Tired of wearing glasses? Whether you’re nearsighted, farsighted, or suffer from astigmatism, you have an option for vision without glasses or contact lenses. You may have heard of LASIK; officially, the procedure is called laser in-situ keratomileusis.
The cornea is the clear part in the front of your eye. Laser vision correction surgery reshapes the cornea so that the light that passes through it is properly focused onto the retina — the layer of nerves at the back of the eye that transmit light into the brain.
The advantages of LASIK include:
- Success rate. Approximately eighty percent of patients will experience vision improvements after laser vision correction.
- Most patients do not need glasses or contact lenses after surgery.
- The procedure is relatively painless.
- The results are quick — vision changes are noticeable almost immediately and at least within a day after surgery.
- The recovery is quick too — no bandages or stitches needed.
- Adjustments and/or enhancements can be done in the future to make vision even better.
The disadvantages of LASIK include:
- The price. LASIK is expensive, often more than two thousand dollars per eye.
- The permanence. Changes made to the cornea can never be reversed.
- The complexity. This surgery isn’t easy to perform. You may be left with permanent vision problems.
- Further corrections can only be made by LASIK surgery.
- Loss of best vision. Your best vision is the highest degree of vision correction achieved with glasses or contact lenses. At about one year after LASIK surgery, it is possible to lose this best vision peak.
Side effects after the surgery are often mild. Some people experience discomfort for the first day or two. Other side effects are rare, and include: glare, seeing halos around images, difficulty with night vision and night driving, vision changes, and dry eyes.