Laser Eye Surgery - Do The Benefits OutWeigh The Costs?

Laser eye surgery has become increasingly popular in recent years and given it's apparent procedure speed and rate of success, more and more people who once "sat on the laser eye surgery" fence, now are considering strongly their options.

The good news is that laser eye surgery techniques continue to evolve and with the help of technology, it is starting to become a, well, fashionable procedure. But don't think it's the answer to all your eye sight problems. Laser eye surgery is still surgery nevertheless, and you'll need to go through a solid consultation period with your surgeon before deciding on exactly which procedure will suit you. There are always risks associated with any kind of surgery and laser eye surgery is no different.

Understanding Laser Eye Surgery

There are three problem areas that laser eye surgery would be considered. People with near sighted vision, far sighted vision and distorting vision. Medically termed as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. During laser eye surgery, a surgeon will re-shape the cornea with a device called an Excimer Laser. The cornea provides up to 70 per cent of a person's ability to focus.

Laser Eye Surgery Procedures

The best known laser procedures are PRK (Photo-Refractive Keractomy), available since early nineties and LASIK (Laser Assisted in situ Keratomileusis), which first surfaced during the 1990's.

PRK – A surgeon uses a beam of light during this procedure that vaporizes small amounts of eye tissue on the surface of the eye. Enough tissue is removed to reshape the cornea and correct vision. The patients recovery time is between 1-2 weeks.

LASIK – A little more complicated than PRK. The first step is to cut and lift a flap of the cornea. This is followed by the surgeon removing precise amounts of the inside layers of the cornea using a computer guided laser. Finally, the flap is put back in its place and the eye heals fast by itself.

Did You Know?

While Lasik eye surgery has been a marvellous innovation the costs associated with it usually prevent many people from taking up the option to have it performed. Costs today average up towards $2500 per eye. You need to ask yourself whether the benefits of this treatment outweight the financial cost factor.

Benefits and Risks

Laser eye surgery is always performed by highly skilled and well prepared surgeons. Many patients report their lives are significantly improved and they no longer need to wear glasses or contact lenses.

One thing to remember though, it's important to keep realistic expectations about laser eye surgery. Patients 40 years and over may still need to wear reading glasses even after the surgery. Also consider that the eye continues to change after the surgery and you may still need to wear prescription glasses or lenses at some point later in life. Secondary laser surgery could still be required if the first is not completely successful.

Following PRK laser eye surgery, the patient may still experience bouts of blurry vision during the healing process. This should only be temporary. You also need to take into account possible regression meaning the eye will go back to its original state within approximately six months. When this occurs, you either need more surgery or have to go back to wearing glasses or contact lenses.

There are less negative impacts with Lasik surgery. The eye will heal faster however, as it involves cutting part of the eye tissue, complication issues are greater.

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