Your perception of the world would be so very different if you couldn’t see it? Thank God for eyes! If something were to happen to them, then one cannot imagine the sheer pain and emotional trauma that will come with it. While most of us are lucky to have working eyes, only a few can boast of healthy eyes. Given our exposure to screens and their harmful blue rays, our eyesights are not at their natural best. So, we turn to sight-correcting glasses or lenses. Although they make it easier for us to see the world as it really is, we are rendered helpless without them.
Moreover, they don’t really serve us well under all circumstances. For instance, you can not aspire to join the airforce, if your vision is not 6/6. You also can not dive underwater wearing glasses. So, if your poor eyesight is holding you back from truly enjoying your life, you could go for a LASIK. You must have heard of LASIK surgery, right?
LASIK is actually an abbreviation for Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis. In this technique of correcting your eyesight, a small flap is created in your eyes and then, the cornea is exposed to a specialized form of laser. This process requires a very high precision laser which can be used to treat refractive errors, improve someone’s vision and even reduce or totally eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses.
A trained eye surgeon makes a precise corneal flap and exposes the cornea to the laser. The LASIK laser specifically serves the purpose of reshaping your eye’s cornea. The reshaping extent is different for every patient, depending on their condition. After the procedure is over, the flap is gently placed back to form a normal eye again.
LASIK is generally employed to correct myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, or astigmatism.
You should be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for a LASIK surgery, and only people who have a moderate to a mild degree of the eyesight problems mentioned above are taken in for a LASIK. A stable eye power for at least 2 years and a healthy cornea are pre-requisites for the surgery too.
However, some other factors may disqualify you from getting a LASIK surgery, such as a pre-existing eye condition, HIV, Lupus, or Diabetes. Furthermore, if you also complain of persistent dry eyes or any extreme strain in your eyes that could cause your cornea to bulge out, you may not fit the criteria of “eye fit for operation”.
Even pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are discouraged from going for a LASIK.
LASIK remains a delicate matter, and even an inch of miscalculation or mismanagement could lead to severe problems for your eyes. Thus, until all the criteria are met, an eye doctor wouldn’t allow a LASIK. If you want to check the full list of pre-requisites and conditions for a LASIK surgery, you could visit the website of professionals like Personal Eyes, and get more information about the costs and success rates of the surgery.
The whole LASIK surgery does not last for more than 10 to 15 minutes as the laser takes hardly 30 seconds to act and correct your eye. It is a totally painless surgery as you will be given an anesthetic to numb your eyes. LASIK is a very accurate and careful procedure, where only 1 in every 10 patients might need to come back for treatment.
LASIK eye treatment generally costs about $2500 to $3300 per eye in Australia and it can vary depending upon the institute. You should only choose a trusted clinic with an ISO certification. This requires great skill and precision, and hence, you should take your time when it comes to choosing the best eye surgeon for your LASIK treatment. Generally, this is a safe surgery but any minute error can cause adverse effects on your eye like irritation or much worse, infection in the eye.
