Lasik Laser Eye Surgery

LASIK laser eye surgery is a complex procedure used to treat all degrees of nearsightedness. The surgeon who performs it uses a small knife to cut a flap of the cornea, then removes part of the underneath tissue with a laser and put the flap back in its place.

In LASIK laser eye surgery, the skills of the surgeon are more important than in the PRK procedure, where the computer does most of the work. This is why it is very important to find a high-skilled and experienced surgeon who has done several such procedures before to perform it. The success of the procedure depends mainly on the surgeon.

LASIK Laser Eye Surgery Advantages

Most physicians agree that LASIK laser eye surgery is very appropriate for correcting very severe vision problems. It also allows a faster recovery than PRK and other methods. In addition, patients who have undergone a LASIK laser eye surgery can see accurate enough to drive and read within just a week.

Continue to read LASIK Laser Eye Surgery

After Lasik eye surgery, life can become very different and quite often considerably better. Lasik eye surgery is a type of refractive surgery,

which is a procedure that corrects vision. Lasik surgery is, in fact, the most commonly performed surgical surgery for the eye and the name is actually short for “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis”.What to expect following Lasik eye surgery? Lasik eye surgery is a surgical procedure, but one can essentially come and go from the hospital before and after the procedure with little to no assistance.Read full article:After Lasik eye surgery

With any kind of surgery, especially vision, there can be some bad side effects. If you are having problems seeing after your surgery, have someone take you back to the clinic and let them know what your symptoms are. The earlier you let them know, the quicker they can possibly fix the problem. One major problem that can occur is losing your sight in the eye that you had surgery on. It may be because of faulty equipment or the miscalculation of the surgeon, but either way, it is a risk you need to weigh before surgery.. Check with your surgeon before the procedure, so they can answer any questions you may have.

Read the rest of bad lasik eye surgery…

(Article Courtesy of Lasik Laser Eye Surgery
There are many potential hazards for children, teens and adults on Halloween. One of the worst may occur before the kids knock on any doors and gleefully scream “trick or treat!”

The American Academy of Ophthalmology wants to remind parents this Halloween that cosmetic contact lenses, like corrective contact lenses, are medical devices requiring a prescription, and permanent eye damage can occur if they are improperly used.

“This is an important, yet often overlooked, safety issue,” said Academy spokesperson Thomas L. Steinemann, MD, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “The consequences can be catastrophic, as improper use can lead to permanent blindness in the worst cases.”

One year ago, Congress passed a law regulating cosmetic contact lenses. The law, an amendment to the “Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act,” states that all contact lenses are considered medical devices, regardless of their use, including those that are mainly used in costumes or for decorative or cosmetic reasons.

It also mandates that all contact lenses sold in the United States must be fit and dispensed by an eye care professional.

Dr. Steinemann, the principal investigator on a study that provided evidence of dangers caused by improperly dispensed decorative contact lenses, said many people are still getting them without the required prescription and do not realize the potential harm they might cause themselves or their children.

“It’s a year later and most states haven’t followed the lead of the federal government on this issue,” he said. “If you don’t purchase contacts from an eye care provider, chances are you are not going to get any education on how to wear or care for the lens, and most likely you aren’t getting a proper fit; one size does not fit all. But with proper fitting and instructions, cosmetic lenses can be worn safely.”

Dr. Steinemann said the law has not yet had a profound effect on people’s behavior.

“I don’t think many states are moving fast enough to make sure these sight-threatening devices are properly regulated,” said Dr. Steinemann, who has treated many emergency cases, including one youth who suffered a blinding corneal infection following her use of decorative lenses.

“No matter what their purpose, all contact lenses need the same regulations to help provide the same protection for all wearers,” he said. “It doesn’t matter why you wear contact lenses — to correct your vision or just for fun — the risks posed are the same when there is no professional involvement.”

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

AAO is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons — Eye M.D.s — with more than 27,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” — opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases and injuries, and perform eye surgery. To find an Eye M.D. in your area, visit the Academy’s Web site at http://www.aao.org.

American Academy of Ophthalmology
http://www.aao.org

Laser eye surgery has been a wonderful boon to many people suffering from poor vision. The news always seems to be good but is there any risk with this procedure? What are the side effects of laser eye surgery?

Risks Associated With Laser Eye Surgery

Let’s face it, anyone who thinks that going into an operating theater is 100% totally risk free is kidding themselves. Yes, there have been isolated instances of serious eye injury. There is always risk associated with any kind of surgery. But there is no doubt, this is minimal when it comes to laser eye surgery. In fact, the benefits of having the procedure performed compared to the risks is one reason many vision sufferers decide to go under the laser. Lets examine some of the side effects:

- Corneal infection or delayed healing has been reported in several cases of Photorefractive Keratectomy surgery but the the percentages are about 0.1-0.2% of all patients who have this procedure performed. It is even less with Lasik. Healing time in these instances is a lot slower but the good news is there are usually no long term effects.

- One of the most common effects of laser eye surgery is what is termed as under and over correction. Simply put, it is sometimes difficult for a surgeon to predict how a patient will respond or react to treatment. In many cases, patients may be required to wear corrective lenses following the procedure. In the case of best corrected vision surgery, some patients may experience a decrease in contact lens associated best corrected vision which is usually attributed to the removal of irregular tissue.

- Following Photorefractive Keratectomy, the recovery process usually involves a corneal haze being present but this is not something the patient will notice. However, there have been instances where this haze has been overemphasized and resulted in a few problems normally restricting a patient in areas such as driving. Also, the incidence of regression should never be discounted as one of the side effects of laser eye surgery. This means an eye can regress to it’s former state following surgery, usually after several months.

- While the above side effects occur less during Lasik surgery the incidence of flap damage is an area of Lasik regarded as a side effect. Loss of flap tissue is the result in extreme cases however, this is rare and flap tissue can usually be replaced following treatment. Another side effect in this procedure is what is known as a distorted flap which can occur during the time of healing.

Under no circumstances is this article intended to sway you from going ahead with laser eye surgery but merely to point out that there is always risk involved with any type of surgery. In other words, these risks should be discussed with your surgeon. You can then way up the benefits as opposed to the side effect of laser eye surgery and make an informed decision.

Laser Eye Surgery

There are many types of surgical procedures that can be done on your eyes to correct your vision. Laser eye surgery is one type. It is basically what it sounds like. A laser is used to reshape the cornea. This improves the eye shape and helps you focus better. Another type is Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, otherwise known as LASIK. This type of surgery is used to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The cornea’s outer and middle layers are cut so a laser can reshape the eye. This takes about a minute or so to complete. If these two types are not for you, visit with your surgeon about different ways to correct your vision.

Read more about eye surgery…

The following highlights are from an article developed by WebMD and reported by CBSNews challenges the safety record of contact lenses vs. lasik surgery.
Article Courtesy of Lasik Laser Eye Surgery and Eye Care

On Oct. 10, 2006 CBS News Reports that an article issued by WebMD indicates the widely held belief that wearing contact lenses is safer than having laser surgery for vision correction is being challenged. The following is the article as published:

A leading eye doctor says contact lens users are actually more likely to develop complications that lead to vision loss over time than patients who have Lasik surgery.

Based on their review of several large studies, ophthalmologist William Mathers, M.D., and colleagues concluded that daily contact lens wearers have about a one in 100 chance of developing a serious lens-related eye infection over 30 years of use, and a one in 2,000 chance of suffering significant vision loss as a result.

The researchers calculated the risk of significant vision loss due to Lasik surgery to be closer to one in 10,000 cases. They reported their findings in a letter published this month in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.

“One shouldn’t just assume that contacts are safer,” Mathers tells WebMD. “This may have been true at one time, but for the average person this is certainly not the case anymore.”

Between 20 and 25 million people in the United States wear contact lenses; about a million Americans have laser surgery to correct vision problems each year.

Mathers is an eye surgeon who specializes in treating vision-threatening eye infections at the Oregon Health & Science University’s Casey Eye Institute in Portland.

“Several times a year, I have patients who lose eyes from complications because they’ve been wearing contacts and they’ve gotten an infection,” he says. “By this I mean their eye has to be physically removed from their bodies.”

Direct comparisons of the risks vs. benefits of contacts and laser surgery have been difficult because surgical complications are immediate and the risks associated with contact lenses accumulate over many years.

The risks associated with long-term use of contact lenses are greater when lenses are used improperly, but they remain even when wearers do everything right, Mathers says.

“Almost everyone who wears contact lenses violates some principle of proper use at some point,” he says. “Either they don’t wash their hands before putting them in or they use tap water [to store the lenses]. But infections can occur even when this doesn’t happen.”

Los Angeles ophthalmologist Kim Salz tells WebMD that sleeping in contacts dramatically increases the risk of infection. “Out of 10,000 daily contact lens wearers, about one will develop a serious infection over the course of a year,” he says, adding that risk increases to one in 1,000 for wearers who sleep in their contacts. “We advise patients to never sleep in contacts, even if the contacts are approved for this purpose,” he says.

Salz has been performing Lasik surgeries for the past 15 years. He says better lasers and better training have reduced the incidence of nighttime vision problems and other complications that were not uncommon years ago.

One big advance, he says, was the introduction of wavefront Lasik several years ago, which allows eye surgeons to customize the procedure for each eye.

A professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California, Salz says the risks of wearing contact lenses and having laser surgery are probably similar.

“In most cases the decision really comes down to patient preference,” he says.

Mathers acknowledges that his risk estimates are “approximate and subject to change.” He adds that advances in both laser surgery and contact lens technology should make both approaches to vision correction even safer in years to come.

SOURCES: Mathers, W.D. Archives of Ophthalmology, October 2006; Vol. 124: pp. 1510-1511. William Mathers, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute, Portland. Jim Salz, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Ls Angeles; private practice, Laser Vision Medical Associations, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.