the reasons why:
1. Going blind as a result of the procedure
Many potential LASIK candidates fear that they will go blind as a result of the procedure. But according to the FDA, there has not been one case of a patient going blind as a result of LASIK surgery.
2. Pain
Fear of pain is one of the main reasons people avoid undergoing medical procedures. Fortunately, LASIK is one of the least invasive forms of surgery performed today. Patients are typically offered a sedative prior to treatment, and numbing drops are applied to the eyes to alleviate pain.
3. Having the eye cut with a scalpel
Aside from those who are addicted to plastic surgery, no one really wants to have their bodies sliced up with a scalpel. LASIK patients don't have to worry about "undergoing the knife" if they don't want to. A scalpel is not used during the LASIK procedure; rather, the corneal flap that allows the surgeon access to the tissue underneath is created with use of the Intralase® laser or a blade known as a microkeratome.
4. Laser contact with the eye
Yes, an excimer laser is used to shape the cornea. No, the excimer laser is not a lightsaber-esque instrument used to battle evil forces. While many potential LASIK patients fear the part of the procedure in which the laser comes into contact with the eye, it lasts for only about 10 seconds per eye. And the majority of patients say they did not experience pain, just slight pressure, when the laser shaped their corneas.
5. Being awake during the procedure
LASIK surgery is an outpatient procedure during which patients are awake. Fear of seeing the microkeratome or laser come into contact with the eye is enough to convince some prospective patients to stick with their eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, contrary to popular belief, LASIK patients can't see the microkeratome or excimer laser during surgery. LASIK surgeons apply eye drops that cause the eyes to black out during treatment.
I myself experienced each of these fears prior to LASIK surgery. In the end, I found the procedure itself to be a minor inconvenience that is certainly worth the benefits. I did experience some pain in my eyes a couple hours after the procedure. My LASIK surgeon had recommended that I go to sleep as soon as I got home - but I didn't take his advice. When the numbing drops wore off and I began to feel some pain, I decided to sleep it off. I fell asleep and woke up about five hours later, around midnight, feeling no pain. When I opened my eyes and saw that the illuminated numbers on my clock were clear, not fuzzy, I realized the treatment had worked – and that my fears regarding LASIK were unfounded.
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Just as traditional LASIK is revolutionizing the way eye care specialists treat vision problems, LASIK vision correction custom builds and improves on this technology. Take a look at the following answers to some frequently asked questions and find out why Custom LASIK May, the right treatment for you.
What is custom LASIK?
Errors in a vision that may not be corrected by conventional LASIK can sometimes by custom LASIK. This advanced type of LASIK using Wavefront technology, a system of micro-sensors and Wavelight that digitally records aberrations in vision and directs the laser on the problem areas. Custom LASIK is known for his accuracy and his ability to correct visual higher-order aberrations. The procedure is also said that the first option treatment in the field of vision correction surgery.
As is the custom LASIK unlike traditional LASIK?
Custom LASIK is based on the revolutionary technology of conventional LASIK. For example, conventional LASIK vision problems dealt only known as lower order aberrations, including myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. Custom LASIK, however, treated both lower order and higher-order aberrations. Higher-order aberrations affect your ability to see fine details in your environment. Through the adjustment of both types of aberrations, Custom LASIK has the potential to provide you with better vision than you can by glasses or contact lenses.
I need glasses after Custom LASIK?
As with any surgical procedure, there are no guarantees. However, the probability of achieving 20/20 vision or better, with larger custom LASIK vision correction than standard LASIK. Custom LASIK patients can also provide visual acuity, which about what glasses or contact lenses offer.
If custom LASIK vision correction to help my night vision?
In addition to possibly achieving 20/20 vision, patients who undergo LASIK custom rather on a better night vision than patients who undergo traditional LASIK vision correction. Also, the risk of losing contrast sensitivity is reduced with custom LASIK.
Custom LASIK is more effective than traditional LASIK?
Given the fact that custom LASIK can treat to higher visual aberrations, which lead to problems such as the star, halos, and went contrast sensitivity, Custom LASIK seems to be more effective than traditional LASIK. There is also a lower risk of complications with custom LASIK and Wavefront mapping technology used in the procedure there sight-care specialists an incredibly accurate and precise means of locating and correction of problems within the eye. Moreover, studies show the possibility of achieving 20/20 vision is higher with custom LASIK.
What is Wavefront technology?
Custom Wavefront LASIK technology adjusts laser vision correction for each patient individually vision defects. Wavefront micro-sensors and directs Wavelight by a laser beam on the back of the eye. This laser light is reflected back from the eye, and information of any kind of corneal irregularities is digitized on a 3-D map. This "blueprint" for your eyes transfers aberration visual data to the laser, are used for reshaping the cornea during the custom LASIK surgery. This technology provides precise and accurate results of any laser vision correction system in use at present.
Custom LASIK can be implemented as all-laser procedure?
It is one of the LASIK method, the lightness of the patients fear of a cutting instrument is used on their eyes: the Intralase ® laser vision correction system. Intralase ® is the only laser system that has been approved for the creation of corneal flaps, the first step in laser vision surgery. Intralase ® blade is completely free and offers a degree of precision and certainty is essential that the promotion of the LASIK procedure. Intralase ® technology is extremely fast and precise, so that the eye care specialist to program precise corneal flap information into the computer, to provide guidelines for LASER. There were more than 600,000 Intra LASIK procedure with no reports of serious complications.
Is custom LASIK vision correction covered by insurance?
Although there are many different ways of financing costs of custom LASIK, most of the health insurance operation is elective procedure and is not coverage. However, financing companies like Capital One ® Healthcare Finance and Credit Care ® offer a variety of options to help with the costs.
What custom LASIK system is best?
There are many different types of custom LASIK systems that Wavefront mapping technology, including VISX ® CustomVue LADARVision ® CustomCornea ®, Wavelight Allegretto Wave and Bausch & Lomb Technolas ZYOPTIX ® All these custom LASIK vision correction technologies, the three-part LASIK procedure, including the initial mapping of the eye, creating the corneal flap, and reshaping the cornea. Some lasers are better suited for people with special conditions. Your LASIK surgeon can help you with specific information about the type of custom LASIK technology he or she uses.
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