Vision Correction and Laser

Written by John Taylor

Laser Eye Surgery for Vision Correction Having bad eyesight can be really annoying.  Wearing glasses can really get in the way, and contact lenses can irritate the eyes.  If your vision is particularly bad, you would need to use these at all times.  For some people, that is just unacceptable.  They don't like to wear glasses or contact lenses and would prefer some other method to fix their eyesight.  Luckily, there are other methods.  The most popular is laser eye surgery known as LASIK.  LASIK stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis.  Although the name may be confusing, the process isn't. Not everyone can use this corrective eye surgery.  For example, some careers, such as certain parts of the military, won't allow their employees to have this kind of procedure done.  Make sure to check with your job first so that you don't end up unemployed after getting your eyes fixed.  You should also avoid getting this surgery if you aren't willing to take a risk.  LASIK eye surgery is relatively new and they don't know about the long term affects of the surgery.  Because of this, it should be reserved for people who are willing to take that risk. You may want to back out of this project once you hear what actually happens during this corrective eye surgery.  For one thing, you need to be awake during the procedure.  Since it happens to your eyes, you will see it all happen as it goes down.  This is a scary proposition for a lot of people and it weeds out those that may not be suited for the procedure.  If this sounds okay to you, then you should try it out. There are three main steps to laser eye surgery, although it is a bit more complicated than what is going to be outlined here.  First, after numbing your eye, they will use a machine or laser to cut open a portion of your cornea.  The cornea is the clear matter over your eye.  It is similar to a lens in that it affects the focus of your vision.  Once it is cut open, they then fold it back to create a flap.  This reveals the stroma, which is the middle section of the cornea.  Once revealed, they are then able to use a laser to vaporize parts of the cornea, improving the surface and your vision.   There, you're done!  The replace the flap and you're ready to go home.  This procedure is very short.  In fact, it usually only takes about thirty minutes.  Although it doesn't take long, you find that you have much improved vision after only that short time.  This is sort of like instant gratification for people.  They can see the results right away so that they are happy that they made the decision to go through with the procedure.   Now that you know the basic steps to getting laser eye surgery, you should know by now whether it is right for you.  If you think it is, your first step is to visit your regular eye doctor.  They will need to do an eye exam in order to determine if you are a good candidate.  If you are, then they will refer you to a laser eye surgeon.  Not all of these surgeons are created equal, though.  Make sure to research them to make sure that you are going to work with someone who will treat your eyes right.  Although it may be tempting to choose the cheapest laser eye surgery clinic, this is a bad idea.  You definitely don't want to lose your vision because you were intent on saving a buck.

 

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