Am I An Ideal Candidate For LASIK Eye Surgery?

LASIK eye surgery can improve the vision of many people who require vision correction to see well. It can allow many patients to get rid of their glasses or contact lenses. However, LASIK isn’t a good solution for everyone. What makes a patient an ideal candidate for LASIK eye surgery? Let’s find out.

Mild to Moderate Vision Problems

LASIK is a permanent procedure designed to help people with less than severe vision correction needs achieve 20/20 vision and ditch their corrective lenses. However, because the procedure has its limits on how much tissue it can remove from the cornea, it may not be recommended if your uncorrected vision is beyond these parameters:

• +6.00 diopters hyperopia
• 6 diopters of cylinder/astigmatism
• -12.00 diopters of nearsightedess

Patients that fall outside these limits can sometimes qualify for LASIK but will require thick, healthy corneas to allow for sufficient correction.

Eye Health, Age, Stability of Prescription Correction

The FDA has approved LASIK for patients 18 years or older whose eyes have fully matured. Full ocular maturity needs to be evaluated beyond simply knowing your age. For the best chance of long-lasting results from LASIK, your eye prescription must have remained the same for the previous two or more years. Finally, your eyes should be free from disease, injury, or infection in order to qualify for LASIK.

General Health

The ideal LASIK candidate has good overall health without suffering from any serious chronic condition. Many diseases can affect the eyes or the healing process after LASIK surgery, and make the procedure unsuitable for patients who have:

• Cataracts
• Keratoconus (bulging out of cornea)
• Diabetes
• Lupus
• Rhematoid arthritis
• Other autoimmune dieseases
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding

Corticosteroids and acne medications also can inhibit the healing process after LASIK surgery. Your ophthalmologist at Advanced Eye Surgeons will take a complete medical history, eye examination, and other tests to ensure you’re a good candidate. It’s important for patients to fully disclose their health history and medications before an eye surgeon can safely perform LASIK.

Corneal Shape and Thickness

LASIK surgery involves removing portions of the cornea, reshaping it with an ablative laser. The procedure works by adjusting how the cornea focuses light to create an image on the retina, somewhat similar to a camera lens focuses light onto its sensors..

LASIK requires corneas with sufficient thickness to perform such a correction. If you have an eye condition such as glaucoma, corneal scarring, or keratoconus, you are likely not a good candidate for LASIK. Your eye surgeon will measure your corneas to determine if you have sufficient thickness before performing the procedure.

Attempting LASIK surgery with any of the above conditions could damage your vision and lead to further problems.

Realistic Expectations

LASIK surgery isn’t perfect. It can’t guarantee a 20/20 correction for every patient, but it will improve the vision of qualified candidates. To make an informed choice, patients must have realistic expectations concerning the limits, risks, recovery, and the ultimate results from LASIK surgery.

Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Archana Gupta at Advanced Eye Surgeons in Boca Raton, FLA can help you decide whether LASIK is a good choice for you given your health history and vision correction needs. If you are interested in improving your vision without needing glasses or contacts, please schedule a consultation with Dr. Gupta as soon as possible. Start the conversation by calling our office or contacting us online today.