Lasik Laser Eye Surgery

If you spend any time on forums or chat rooms while online that deal with the topic of LASIK surgery, you probably wonder why anyone would work up the courage to set up a LASIK procedure, and why in the world they would even want one. The many different clinics for LASIK surgery are made to sound completely impersonal and quite similar to a lab built by Dr. Frankenstein, and the procedure itself sounds a little unreal.  It seems like the only people that would get Lasik are those with such bad vision that they cannot get out of bed without their glasses on.

If you are willing to listen I’m now going to give you my story of how I came about choosing LASIK.  First of all, my vision is not good, but not terrible either.  I can go down to the mall and catch a movie and see the film just fine without my glasses, but whenever I’m driving around in order to see the street signs correctly I do have to wear my glasses. LASIK for me was not a necessity, but I just figured that it would make my life a lot easier. I spend a lot of time outdoors and frequently take backpacking hikes that lead me to a long hill climbs, and I even enjoy mountain biking. Glasses do not last long with me, and I am frequently grinding into the dirt which is not the best situation for contact lenses.  For these reasons, Lasik looked very appealing.

The paragraph above might make you think I am a “manly guy” (hope so, think so!), so why on earth would I be afraid of a little Lasik scalpel? LASIK really doesn’t use a scalpel, but instead it uses something called a microkeratome blade, but it is still an  incredibly sharp object that is cutting my eye during the LASIK procedure.  These days however, LASIK surgeons don’t have to use that blade either, as they can do the cutting with a laser which is much better than a sharp blade.  But anyway, I had too many spills in my life to think any sharp object nearing my eye was a good idea, even under the skilled hands of a Lasik physician.

After talking with three (yes, three!) independent Lasik physicians, they each assured me that a 28 year old guy in nearly perfect health (OK, I exaggerate a bit) with moderate nearsightedness was one of the very best candidates for a successful Lasik procedure.  I decided to schedule my Lasik procedure with the one that had the best track record, and coincidentally took the most time to explain everything about Lasik to me.

I was really happy with the fact that the surgery wasn’t painful at all, even though I took everything that they offered to provide comfort, even the sedative and a teddy bear.  The only really bizarre thing that I a can recall about the procedure itself was the smell of something quite similar to burning hair. I’m pretty sure that it was my eye.  It’s a good thing they didn’t tell me to expect that smell as if they would have you might not have been so quick to sign up.

It’s been a few years now, and I suppose I was a perfect client for LASIK, as they still have 20/20 vision and it has remained stable for a long time now. I say that if you are a good candidate for a Lasik vision correction procedure, grab that teddy bear and go on in.

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Thinking about eye surgery using a Lasik procedure is a big step, and many people are a little hesitant to ask the questions that they have.  The Lasik procedure, though widely talked about, is not discussed in detail, and people tend to fear the unknown.  This report is going to talk about some of the most common fears that people have, and will also talk about the experiences that the vast majority of people experience when they go through a LASIK eye surgery procedure.

One of the biggest and most common fears that people have when considering LASIK is the fear of pain and whether it will hurt are not. This doesn’t only go for LASIK but it also goes for any other type of operation. Since the patient is conscious when the procedure is being performed on them this is a highly understandable fear. In every LASIK procedure, before the surgeon touches your eyes the patient has numbing drops applied and also is giving a mild sedative to help them relax and be comfortable.   Though a small pressure to the eye may be felt during the Lasik procedure, the process itself is relatively pain free.

There is a laser used on your eyeball during the procedure which is used to help reshape the cornea. Many folks are worried about the laser being shone directly into the eye, or that they might look away and, due to this, develop a serious complication with their eyes and the Lasik laser beam effects. In actuality, the laser is only active for ten to fifteen seconds for each eye, and the Lasik machine has a tracking system that allows the beam to be on only when the eye is in the correct position.

Another fear that almost everybody has when they are contemplating going in for a procedure is the fear of the scalpel. Any Lasik procedure uses only a very small microkeratome blade to approach the eye, or some more recent Lasik innovations have the laser itself create the flap and avoid using any hard surface at all.  There is no reason to be concerned about a scalpel, for the Lasik physician does not use one.

A lot of people have the fear of going blind or having other serious consequences because of horror stories they might have heard about this or any other type of procedure.  In order to alleviate these fears the FDA states that there are no reported cases of blindness that are caused by a LASIK surgery procedure. The truth is that there is very little risk of any type of permanent complication arising from a LASIK surgery procedure. You have less than 1% chance of getting any type of permanent damage caused from a LASIK eye surgery procedure that is serious, and you have less than a 3% chance for any type of nonserious complications such as light halos.  It is extremely rare for a patient to not have improved vision after a Lasik procedure.

If it is really a big concern of yours that somebody is going to be working on your eyeball while you can see them, please take into consideration that your eyeball is going to be completely numb and you will be on a mild sedative.  If you’re frightened by the thought of seeing a surgeon’s hand approach your eyeball, take comfort in the fact that he is going to apply some drops to your eye that is going to black out your vision for a period of 10 or 15 seconds which is plenty of time to complete the procedure.

This introduction has hopefully addressed the most common fears about the Lasik procedure.  For all of you out there who could benefit from this procedure, and experience the freedom of not having to wear glasses anymore, then visit your local clinic today and speak with them about any of the thoughts you might have concerning LASIK surgery.

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