The Benefits and Drawbacks of Undergoing LASIK

A Lasik eye procedure is an outpatient operation that uses laser technology to correct a person’s imperfections of their cornea. These cornea imperfections are the cause of unclear vision, farsightedness, and nearsightedness. By the end of the procedure, the goal is to reshape the patient’s cornea, so that light can be better reflected on the cornea, which allows your brain to process images clearly.  

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While the ultimate goal of Lasik is to help patients with their sight, it’s important to remember that it is a surgical procedure that comes with risks. For example, one risk could be that the flap on the cornea may become dislodged during the healing process, which will complicate the results of the procedure. It’s also important to know that people with underlying health conditions may have complications with Lasik, so the correction you may desire might not completely work.

Below is some information about Lasik eye surgery, what qualifies you to undergo LASIK in Los Angeles, and the benefits as well as drawbacks that the procedure has. 

What is Lasik and what are the benefits?

In the human eye, the cornea helps the light refract onto the retina. This creates a clear image in your brain of your surroundings. For some people, their cornea has problems shaping the light, which causes refraction errors as the light hits the retina, making the image to the brain blurry. Some common refractive errors are: 

  • Nearsightedness 
  • Farsightedness 
  • Astigmatism

What is the main goal of Lasik eye surgery? 

The main goal is to use lasers to adjust the cornea but shaving off cells, which creates the correct shape for light to refract well. This procedure is very common and improves vision for thousands of people who suffer from refraction errors.  

Benefits of Lasik Surgery: 

If you are someone who has worn eyeglasses for most of your life, there could be a lot of frustration behind having to always wear glasses and just wanting to see clearly without corrective lenses. Lasik is a great approach to solve this problem. There are many benefits that come from not having to wear eyeglasses all of your life. Here are some of the benefits of Lasik: 

  • The procedure is quick and simple. Because it is on an outpatient basis, patients will not have to stay overnight in the hospitals and are not given general anesthesia before the surgery, on average the entire procedure only takes about 20 minutes. 
  • For your own protection and protection of your eye, there are automatic shut-offs for the laser if your eye was to suddenly move. 
  • Most people make a full recovery in 48 hours. 
  • You can start to see visual improvements just a few hours after the surgery. 
  • Side effects can occur but only really do about 10% of the time and will fade within three months. 
  • Following the Lasik procedure, most patients are left with 20/20 vision. 

Drawbacks of Lasik: 

Although the convenience of having a normal vision without correcting gear sounds good, there are some potential drawbacks that undergoing Lasik can have on your health. 

  • Eligibility. If you are younger than 20 but older than 40 the risks of changes to your cornea are extremely high, making Lasik only a temporary fix or even a damaging procedure. 
  • While side effects only occur in 10% of Lasik patients and typically only last for only 3 months, some effects like blurry vision, sensitivity to light, and pain and discomfort could be permanent. 
  • If the procedure fails to fix the problem, you might have to rely on glasses or contacts until you can receive an additional surgery. 
  • If your eyes change over time and you are still within the standard age range, you may need to get Lasik again. 

Some additional reasons Lasik may not be good for you: 

  • Cost: The cost of Lasik eye surgery is not cheap and while some of it could be covered by insurance, it’s an elective surgery for nearly anyone, and it’s expensive. 
  • Career Problem: Some jobs make it so employees can’t undergo surgical procedures that could impact vision so making the decision to undergo Lasik could jeopardize your job.

The Inconvenience Is Worth It!

While you may have some pain and experience minor annoyances like dry eyes or blurry vision following your procedure, it’s important to consider all that a Lasik eye procedure can offer you. Choosing to undergo LASIK in Los Angeles is a personal decision. If you desire more convenience in your life and want to rid the hassle of getting contacts or prescriptions,  then Lasik is a great option. If you have some concerns, it may be a good decision to pursue a different treatment. Any decision you make needs to be for you, and you only.