LASIK is approved by the FDA for people 18 years of age or older who have reached eye maturity. A stable prescription, meaning that your prescription hasn't changed for at least two consecutive years. It is important that the eyes are generally healthy, free from diseases, injuries and infections.
LASIK
was approved by the FDA in 1999 and has become a very popular procedure in recent years for correcting poor vision, helping millions of people to see more clearly.If you're interested in the LASIK procedure, there's no better time than now to schedule a consultation for LASIK eye surgery and learn more about the procedure. To undergo LASIK surgery, you must be at least 18 years old. Even if you're over 18 years old, your prescription may still change. Having a stable prescription is vital if you want your LASIK surgery to be as effective as possible.
In general terms, LASIK can correct -11 diopters of myopia, +5 diopters of farsightedness and 5 diopters of astigmatism. If your prescription is stronger than these limits, you may want to consider an alternative procedure for the best results. Your free consultation will let you know if you are a candidate and if not, I may be able to tell you about other options. Determining your eligibility for LASIK surgery is done on an individual basis, taking into account your medical history, prescription and other health factors.
We recommend that you take advantage of the free TLC pre-procedure consultation at one of our laser vision eye surgery centers. This consultation, or a similar evaluation performed by a doctor affiliated with TLC, is necessary before undergoing LASIK eye surgery at TLC laser eye centers. Teens and many young adults often experience changes in the prescription of contact lenses and eyeglasses from year to year. It's important that refractive errors remain stable for at least 12 months before undergoing LASIK or other refractive surgery.
Contraindications for laser eye surgery may include certain uncontrolled degenerative conditions or uncontrolled autoimmune diseases, such as Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and AIDS. HIV-positive people who have a good immune cell count may be candidates for LASIK surgery. See a TLC-affiliated eye doctor for a free LASIK consultation to determine if you are a safe candidate for LASIK. Pregnant women often have dry eyes, which is another reason why you may need to postpone LASIK surgery until a few months after pregnancy.
The expert eye doctors at The Nielsen Eye Center are experts at determining if patients are suitable for procedures such as LASIK. Most surgeons recommend that you have a stable prescription for one to two years before undergoing LASIK surgery. LASIK and PRK results are almost always favorable; however, not everyone is a good candidate for vision correction surgery. Patients younger than these ages may be treated as an exception, at the discretion of the LASIK surgeon, with the permission of the patient's parents or guardians.
While many believe that their prescription should be stabilized before they are ready to undergo LASIK surgery, this isn't necessarily the case. Your life with the LASIK procedure is based on simplicity, so if you're tired of wasting time wearing contact lenses every day (and every night before bed), your willingness to let go of the hassles of eyeglasses and contact lenses is perhaps the first criterion. While there's no way to see the size of the cornea (the surface layer of the eye), this is vital to know if you're a candidate for LASIK or not. Since they became widely available, LASIK surgeons had a limited number of patients they could treat.
Basically, if your body is having trouble healing, you'll have a higher risk of an unsatisfactory LASIK surgery outcome. Fortunately, the vast majority of patients are grateful and amazed by the dramatic improvement in visual acuity (or sharpness) they can achieve with LASIK eye surgery. An experienced LASIK surgeon will advise you if you are a good candidate for laser eye surgery or if another type of refractive surgery may be more appropriate. .
