Laser eye surgery is one of the treatment options not only for visual impairments, but also for various eye problems and diseases.
According to Medicine Net, refractive surgery is not for everyone. It is often indicated to correct visual inaccuracies, such as astigmatism, hyperopia (farsightedness), and most cases of myopia (nearsightedness). Some forms of laser surgery may not be suitable for people who have strong lens prescriptions like high degree of short-sightedness. Given this information, a person should undergo a complete eye examination to determine if he is a candidate for surgery or not.
Factors that a person needs to consider include one’s age; stability of vision; participation in contact sports, such as martial arts, boxing, or wrestling; the willingness to accept minimal but real risk of surgical complications that may affect his vision; a rule with regard to refractive surgery in one’s employer, organization, or professional society; and health conditions, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and keratoconus, a corneal disease caused by reduced corneal strength that can be seen as an abnormal curvature during an eye examination.
More than 100,000 people annually have undergone the procedure in the United Kingdom, according to Web MD. The procedure involves cutting the cornea of the eye, raising a flap of tissue, and reshaping to correct the vision. Private treatment costs around £1000 to 1500 per eye; however, the client may still negotiate the price with the surgeon and prices also vary between eye surgeons and eye clinics.
According to My Premium Europe, one of the advantages of eye laser therapy is the boost in one’s quality of life. This is because the person no longer needs to wear contact lenses or eye glasses, since the laser has already done its job. Eye glasses have the risk of getting broken and contact lenses pose risk of eye infection to their users. In fact, there is higher risk of having infection associated with contact lens usage than the laser surgery itself.
Another benefit of eye laser surgery is its safety and effectiveness to correct one’s vision. The procedure is also fast, as it only lasts for less than ten minutes. It is also computer guided, implying that highly precise results would be met. In addition, the procedure is painless, among the various types of surgical procedures. But then, it is also vital to consider a medical professional with good experience and qualifications, just like other medical treatments.
While it has several advantages, it also has some disadvantages. According to Web MD, One risk of having laser surgery is that a person who had undergone the procedure may still need to wear glasses sometimes, such as in night driving.
An additional disadvantage is its irreversibility, as the changes made to the cornea will no longer be reversed after the laser eye surgery. Also, having an inexperienced eye surgeon perform laser eye surgery could pose risk to a person’s vision, as accidental error in cutting the flap of the eye, could bring permanent effects to one’s vision. Furthermore, laser eye surgery may lead to the loss of the “best vision” during the first year post surgery. Best vision refers to the highest possible vision a person had while wearing his eye glasses or contact lens.
Laser eye surgery can also worsen some aspects of one’s vision, such as night vision with halos and glare. In addition the procedure may result to dryness of the eyes in some people. Moreover, there as rare circumstances, in which the vision gets worse and becomes uncorrected by regular eye glasses or contact lenses.
With both advantages and disadvantages presented, a person should carefully evaluate his thoughts on whether he is ready to face both the positive and negative consequences of eye laser surgery.
