Lasik surgery
The Story of my Search
Many people nowadays
have common eyesight problems. It´s not very unusual to know someone that uses
contact lenses or glasses. This might be uncomfortable for most of them but
fortunately technology has advanced in our favor throughout the years and
thanks to this, we are able to struggle less and live in and easier and quicker
way. What I´m talking about is fixing your eyesight problems very easily. For
this research I wondered what are the advantages and disadvantages about
risking yourself into the operating room to fix you problem and if it is safe.
I´m very interested in this topic because I have myopia and this problem is related
directly to the Lasik surgery. I want to know it if benefits me. Lasik surgery
is a successful way to see better, but as everything in this world, it has its
advantages and disadvantages.
Despite Lasik surgery being new in existence, about 10
years, I could find lots of reliable information everywhere in the internet. I
thought it was going to be a hard topic, difficult to consult. The only site I
had some trouble with was EBSCO. EBSCO is a good site but it´s not very
specific, it only talks about general topics which in my case it´s not useful.
I found a few articles and not very interesting.
The Results of my Search
Lasik stands for Laser Assisted In Situ
Keratomileusis. It is the most modern and advanced refractive surgery without
hospitalization and it is used for correcting myopia (nearsighted),
hypermetropia (trouble focusing) and astigmatism (image distortion). It doesn´t
work for everybody which means some people can or cannot be a candidate for
this surgery. To know this, some examinations must be done like: visual acuity,
refraction, corneal topography, intraocular pressure, ta chometry, tear flow evaluation, pupil expansion, refraction with
cycloplegia (eye muscle paralysis) and retina evaluation. Then your
ophthalmologist can determine if you can be a good candidate or not.
The procedure of this Lasik surgery is very simple. It
only takes about 10 minutes. 10 minutes is incredible for an operation because
if you are one of that kind of person that gets exasperated in an operating
room or nervous, you will be just fine. As time being comfortable and favorable
also the cost is comfortable and suitable for anyone. Here in Mexico this
surgery is catalogued to be cheap. Its cost is around 5,000 pesos.
The action takes place in an operating room and you
are seated. Topic anesthesia (eye drops) is applied. It takes effect in your
eye zone only. No general anesthesia is needed. The day of the surgery you
can´t use any lotion, creams or makeup because you can get infected. Probabilities
are 0.4% of getting an infection like keratoconus (cornea thinning),
subconjunctival hemorrhage, late post-operative complications, epithelial
ingrowth, late traumatic flap dislocations, micro folding and glaucoma. Moreover
if you use contact lenses you need to stop using them for at least 3 days
before your surgery. Pregnant and lacting women, children and old people
shouldn´t be operated.
As for the recovery, this is also an incredible and
quick step. It takes only a week to be completely renewed but it only takes 3
days to restart your activities again and go back to normal life. A week later
you can be happy with your results and prepare yourself to use your new
eyesight and announce it to the world. Of course you can´t forget you are a
post-operated patient and you are still delicate somehow. You will need to see your doctor constantly. He will prescribe you with eye drops to reduce
the risk of infection, inflammation, and to prevent dryness, and he will
monitor and follow up your recovery.
The tools an ophthalmologist uses are the excimer
laser and the microkeratome. The microkeratome
is used for doing a curvature in the cornea, and the excimer laser also
known as the exciplex
laser is a form of ultraviolet laser which is commonly used in the
production of microelectronic devices (semiconductor integrated circuits or “chips”), eye surgery, and
micromachining. It was invented in 1970 by Nikolai Basov in Moscow. It gives emmisions of 172 mm wavelength. Excimer
lasers are made by manufacturers like Visx, Wavelight, Alcon, Bausch &
Lomb, and Nidek.
There are multiple types of LASIK
surgeries like Corneal
Onlays/Inlays, Custom
Wavefront LASIK, Epi-LASIK, and the IntraLase
"Bladeless" LASIK. And 2
ways of operating: the conventional way or the custom way. The custom LASIK way
of operating uses a
wavefront analyzer which enables your surgeon to do a customized procedure
.The conventional LASIK operation is the traditional one, it is
still good but patients prefer custom one because of customization. There are
less probabilities of obtaining a 20/20 (perfect vision) eyesight. In
conclusion we would all prefer the custom LASIK because it´s easier for the
patient and much more effective.
This surgery has been very effective throughout the
years but some people have had problems and complications. Some of these
problems include dry eyes, over or under correction, vitamin D deficiency,
fluctuation, halos and starbursts, ghost images, double vision, light sensitivity,
large pupils, macular hole and deficient night vision. Patients confess that
since LASIK they´ve had a poor quality of life because of poor vision or
physical pain, which means regretting of doing this. We shouldn´t be regretting
about the decisions we take because for some reason we take decisions that
benefit us at the most. When doing the surgery we need to be sure of what we
are doing, going through and what and how the results may affect our lives.
A victim expressed her testimony and this is what she
said: “I had Lasik eye surgery five months ago.
Since the surgery I have had blurred vision especially at night like every
light looks like a Ferris wheel. So that means no driving at night. I have had
my eye enhanced six different times. The eye surgeon says I have dry eye caused
by my tear duct too big. He has closed it up or made it smaller 3 times, and
it's still not better. It is very frustrating I have a night time gel and drops
in the day causing post nasal in my throat.” We can see that LASIK was not beneficial
on her. She struggles to see and has plenty of complications.
There are also myths about this
surgery that shouldn´t be considered. As everything in this world myths exist everywhere
and all the time. Some of this calumnies are Recovery from
LASIK takes a long time, LASIK doesn't treat astigmatism, LASIK is still new
and there aren't any long term results, LASIK patients have trouble with their
night vision, and prescription needs to be stable before having LASIK, I'm too
old to have LASIK, LASIK is painful, LASIK is a luxury I can't afford, LASIK is
too risky, Glasses and contacts are just as good. This is why we need to be well
informed and always upon everything consult with a doctor.
Reflections on my Search
I´m glad and satisfied with all my
research and the topic I chose. Now I know how all this functions because I
always wanted to know about this surgery but I never had the time to do some
real research. I´m going to consider what I found out for my future and
probably consider getting this surgery for me. Consequentially now I can inform
people and spread this wonderful surgery that can change people´s life.
Dr. Mendez. "Lasik Laser Eye
Surgery, Cirugia De Ojos, Instituto De La Vision Institute, Dr Mendez,
Lasek." Lasik Laser Eye
Surgery, Cirugia De Ojos, Instituto De La Vision Institute, Dr Mendez, Lasek.
N.p.,
Apr.-May 2005. Web. 22 Jan. 2013. <http://www.lasik.com.mx/>.
Randleman,
J. Bradley, MD. "LASIK Eye Surgery Risks, Advantages, Disadvantages,
Facts, History and Complications on MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. N.p., 1996. Web.
22 Jan. 2013. <http://www.medicinenet.com/lasik_eye_surgery/article.htm>.
"LASIK
& Laser Eye Surgery: A Complete Consumer Guide." All About Vision. N.p., 2000.
Web. 22 Jan. 2013. <http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/>.
"LASIK
Myths vs. LASIK Facts." LASIK
MD. N.p., 2004. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.lasikmd.com/syracuse/what-to-expect/lasik-myths-vs-lasik-facts>.
"LASIK
- TLC Laser Eye Surgery Centers." TLC
Vision. N.p., 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2013. <http://www.tlcvision.com/>.
s, Liz. "Lasik Risks Are Minimal." Ophthalmology Times 1.4 (2012): 7. Health Source - Consumer Edition.
Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
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