Do you have blurry vision caused by refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism? If you want to permanently improve your vision, LASIK could be the right treatment for you.
With LASIK, you can enhance your eyesight while reducing or eliminating the need for glasses and contacts. Before undergoing the procedure, you’ll need to attend a consultation with your eye doctor to determine whether you are a good candidate for LASIK.
Keep reading to learn more about what happens during a LASIK consultation and whether the procedure could be right for you!
How Can LASIK Improve Your Vision?
LASIK is a vision correction procedure that involves using specialized lasers to reshape your cornea. The cornea is a clear structure at the front of the eye that bends light back to the retina.
When the cornea isn’t the right shape, it causes vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Your LASIK surgeon can correct these common refractive errors by changing the shape of the cornea to allow light to hit the retina at the optimal angle for clear vision.
After LASIK, many patients are able to reduce or entirely eliminate their dependence on glasses and contacts.
What Are the Steps of a LASIK Consultation?
While LASIK is a popular procedure that has brought millions of patients clearer vision, not everyone is a good candidate. To ensure the procedure will be safe for you and suit your visual needs, you must undergo a LASIK consultation with your eye doctor at Stahl Eyecare Experts consisting of:
A Comprehensive Eye Exam
To be a good candidate for LASIK, you must have eyes that are healthy enough for the procedure. Your eye doctor may perform various tests to screen for conditions that could disqualify you from LASIK, like glaucoma, severe dry eye, or cataracts.
They will also measure the thickness of your corneas, as the procedure is unsafe for patients with thin corneas. During LASIK, a small flap is made in the cornea to access and reshape the tissue underneath.
This can pose a risk for patients with thin corneas, who are often better suited for procedures like PRK. Aside from the health of your eyes, you must also have a prescription that’s within the range LASIK can correct.
Your eye doctor will perform refraction testing to help determine whether LASIK could be suitable for your visual needs.
Questions About Your Medical and Vision History
During the consultation, you’ll also be asked about your medical and vision history. If you have autoimmune conditions like lupus, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or Sjogren’s syndrome, you may not be a good candidate for LASIK, as they can affect how you heal from the procedure.
Vision stability also plays a large role in LASIK candidacy. This is because unstable vision could impact the results of the procedure.
You must have had stable vision for at least one year before undergoing LASIK, and you cannot be under 18 or pregnant or nursing, as hormonal shifts can cause prescription changes.
Discussing Your Lifestyle and Visual Goals
Your eye doctor at Stahl Eyecare Experts can answer any questions you have about the procedure and results to help you decide whether LASIK suits your lifestyle and visual goals. If you want to experience clear, high-definition vision and eliminate the hassles that come with glasses and contacts, LASIK could be right for you.
However, if you participate in contact sports like boxing, you may want to consider PRK, as it could be a better option for you. This is because the flap created during LASIK has the potential to become dislodged due to injury.
If your eye doctor determines you are a good candidate for LASIK, the next step is scheduling the procedure and getting excited about stunningly clear vision!
Do you want to find out whether you could be a good candidate for LASIK? Schedule a consultation at Stahl Eyecare Experts in Manhattan, NY, today!
