Best LASIK Eye Specialists in Reading, PA
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eight years in a row!
Many people simply tire of wearing glasses and contact lenses, and therefore consider LASIK surgery. While most patients are good candidates for LASIK surgery, the procedure is not right for everyone. If you are wondering whether you are a LASIK candidate, come to the best LASIK eye specialists in Reading, PA at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania.
Your State of Health
The first thing we will want to determine is whether you are healthy and whether your eyes are healthy. We conduct a detailed questionnaire regarding your general health. There are certain medical conditions that can make the LASIK outcome less predictable or that can increase your risks associated with this surgery. Here are some examples:
- Diabetes
- Immune system diseases that affect your healing ability or make you more prone to infection (HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disorders, etc.)
- Immunosuppressant medications
- Chronic pain conditions
- Depression
Next we will determine your eye health. Typically, patients who have no unusual vision problems and who have a moderate degree of refractive error are good candidates. We will ask detailed questions regarding your eye health, and conduct several examinations designed to determine current state of vision and overall eye health.
Patients who have eye disease, thin corneas, eyelid disorders and eye injuries may not be candidates. Furthermore, patients who have large pupils may not be LASIK candidates as the surgery can make glare a big problem. People with cataracts cannot have LASIK, but should come see us about cataract surgery, in which we can also correct for your vision. Finally, LASIK may make dry eye worse, so we will have to look carefully at that condition.
While LASIK can correct most vision issues, the surgery is not designed to correct high levels of refractive error, so we will discuss the risks and benefits with you.
Stable Vision
If you are under 18, we don’t condone LASIK surgery because your eyes are still changing and your vision is not yet stable. In particular, teenagers with myopia definitely continue to experience vision changes throughout the teen years and perhaps even longer. Likewise, people over age 40 often have age-related changes in vision called presbyopia, so you may not be a candidate until your vision is stable. Other temporary conditions, such as taking steroid medications or being pregnant cause temporary vision changes.
In all of these cases, we will wait until your vision has stabilized before considering you to be a candidate for LASIK surgery. In people with stable vision, the track record for LASIK surgery results is very, very good. Most people achieve 20/25 vision or better. After age 40, you still may need glasses for reading or driving at night. Your eyes still age, despite having LASIK, so aging conditions like presbyopia still occur.
Your specific results will depend on the amount of refractive error you have and other factors, such as whether you already have dry eye before LASIK. This surgery is most successful for people with mild nearsightedness. While we can use LASIK to correct for higher degrees of nearsightedness or farsightedness and even astigmatism, patients must understand that results are less predictable in these cases.
If you’ve liked what you read, and are even more convinced now that you are a good candidate for LASIK surgery, come see us at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania, the best LASIK eye specialists in Reading, PA. We are ready to do your LASIK evaluation.
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