Welcome to Insight Eyecare with Dr. Kyle Tate, your Glenpool Eye Doctor. Today’s article is going to discuss more questions from patients, focusing on LASIK. If you are interested in LASIK and looking for a Glenpool eye doctor, please consider us here at Insight Eyecare. We are a full service eyecare provider with state-of-the-art optical equipment and an amazing staff. We offer a comfortable facility that’s conveniently located near Glenpool’s Simple Simon’s. If you have any questions that you would like to see answered by Dr. Kyle Tate, please call or email us through our website. If you or any of your friends have been considering LASIK, be sure to read today’s article. As your Glenpool eye doctor, we are here for all your eyecare and eyewear needs including glasses, contacts, general eye exams, eye problems, and even LASIK.
One question your Glenpool eye doctor often hears is “What is LASIK?” In short, LASIK is a laser eye surgery to change your eyes current prescription. Now, obviously there is much more to explain and many more details about LASIK that we can talk about. So let’s discuss LASIK! LASIK is a procedure for anyone who is wanting freedom from glasses or contacts. As your Glenpool eye doctor, I want you to know that your vision must be stable for the last few years because LASIK does not prevent the eyes from changing.
We’re not sure if it was previous marketing strategies or simply patients misunderstanding, but early on in the history of LASIK patients expected to never need glasses or contacts again. I want you to hear this from your Glenpool eye doctor; it must be very clearly understood there is no technology that will prevent the possibility of needing glasses in your lifetime. Maybe someday with genetic research or stem cells we can get there, but current eye technology does not allow for this. And not in a state of change. That’s why we do not perform LASIK on men under age 21 or women under the age of 18.
There are multiple reasons we would not perform LASIK for fear of the eyes changing. Some would be planning a pregnancy soon and working in an environment with lots of close-range activities. Another reason would be going into a professional school such as law school, medical school, or a Masters program. It does not make sense to pay out-of-pocket to have a prescription laser if you are likely to have a prescription change. Asking if LASIK would benefit you is something to consider when talking with your Glenpool eye doctor.
With current technology, LASIK is a blade-free procedure. LASIK has evolved many times over the recent decades, although the name has remained the same as it was with the 1990s technology. Blade free custom LASIK is a much safer procedure and gives much better vision then we were ever able to achieve with traditional LASIK. LASIK follows the common trend of technology growing and improving over time. We also have a better understanding of how to perform LASIK safely and which patients can safely have the procedure.
LASIK is a procedure that only involves eyedrops and lasers to change the strength of the eye. Let’s talk about how the procedure is performed. Complete eye exams with dilation and additional testing are performed within a month of the surgery to make sure the eye is going to be healthy before and after the laser procedure. The day of surgery is quite simple. The surgical center will usually give medication to help relax any anxiety. The greatest risk with LASIK is an infection. So, before the surgery, we clean around both eyes and instill some numbing and antibiotic drops. The procedure itself has two steps and takes a total of 10 minutes to have both eyes done. The steps may be in a different order depending on the surgeon’s request.
The first step is making a flap on the front of the eye. This flap is required because the front surface of the eye will grow back within a week. Thus, we would not want to perform any type of LASIK procedure over that layer. The eye would return to its original state very soon. After the flap is made, the surgeon moves it out of the way. The second and final step is where the surgeon uses the laser to reshape the front of the eye or change the prescription. This step of the procedure can take varying amounts of time depending on your glasses prescription. Finally, your surgeon will move the flap back into place and eyedrops will be placed on the eyes. This helps control the healing process and reduce risk of infection.
When you need a Glenpool eye doctor to perform LASIK we consider all these different steps to ensure that you have a good outcome. Many people are concerned about the risk of LASIK after surgery. However, they are surprised to find out that the most common and greatest risk is infection. All patients are prescribed strong antibiotics after the surgery. These help reduce risk of infection.
The most common fear people have regarding LASIK is that they might accidentally look away or blink during the procedure. Simple steps are taken to ensure that does not happen. The simplest step taken to ensure LASIK is safe is that an eyelid speculum holds the eye open. This keeps the patient from accidentally blinking. This is actually not uncomfortable because your eyes are numbed up from eyedrops for the procedure. Luckily the laser is not constantly firing. It moves with the eye and only fires on the eye when it is in an optimal position. This means that if you accidentally look away, the laser is not going to misfire or fire in the wrong location. This makes LASIK extremely safe and easy for the patient.
Your Glenpool eye doctor at Insight Eyecare wants you to have the highest quality life. That may mean a life with glasses you love, or freedom from glasses with LASIK. If you would like to get rid of glasses by having LASIK performed please call our Glenpool eye doctor office, Insight Eyecare. We work with some of the best LASIK surgeons in the country who have some of the newest lasers available. At Insight Eyecare we want to be your Glenpool eye doctor for all your needs. If you have any questions about LASIK or would like to get more information about LASIK, please reach out to us at Insight Eyecare. God bless you guys. Have a great day!
