Laser Eye Surgery

For the majority of laser eye surgery patients, side effects are mild. Usually the side effects will subside within the first 6 weeks or so after surgery. Some disappear in just days. Many will experience mild fluctuations in vision each day. This side effect usually disappears in about 6 months.

The side effects of laser surgery often are mild. Three of the most common are a lack of crispness of vision, dry eyes, and glare, halos or starbursts.

When a person decides to undergo vision correction to minimize or eliminate nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, it is to laser vision surgery that they look.

All laser eye surgeries reshape the cornea to provide a more accurate pathway for light to enter the eye. In cases of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism the shape of the eye is twisted slightly causing permanent vision changes.

In recent years, with thousands of surgeries successfully performed, a picture of safe outcome appears before us. Make no mistake that no surgery is free of all risks. No surgery can provide a guaranteed outcome. By making sure all recommended procedures are followed the majority of surgeries have a positive outcome.

Fortunately we now have an alternative to vision correction other than glasses or contact lenses by deciding to undergo laser eye surgery. Like every surgery there are risks. Protecting our eyes is a major concern for most of us. When deciding on the advisability of corrective eye surgery we devote a lot of time to examining the good and bad effects that it will have on us personally.

Picking a clinic to perform laser eye surgery is extremely important. In most cases the surgery will make a permanent change in the patient’s vision, either good or bad.

Some things to look for, besides the cost of surgery, are the extent of the training of the surgeon, the length of time he or she has been performing laser eye surgery, the availability of long term after care if it is needed, the cleanliness of the clinic, and if there have been any adverse events at the clinic. This is a time when the clinic’s track record and reputation are extremely important.

For the last 30 years, medicine has advanced so that vision correction procedures are much more common. One of the most used methods has been laser eye surgery. As medical doctors specialize in the safe use of a laser to quickly reshape the cornea of the eye, having to wear glasses or contact lenses is no longer necessary for many patients. People who have been near-sighted (can only see clearly up close) are most interested in laser eye surgery. Many have worn glasses since elementary school.

To legally perform laser eye surgery the doctor must be a licensed medical practitioner who has undergone extensive additional training in the techniques of laser eye surgery. Typically a medical doctor has completed 4 years of college, at least 2 years of medical school, 2 years of specialized training in surgery, 2 years of internship training under an experienced surgeon and then the continuous training required to learn the use of laser in surgery. He or she has invested about 10 years and many thousands of dollars to be an eye surgeon.

The history of laser eye surgery is short when compared to other histories. As is common in scientific developments, a method of achieving one result is often modified to a very different use in a completely different field. Use of the laser was common in the production of silicone computer chips. It was used in the 1970’s to etch the silicone chips. The process was named Excimer laser process.

Due to the fact that laser eye surgery is considered an elective procedure by most insurance companies, the person hoping to have this type of vision correction must pay for the entire thing themselves. The term, affordable, is very general. What seems low cost to one person may be out of the financial reach of another. Typically the cost of laser eye surgery is in the area of $2,200 per eye.