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Cosmetic Laser Eye Surgery - Is It For You?
You're tired of losing your glasses
or cleaning and inserting contacts every morning. Perhaps
you want to improve your appearance without the hassle
of contacts or getting new glasses for different occasions.
You may even participate in sports or have a job that
makes wearing glasses or contacts a problem and feel
you have a real need for improved natural vision.
Whatever your reasons you have no doubt
heard about the popularity of cosmetic laser eye surgery.
Is it a safe procedure? What are the risks? How much
will it help your vision? Getting these answers will
help you decide if cosmetic laser eye surgery is for
you.
WHAT IS LASER EYE SURGERY?
Laser eye surgery reshapes the cornea
by sculpting it with the laser. There are two common
types of laser eye surgery; LASIK and PRK. While both
use the same type of laser and shape the eye for correction
in the same manner they differ in their approach.
In the PRK procedure the top layer of
cornea is scraped away while the LASIK procedure cuts
a flap to remove the top layer of cornea during surgery.
There are minor differences in the resulting post-operative
symptoms.
IS LASER EYE SURGERY SAFE?
While the surgery is considered low
risk and can be done quickly there are always possible
complications when having any surgery performed. Your
eyes are very delicate and your dependance on them is
critical. It is important to understand all of the potential
risks - including loss of vision - that are possible.
Most patients will deal with some amount
of pain or discomfort for a few days. Blurred vision
and sensitivity to light are also common and usually
clears in the days following surgery although some may
find continued symptoms for months and even fewer may
find the symptoms are permanent. Other complications
due to scarring can potentially cause permanent damage
to vision, although additional surgery can sometimes
correct this.
As with all surgeries there is a potential
risk of infection. It is generally advised to have each
eye operated on separately instead of at the same time
to reduce the chance of infection in both eyes. Most
infections can be cleared with medication, especially
if treated right away.
Another possible risk with laser eye
surgery is that the vision may be over or under corrected.
Under corrected vision may be fixed with further surgery
but over corrected vision is irreparable. Unfortunately
each individual will respond differently to the surgery
and results cannot be guaranteed. It is possible for
a person to continue to require corrective lenses even
after surgery, although their dependance on them should
be lessened.
Whenever an individual is contemplating
surgery it is important that a realistic understanding
of the risks and benefits be clearly presented by the
surgeon. Research your procedure as well as the doctor
performing the operation before agreeing to any surgery.
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