Laser assisted in situ keratomileusis, or simply Lasik, is an outpatient eye surgery procedure that is used to treat a number of eye defects.

These defects include farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism.

It is a refractive surgery procedure that employs the use of laser beams to reshape the clear and round dome-shaped area of the eye called the cornea.

This re-shaping of the cornea changes the way light is focused within the eye and on to the retina that is at the back of the eye.

During the LASIK procedure, an eye doctor, otherwise called an ophthalmologist, uses laser or a thin blade to make a thin flap in the cornea.

This flap is then peeled back to allow access to a very specific corneal tissue under the flap, which is then precisely removed using a type of laser called excimer.

After the removal of the corneal tissue, the flap that had been peeled off and folded back is then unfolded and put back in to its original position, leaving it to heal in place.

What Does LASIK Eye Surgery Correct

A near sighted person has an eye whose cornea is too steep.

To correct this, Lasik is used to flatten the steep cornea, allowing this person to resume normal vision.

On the other hand, a person who is farsighted takes on this laser procedure to make their cornea steeper so that they can be able to have normal vision.

The same applies to astigmatism where the cornea surface is irregularly shaped.

This procedure helps make the corneal surface more regular and normal, correcting vision.

Good to note here is that anyone who goes for LASIK surgery should be realistic in their expectations.

As much as the procedure is used to correct the different kinds of eye defects, it may not give you perfect vision.

What it actually does is that it allows you to carry out your daily tasks without the need for corrective lenses like spectacles or contact lenses.

One should also be prepared for a second surgery, called an enhancement or a retreatment because they may become necessary in some cases.

Again, you may need to still keep wearing glasses when driving at night, or when reading, among other activities.

Note also that Lasik cannot be used to correct the age related close-up focusing power loss referred to as presbyopia.

How Does The Lasik Procedure Work?

When a patient goes for this outpatient surgical procedure, the eye doctor performs it while the patient is reclined under an excimer laser, which is a surgical device.

To start with, the eye is made numb by use of anesthetic, after which eye holders are used to hold and keep the eyelids open.

This ensures that the patient does not even blink as the procedure is being executed.

Then, a suction ring is placed on the eye to keep it from moving while also lifting and flattening the cornea.

Most patients feel pressure that is similar to a firm pressing of the eyelid using a finger when the eyelid holder and the suction ring are placed on the eye.

Again, from the time the cornea is flattened and the eye immobilized using this ring and holder, vision becomes dim or simply goes black.

With the eye now immobile, a corneal tissue flap that is hinged is created.

This is done using a microsurgery device that is automated.

The flap is lifted and folded back to allow the preprogrammed excimer laser to reshape the cornea accordingly.

This excimer laser is preprogrammed with the patient’s unique eye measurements.

On completion of the reshaping procedure, which takes just a few minutes, the surgeon then places the corneal flap back in to position while at the same time smoothening its edges.

In about 2 to 5 minutes, this corneal flap will have stuck back to the underlying corneal tissues and there is little need for stitching it back.

All that the patient needs to do is to avoid rubbing the eye and to have a good rest to allow the eye to heal.

An eye shield, which is worn as the patient sleeps, as well as some eye drops to help the eye to not dry and to also heal faster, may be provided by the surgeon.

After a Lasik eye surgery procedure, it may take you about 3-6 months before your corrected vision fully stabilizes and for all the side effects to disappear completely.

Lasik risks and side effects

Just like with any other surgery, there are some potential risks, complications and side effects associated with Lasik eye surgery.

Although these are very minimal, they are still worth noting.

Sometimes, after this procedure is performed on your eyes, your vision may become worse than it was before.

Again, the corneal flap may necessitate a need for further treatment after the surgery.

To add on to this, just like with most other surgeries, you may also get inflammation and infections after this procedure is carried out.

However, these can be cleared by use of medications.

Most side effects that patients experience after this surgery procedure usually disappear after some time.

Some of these include blurry and hazy vision, poor vision at night, dryness and dry eye, itching, sensitivity to light, some pain and discomfort in the eye, and
some starbursts and halos when one is around lights.

A small minority of patients, some of these effects may become permanent. One may also need to go for a second surgery to further correct their vision.

Here is the bottom line; before you rush to get a Lasik eye surgery, make sure that you fully understand the procedure, its possible risks and side effects, its potential benefits, and whether you are a good candidate for the procedure or not.

On top of this, make sure that your expectations are realistic.

Learn as much as you can about this procedure before committing to it.

Discuss any questions or issues that you may have, or may not understand about this procedure with your eye doctor before going for it.

Only commit to LASIK if you are very sure that it is your best eye defect correction option.

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If you’re considering eye surgery then Lasik is the most common, but it has many factors that will affect the final Lasik eye surgery cost.

We identify all the factors that can change the price here and what options are available to you.

Lasik is one of a number of surgeries that can be performed on the eye to correct eye focusing problems, but is known to be one of the safest, most accurate methods.

If you’re considering Lasik Eye surgery, click here for an alternative

It also is often completely painless, can treat the highest range of focusing problems and has the quickest recovery time. It is no surprise then that around 85% of the laser eye surgeries that are done are Lasik.

The types of problems that Lasik eye surgery can fix are long-sightedness, short-sightedness and astigmatism…

Long-sightedness or hypermetropia, far-sightedness, hyperopia is where near objects cannot be focused on as clearly as far objects.

Short-sightedness, or myopia, is the opposite in effect, where long distance objects get out of focus, but objects close to the eye get seen easily.

Astigmatism is a mixture of both problems where blurring or aberration occurs with both near and far objects.

Another type of problem that happens with age is presbyopia, which usually occurs after the age of 40, which can be helped with a specialized monovision LASIK procedure.

One of the first factors that will affect your Lasik eye surgery cost will be the amount of correction that the eye will need to put it back to normal.

Often you will see incredibly low Lasik surgery costs advertised and unfortunately they refer to the most basic treatment to the lowest amount of correction possible.

Lasik however is a procedure that can provide relief from the widest range of shirt-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.

The second biggest factor affecting the surgery cost will be the kind of technology that will be used.

On top of standard Lasik procedure there is a Custom Lasik, or Wavefront Lasik and an Intralase Lasik.

Wavefront Lasik works by making precise measurements, not in one but many points across the lens and each is treated separately to remove any imperfections.

This can often end up with even better vision that existed before with contact lenses or glasses.

Wavefront is used quite a lot by surgeons because it will have the least complications. Intralase or similar cornea flap-making technologies get away from using a blade (microkeratome) on the cornea of the eye by using a femtosecond laser.

The advantages with Intralase Lasik are better quality eyesight at the end with greater quantity, meaning how far down the opticians chart the eye can see, with less chance of any night vision problems that can occur, like glare, star bursts or halos around lights.

Out of the Lasik surgeries Intralase has the lowest chances of requiring later treatment with one of the faster healing times.

Another factor is the skill of the Lasik eye surgeon. If the surgeon has more experience, a better reputation and therefore the most perceived skill, then the price will be higher.

This of course may apply to the whole clinic in which the surgeons perform their work, the more their whole reputation will affect the clinic prices. A little more on this may be the actual surgery results that the clinic receives, the higher they are the more in price they can demand.

Of course geography has some bearing on it too, the placement of the clinic will affect price.

Finally the factor which you must examine will be examination, medication and re-treatment costs. In all of these things you should find out whether or not they are included within the fee that you are going to be charged.

The examination could be your pre-op, any follow up visits that you might need to take after. There may be a period of time after the surgery that you will need specific medication. Also some fees cover any re-treatments that may be need later.

Standard Lasik eye surgery cost will cost between $1,000 and $3,000. The Wavefront Lasik will add $100 to $500 and the Intralase Lasik will add $250 to $500 to each surgery.

Of course this, and most, laser eye surgeries are counted as ‘per eye’. In 2010 the average Laser eye surgery cost was around $2,150 with perhaps the cheapest around $1500. Many advertisements offer LASIK treatment at a bargain basement price but this really is for the very basic treatment you could possibly ever get.

Also Lasik eye surgery may not be in the normal insurance and may be treated as elected surgery, so many clinics provide financial plans to help pay by installments to make it more affordable.

The only way to be sure of the exact Lasik eye surgery cost is by consultation. First shop around and get any recommendations that you can and then from this approach them to work out the likely costs of standard or premium treatment.

The Most Important Things You Need To Know About Lasik Eye Surgery

If you happen to need LASIK eye surgery then there is a strong probability that you are struggling with such conditions as nearsightedness, astigmatism or farsightedness.

Those are the main conditions that you can treat with this form of laser eye surgery, and it is very effective in healing your eyes in these areas.

The one area that you cannot get LASIK to treat is known as Presbyopia.

This condition unfortunately really only happens because a person has reached old age and the deterioration process just can’t be reversed.

The reason why LASIK eye surgery is so effective is that you are actually going to have a small laser get used to reshape the front of your eye by altering your cornea.

The reason why this is important is that when the procedure is finished, and the laser has done its job, you will now be able to see much more clearly because the laser itself has changed the way your eye focuses on the light rays that you see.

So, by altering this part of your eye you have now given yourself the ability to improve your vision significantly because you will be able to see much clearer once this procedure has been completed.

It’s important for you to look at LASIK eye surgery for exactly what it is. And what I’m talking about is that it’s a form of surgery so you need to take it very seriously. You aren’t going to be sedated at all during this procedure, and you’ll be wide awake while your Doctor does this work on your eyes.

The only thing they use is specific eye drops that will numb your eyes so that you don’t feel anything happening to you.

When the LASIK eye surgery procedure begins, you will actually be in a chair where you are laying back into a reclining position.

Your eyelids will be held open by having an eyelid holder attached to them so that they do not close while this procedure is underway.

Obviously you will not be able to blink while this procedure is taking place or you could seriously damage your eyelids and unintentionally hurt yourself.

Your Doctor will also place a ring that is very similar to a suction cup around your eye while you experience LASIK eye surgery.

The main thing you need to realize is that you will feel pressure once this ring is applied, so don’t worry because this is normal.

You’re also going to lose your vision while this is happening and it’s either going to fade or become black. This is also very normal so don’t get stressed out when this happens to you because it’s supposed to.

The majority of LASIK eye surgery patients end up having 20/20 vision once they are through with this procedure.

So if you really are looking to correct your eyesight without the need for glasses or contacts then getting LASIK eye surgery is definitely a very good way to go.

Here’s a video of the Lasik procedure. Warning: It’s a little graphic.

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