LASIK is a refractive eye surgery that is usually performed on someone’s eye to reshape their cornea. The surgery helps clarify your vision and make it clear by enabling your retina to focuson the light entering the eye. Some of the conditions that can be treated with this surgery include astigmatism, myopia also known as near-sightedness, and finally, hyperopia is otherwise known as farsightedness. The surgery lasts for only 15 minutes when treating both eyes and you do not feel any pain during the procedure. At the end of the surgery, most patients are capable of seeing even when they do not have glasses or contact lenses on. It is always recommended to get an eye exam to help determine whether you are a good LASIK candidate. LASIK Austin has professional optometrists and specialists who can help you know whether you qualify for laser surgery.
What should you do before the LASIK surgery?
For you to qualify as a LASIK surgery candidate, you should have a completely healthy eye. A doctor will therefore conduct an eye examination in which he will check your pupil size, your cornea shape and thickness, and finally the refractive errors present. Secondly, the specialist will take a tear film from your eye for further tests. A map of your cornea will also be taken using a corneal topographer. Finally, the doctor will do a wavefront analysis to enhance the cornea map and ask you questions about the medications you take and about your health history. Once all these evaluations and tests have been done, your doctor will advise you on whether you should continue putting on contacts or stop for some time. You are however required to take the contacts off for approximately two weeks before the surgery day.
What should you expect during the LASIK surgery?
On the day of the surgery, your doctor will give you some numbing eye drops right before your surgery. You may also need to take some relaxation medicine before the LASIK surgery begins. During the surgery, a lid spectrum will you used to open up your eye and you will be positioned directly under the laser. Since you are likely to make sudden eye movements, you will have a suction ring placed in front to avoid affecting the surgery quality. A corneal flap will also be created after using ink to mark your mark the cornea. A microscope will be used to study your eye while focussing light into the cornea. Finally, the surgery will be carried out by applying laser light pulses which automatically reshape the cornea. You will not feel any pain although you might feel some slight pressure being exerted on your eye.
Conclusion
LASIK surgery is used to treat various eye conditions and helps repair and clarify their vision. The surgery is done using a laser and is normally done by automatically reshaping your cornea. Before you are chosen as a LASIK candidate, your specialist will perform various eye exams on your cornea and eye, map your cornea and tell you what to do before the surgery day. These preparation steps are very key to ensuring surgery success. Additionally, you should be aware of what will happen during the surgery and what to do during the surgery for efficiency in the procedure.