Many people go through life wearing glasses or contact lenses for common eye disorders such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism (distorted vision). Yet laser refractive eye surgery has made it possible for countless numbers of people to do away with the need for corrective lenses altogether. How do you know if it's right for you?
"For many people, laser eye surgery provides excellent vision improvements, yet a small portion of patients who try it may end up with worse eyesight than before they went in," says optometrist Elise Brisco of Los Angeles. "People who are slow healers or who have certain chronic medical conditions such as glaucoma or diabetes are not good candidates for laser eye surgery," says Brisco.
Others who may be poor candidates include:
- those with uncontrolled vascular disease,
- those with autoimmune disease
- certain eye diseases affecting the cornea or the retina
- pregnant women
Pregnant women should never have refractive surgery, as the refraction of the eye may change during pregnancy.
The two most common types of laser eye surgery are PRK and LASIK. PRK is an outpatient surgical procedure which gently reshapes the cornea by removing microscopic amounts of tissue from its outer surface. The procedure takes only a few minutes, and patients typically return to daily routines in one to three days.
