Vision is our dominant sense, helping us understand and interact with our surroundings. Unfortunately, there are many types of vision problems that can lead you to need glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision.
LASIK eye surgery is a type of refractive surgery that can repair your sight and, in many cases, remove the need for glasses or contact lenses. The expert team at Bronx Eye Associates helps people throughout the The Bronx, New York City understand whether LASIK eye surgery is right for them.
To explore this, let’s examine how LASIK works, the best candidates for the procedure, and what to expect when it happens.
When light enters your eye, it passes through the cornea, pupil, and lens to the retina, which converts the light into signals that your brain can interpret as images. When your eyes have problems bending (or refracting) light properly, the image becomes blurry due to a refractive error.
LASIK eye surgery alters the shape of your cornea to improve how light is refracted through your eye. LASIK can correct refractive errors like nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), age-related inability to focus (presbyopia), and cornea-related focus problems (astigmatism).
Presbyopia requires a different treatment than other refractive errors because the problem affects the lens of your eye more than your cornea. Our team recommends the monovision technique, where we treat the dominant eye for farsightedness, and the other eye for nearsightedness.
While this treatment has helped millions of people’s vision, it’s not suitable for everyone. You may be a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery if you:
While LASIK is well-tolerated among most people, there are some cases where it’s not appropriate. LASIK may not be right for people with:
If you aren’t sure if you’re a good candidate for LASIK, speak to our expert team who can help you understand your suitability for this procedure.
LASIK is a simple outpatient procedure. First, your surgeon gives you numbing eye drops as you lay flat, then fits you with an eyelid holder and a suction ring to prevent blinking and restrict eye movement.
Once your eye is stabilized, a laser cuts a paper-thin flap in your cornea. You then stare at a light, while your surgeon uses a laser to reshape your cornea to correct refractive errors. Once done, they fold the flap back down and the eye starts to heal quickly, starting within minutes.
After your procedure, you may experience an itching or burning sensation and your vision may initially be blurry, hazy, and sensitive to light. These effects are temporary and should fade completely in a month.
You are likely to receive eye drops (in some cases, with antibiotics or steroids) and you may have to wear a shield over your eyes to prevent touching the corneas as they heal. Getting rest to relax your eyes post-surgery helps the healing process along.
LASIK surgery can change the way you see things permanently. If you want to know whether you’re a candidate for the treatment, make an appointment with the specialists at Bronx Eye Associates today to get started.
