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Here are some important links about lasik surgery:

From Wikipedia:

LASIK is the acronym for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, a type of refractive laser eye surgery performed by ophthalmologists for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The procedure is generally preferred to photorefractive keratectomy, PRK, (also called ASA, Advanced Surface Ablation) because it requires less time for the patient's recovery, and the patient feels less pain, overall; however, there are instances where PRK/ASA is medically indicated as a better alternative to LASIK. Many patients choose LASIK as an alternative to wearing corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses.

...Lasik and other forms of laser refractive surgery (i.e. PRK,LASEK and Epi-LASEK) change the dynamics of the cornea. These changes make it difficult for your optometrist and ophthalmologist to accurately measure your intraocular pressure, essential in glaucoma screening and treatment. The changes also affect the calculations used to select the correct intraocular lens implant when you have cataract surgery. This is known to ophthalmologists as a "refractive surprise". The correct intraocular pressure and intraocular lens power can be calculated if you can provide your eye care professional with your preoperative, operative and postoperative eye measurements.

Here are some important links about lasik surgery from Wikipedia:

Here are key links about lasik surgery:

  • Expectations reviews information needed to help establish realistic post-operative expectations.
  • Eligibility reviews conditions that doctors evaluate to determine a patient's eligibility for the procedure.
  • Lifestyle Benefits provides some reasons patients seek refractive surgery · Risks & Complications discusses this issue in depth and provides statistical data regarding occurrence rates.
  • Risks & Complications discusses this issue in depth and provides statistical data regarding occurrence rates.
  • Cost provides general information for patients considering the surgery and questions to ask regarding services offered.
  • Technology provides a general overview of the excimer lasers used in the LASIK procedure.

From NPR:

Laser surgery revolutionized eyesight correction when it was introduced ten years ago. Originally, the procedure was used only to correct nearsightedness. Now, Lasik is used to correct most vision problems, including farsightedness and astigmatism.

That's enticing more and more people to choose to have their corneas reshaped and their vision corrected. Every year, more than four million Americans make this choice.

Recently, Los Angeles resident Chet Lee, 30, had surgery at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute, where he was able to take advantage of two of the newest techniques in Lasik: Wavefront-guided Lasik and all-laser Lasik.

Wavefront-guided Lasik, or "custom Lasik," uses a computer to diagnose and customize correction of the eye. All-laser Lasik uses a laser rather than a blade to trim off the top of the cornea.

Right now, that laser is only sold by the company IntraLase Corp. Surgeons think the new bladeless Lasik is more precise, easier to use, and reduces complications.

Dr. D. Rex Hamilton, Director of the UCLA Laser Refractive Center at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, says the new custom Lasik procedure helps make Lasik more exact.

A camera takes pictures of how the eye actually reflects and filters light. The more dramatic the angles, the more Lasik correction is needed. The new Wavefront-guided technology is more eye specific, Hamilton says.

"Everybody has optics of their eye that is unique. No two eyes are the same," Hamilton explains. "We can now measure those optics in a very detailed way and then use the laser to reshape the cornea for that particular optical fingerprint. It's like a detailed map of the optics."

With this detailed map, Hamilton says, the computer then figures out exactly how surgeons need to reshape the cornea to remove optical imperfections and correct vision. For the patient, Hamilton says, "this translates into better nighttime vision, better quality, less halos, less glare of lights."

Before custom Lasik, decisions about how to reshape the eye were more subjective because doctors relied on a patient's prescription for glasses. And prescriptions are based on a patient's assessment of their own vision as they read the eye charts in doctor's offices.

With custom Lasik, decisions are more scientific, says Hamilton, because a computer measures how light is reflected in the eye. The pattern it produces tells doctors exactly how vision is impaired, and how to fix it. "The computer figures out what I need to do to reshape the cornea to remove optical imperfections," Hamilton says.

From agingEye.net:

If the myopia is low to moderate (i.e. -7 D or less), then 96% patients achieve uncorrected visual acuities better than 20/40, however only 72% of patients achieve vision equal to or better than 20/20. As mentioned earlier, more people achieve 20/20 vision with wavefront-guided treatment. If the myopia is high (i.e. more than -7 D ), then 89% patients achieve uncorrected visual acuities better than 20/40, however only 48% of patients achieve vision equal to or better than 20/20. Note that the uncorrected vision results in high myopes is not as good as in low myopes (FDA data). LASIK and surface ablation have largely similar vision outcomes. Therefore, most - but not all - people will have 20/20 vision after LASIK without glasses. Some people will not be able to "get rid of glasses" to see 20/20. Taken together, this means that LASIK will almost certainly reduce your dependence on glasses and contact lenses, however, there is no certainty and there can be no guarantee that you will be able to achieve perfect vision without glasses. You have 90 to 95% chance of passing the vision test to get a drivers license without glasses (i.e 20/40 vision) and therefore 90 to 95% chance that you will be able to legally drive without glasses after LASIK.

Our recommendation, however, is that you drive with the best vision that your eyes are capable of achieving. Serious complications from refractive surgery are rare, as evidenced by the low rate of loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. However, before undergoing any refractive procedure, you should carefully weigh the risks and benefits based on your own personal value system, and try to avoid being influenced by friends that have had the procedure or doctors encouraging you to do so. Remember that, even though rare, complications do occur.

Rick Hussey writes:

LASIK is a surgical procedure intended to reduce a person's dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The goal of this Web site is to provide objective information to the public about LASIK surgery. If you’re near-sighted or far-sighted, you may need glasses in order to see clearly. If you wear contact lenses, there is the daily hassle of putting them in every morning and taking them out every night. Technological advances are making these partial solutions to vision impairment obsolete.

One of the most innovative methods of dealing with eye problems today is LASIK Eye Surgery. But what is LASIK and how do you know if you are a good candidate for the surgery?

Short for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, the procedure involves peeling back a small section from the top of the cornea. A focused laser will be used to reshape the cornea and eliminate any tissue that may be the root cause of the eye problem.

What is PRK? PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) is a surface refractive procedure in which the epithelium (surface layer of the cornea) is removed using the excimer laser, rotary brush or with the aid of 20% alcohol. The excimer laser is then used to re-shape the cornea to produce the desired correction. At the completion a contact lens or an eye patch is applied.

From ComplicatedEyes.org:

Lasik complications information for patients and doctors. Dry eye, halo, starburst, glare, vision fluctuation, etc., complications information about conventional or wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, LASEK, PRK, CK, RK, CLE, P-IOL, ICL, etc., plus treatment suggestions and international doctor referral network.

• Lasik Complications & Problems Resolution If you are a patient or doctor researching Lasik complications or complications such as dry eye, halo, starburst, glare, vision fluctuation, etc., from conventional or wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, LASEK, PRK, CK, RK, or any other similar surgery technique, we offer information, advice, hope, and quite possibly a resolution to your problem. You will find answers to many of your questions, an overview of what you can expect, suggestions of potential treatments, and if needed, referral to a doctor who has demonstrated expertise in treating, managing, or correcting your particular problem.

• Lasik Doctor Referral If you are considering having conventional or wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, LASEK, PRK, CK, RK, or any other refractive eye surgery technique, you will find a wealth of information to consider at our main Lasik website before you make your decision.

• Second Opinion Referral to International Experts Lasik may be the most popular elective surgery with more than 11 million recipients worldwide, but it is not perfect. Even if only a reported 0.5% of patients have unresolved serious Lasik complications, and 3% have unresolved problems of any kind, it is too many. Most Lasik complications resolve within the normal six-month healing period, but sometimes a more rapid or aggressive response is appropriate.

To address the needs of patients with Lasik complications and provide doctors a single source for related studies, CRSQA works with an international network of independent doctors, nurses, technicians, researchers, facilities, and industry experts specifically to assist with Lasik complications and other related problems. This network of experts will assist patients in a positive environment of support, empathy, cooperation, and understanding - while focusing on a cure for the difficulty.

From NPR:

The first medical procedure that had millions of people throwing away their glasses was pioneered in Soviet Russia.

Many surgeons had tried before, but Svyatoslav Fyodorov was the first to perfect radial keratotomy, or RK, a surgical procedure that corrects nearsightedness.

Fyodorov's story is the stuff of medical myth. A little boy gets in a fight and breaks his glasses, cutting his eye. All of a sudden, he could see better. The little boy's doctor, Fyodorov, asked himself, if accidental cuts can improve vision, what could precision cuts do?

The story may or may not be true. It's more likely that Fyodorov, as creative a salesman as he was a surgeon, probably read about botched RK attempts in the medical literature and got to work.

"He hated glasses," says Emilia Reznik, who was an ophthalmologist in Fyodorov's Moscow clinic in the early 1980s. Fyodorov, who also pioneered one of the first successful artificial lens implants, spent half a dozen years experimenting with radial keratotomy.

Practicing at first on rabbits, he deduced the correct number and length of cuts needed to reshape the cornea and deliver 20-20 vision. He also designed a special diamond blade critical to the procedure.

"He found that you had to make the incisions precise and deep," says Dr. Jim Salz, a USC ophthalmologist who tested Fyodorov's procedure in the United States in the 1980s. "The typical surgery was eight to 16 of these incisions made with a guarded diamond blade, in effect in the pattern of the spokes on a wheel."

Here are some reasons people get lasik surgery:

There are undoubtedly many unique, personal reasons for getting LASIK eye surgery, but after many years of doing the operation doctors have found a handful of common reasons. You may or may not agree with every item on the following list of the top five reasons why people get LASIK surgery, but chances are one or more will ring a bell.

1. There are a lot of people in the world who wonder what it would be like to wake up in the morning and see everything clearly without having to look for their glasses. It’s that simple for some folks. They just want to have normal vision, period.

2. Some people just don’t like the look of glasses, and cannot adjust to contact lenses, either. They want to look good, and not have to worry about coordinating their eyewear with their wardrobes. More women than men may have this reason for vision correction surgery, but in this day and age men are just as fashion- and clothes-conscious as women are—some even more so!

3. It’s often quite hard to play sports wearing glasses or contact lenses, and certain activities make it nearly impossible. It’s bad enough just playing a casual game of weekend volleyball, having the ball crash into your face and hearing (and feeling) your glasses break. But it’s worse if you are a semi-professional athlete. Swimmers and other aquatic sports athletes are great candidates for LASIK eye surgery, for instance, as they would never again have to worry about losing their glasses or contacts underwater.

4. Think about this: You never have to worry about your eyesight again for the rest of your life. This is a prime motivator for a lot of people, especially those needing vision correction early in life. What is normal vision for others is a wonder and a blessing for you. With LASIK eye surgery, you can enjoy the world in true, bright and beautiful clarity—for your whole life—without slipping on specs or popping in contacts.

Carol Scheiber writes about her story with lasik surgery:

I had conventional lasik surgery on June 18, 2004. I had very blurry vision for several days, double vision for a couple weeks, could not see my computer screen for several weeks, and ended up significantly under-corrected. My eyes were also very dry, and I had to wake up several times during the night to put in drops.

Three months after my original lasik operation, I had a wavefront lasik enhancement (Sept 23, 2004). The next day, my vision was perfect. However, as that first week wore on, I began to have a lot of eye strain, and couldn’t see up close. I felt an awareness of my eyes working hard to change focus as I looked around at different objects at different distances (not just close up objects). I went back to the lasik doctor, who said I was +1 hyperopic (far-sighted), and that’s what was causing the eye strain. He said that it was a normal part of the healing process, and he expected my eyes to regress toward normal vision. The eye strain lasted about 3 weeks, and then my near vision returned, and my eye strain lessened. The eye strain came and went for several months, and then finally went away.

During this second round of healing, my eyes were even more dry. Sometimes I even woke up with my eyelids stuck to my eyeballs. I now have 20/20 vision and am very happy with my result. My dry eyes are back to normal pre-lasik condition (just a little dry). It was a long difficult journey.