Laser eye surgery uses lasers for purposes of correcting vision. It is done mostly to people who want to get rid of glasses or the contact lenses. Here is all about laser surgery that you should know as you consider it.
All about laser eye surgery
Who can have laser eye surgery?
Laser eye surgery should not be done to patients who have eye disorders. It is mostly done to people who are short sighted or long sighted. However, one should note that the age of the patient could be a limiting factor when it comes to this type of surgery. For those under twenty-one years, their vision is still changing making the effects of the surgery to wear off rapidly. Those above twenty-one years have a stable vision, and the effects of the surgery can linger for longer.
How the surgery is done
Before the surgery, the eyelids are taped to allow much light to enter the eye and also to prevent blinking during the procedure. This may cause some discomfort to the patient. A small flap of the cornea is sliced. This may cause some temporary loss of vision and you are assured that it will resume after twenty or thirty seconds. A programmed laser then reshapes the eye before replacing the flap. The surgery is not normally painful, but an anesthesia may be given. There is also a burning smell that is caused by using the laser which may make the patient uncomfortable.
Care after surgery
After the surgery, one will be expected to take good care of their eyes. Note that one will use eye drops for about six months after the surgery to prevent their eyes from drying out.
Risks involved
Post operation infections
Like any other surgery, there is post operation risk which could occur. More to that, there is some level of discomfort. The post operation infection can make the healing process take long. Some are serious that will need another surgery to correct.
Risk of under correction or over correction
This is mainly caused by the fact that the post operation response of the corneal tissue could be unpredictable. For such a case one may have to do another procedure, or they may be forced to return to wearing glasses or lenses hence will have beat the purpose of the operation.
Regression
A successful surgery causes this, but then the results fade off rather quickly than the period they were intended to last. In this case, another procedure may need to be done.
