[MERGED]LASIK / Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis ( Laser Eye Surgery )

[AteRonee]

Could the possible side effects I mentioned in connection with corrective laser surgery be expected in laser surgery related to cataract removal?

Before the laser method, what is/was the procedure for cataract removal?

[Ira]

The complications listed in that article is associated with laser procedures in general, and as I've said, they're very dependent on your doctor's skills. These complications are seen more with patients undergoing laser procedures for vision correction. Actually, with YAG-laser capsulotomy, the complications are even smaller than when you do the regular surgery (cataract extraction). Complications for cataract removal using laser surgery are minimal: a .002% risk of retinal detachment, .01% risk of retinal swelling, .002% risk of infection, .05% risk of eyelid drooping, 0.1% risk of iris inflammation, .009% chance ghosting or doubling of the image, and other rare conditions. Overall, there is a >99% chance of improved vision. Studies have so far shown that laser surgery is a safe and beneficial procedure, but since it's new technology, longterm effects are still being studied. Ophthalmologists usually do cataract surgery on patients who already have the so-called "mature cataracts"--people whose visions have deteriorated so badly that they are highly impaired in their daily routines. Whatever procedure these patients undergo, be it laser or the regular surgery, the procedure would still give them better vision post-op than pre-op.

[Bartman]

hi doc,

what's the difference between PRK and LASIK? are both equally effective? why would you chose one over the other? is it simply because of the cost?

[Ira]

Check these two websites for a comparison between the two procedures.

Comparing LASIK to PRK
LASIK vs. PRK

[RiDeR]

i'm wearing hard contacts for years now. and my question is this: if i decide to undergo laser surgery, do i need to stop wearing my contacts for a certain period of time? di ba, your eyes must be well-rested before you undergo surgery?

another question, perhaps a stupid one: uhhmmm....tulog ba kapag inooperahan?

[Ira]

You can't wear contact lenses for about a week prior to laser surgery. You'll be given a local anesthesia (eye drops) immediately before the procedure, so you're very much awake and aware of what's going on.

[icey *]

doc, is there a way to control the eye grade? or at least minimize *** pagtaas nya? my astigmatism grade goes up so fast since last year. mga 5 years na *** astigmatism ko, but it started going up so fast since last year.. maybe that explains why i have constant headaches..

sorry if this is a bit off-topic..

[Ira]

I'm afraid genetics dictates myopia, so its level will depend on what your genes dictate. There is still no accepted scientific evidence to suggest that myopia or is progression is preventable by any method. Eye exercises don't prevent or correct myopia, and myopia is NOT caused or affected by reading too much, reading in poor light, or nutritional deficiencies. However, you can avoid the headaches due to eyestrain by not watching TV too closely or reading in poorly-lit areas.

[CaliMaki]

Both my parents and all my siblings wear glasses but I don't. Will I eventually need to wear them?

[Ira]

At your age (I assume you're past your adolescent stage?), if you still aren't myopic, chances are you won't ever be. Myopia is a recessive genotype, but it occassionally can be transmitted through an autosomal dominant gene.

I can't say the same thing about your needing to wear reading glasses in the future, though.

[icey *]

tnx doc ira

so it's true *** na namamana *** myopia...may lahi kcng ganun sa mother side ko.. pero dti they told me it's because i read in poorly-lit areas..di *** ganon..

is it true na bumababa *** eye grade if you do not wear eyeglasses/contacts lagi? or is it the other way around? a frend of mine told me that her 300+ grade disappear (or should i say it went down so low na hindi na nya kelangan ng glasses) because minsan *** nya ginagamit *** eyeglasses nya. but this happened when she's still in grade school...

[Ira]

I don't think that's possible.

[the-man]

safe ba sa mga 60-year old ang LASIK procedure? and is it still advisable for them to undergo such operation? or is it better for them to just continue using contact lens or spectacles?

thanks.

[Ira]

It's safe if he's healthy, but he may not be a good candidate for laser in the first place, depending on what actually is the eye problem and what other concurrent health problems there are. Not all visual changes are amendable to laser surgery, so it's better to undergo screening first.

[gracias98]

i worked in a lasik facility before, we had few patients who were above 60 and still went on to have the procedure, the patient will be screened first if his/her eyes are fit to undergo the procedure. usually peeps w/in that bracket are starting to develop faint opacities on the lens of the eye( cataracts) that's why most of them ar advised not to have it as cataracts can, in the future, blur vision even if lasik gives one 20/20. an ophthalmologist/lasik surgeon can best deal w/ ur queries anyways screening is done first prior to a consultation in most lasik eye centers

[eyedoc]

LASIK for 60 year olds CAN be done, BUT:

1. As mentioned, cataracts may already set in at this point. In this case, it may be better to just remove the cataract and put in an intraocular lens that would give the patient good vision with minimal spectacle correction.

2. People above 40 will already start to have presbyopia, i.e., difficulty with reading. This is because the muscles controlling accommodation will already have difficulty adjusting to near. In patients with myopia (or "nearsightedness"), their nearsightedness actually adjusts for the presbyopia. That's why you see some elderly people with nearsightedness in their younger years start removing their glasses when they read.

In this case, unless the LASIK surgeon leaves a slight undercorrection to leave a small degree of residual nearsightedness, the patient will just exchange distance correction glasses for another -- the reading glasses. This usually results in an unhappy, unsatisfied, and unadjusted patient (since he was already used to reading well even if distance vision is blurry.)

Even with a younger patient, the ophthalmologist will usually tell him/her that when he/she gets to the "presbyopic" age, reading glasses may eventually be needed.


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In any case, for any patient desiring to have LASIK, screening will be done to determine if he/she is a good candidate.

[Misa Hayase]

Hi eyedoc!

Within what range ba dapat yung grade ng myopia to be a candidate for lasik?
I'm 600 (-6.00) in one and 700 in the other. (ay buking!) :P May twinge of astigmatism ata sila. Thanks

[Ira]

Holy cow, it's my buddy eyedoc! Welcome back, eyedoc! Good to see you back online.

[eyedoc]

Misa Hayase - Barring any other eye problems that might come out during the screening, I think that you would make a good candidate for LASIK. You do have to undergo screening at an Eye Center with LASIK facilities, though.

Hi, Ira! Sorry can't log on too often nowadays! I'm getting busier lately!

[stinky]

I had lasik surgery 3 yrs ago sa american eye center. from 450/550 ay 20/20 na ko ule