Are You a Good LASIK Candidate?

LASIK is an amazing surgical technique which has helped improve the vision of millions  and reduce their reliance on  eyeglasses or contacts. Unfortunately not everyone with vision problems is a good candidate for LASIK.  A good eye surgeon will want the best possible outcome for their patient and will do a fairly intensive screening before committing to the procedure.  And of course you, as a patient, also want the best possible outcome. For these reasons some patients may not qualify for LASIK while others may need to wait until other medical issues are resolved.  Still others may find that their eye problems are best resolved through procedures other than LASIK.

• Age. The vision of those under the age of 18 is still changing. For this reason LASIK is not indicated for people under the age of 18 (and in some cases 21).

• Medications. There are a number of prescription drugs which can either cause fluctuations in vision or impede the healing process. In particular medications which such as steroids or immuno-suppressants can slow the healing process. It is important to discuss ALL medications you are taking with your surgeon.

• General health. Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, glaucoma, immune diseases, or any pre-existing eye conditions are a few of the medical conditions which may preclude LASIK.

• Herpes. LASIK will generally not be performed on a patient with an ocular herpes infection of the eyes or recurrence of an infection in the past year.

• Vision Stability. The ideal candidate will have had a stable eyeglass or contact lens prescription for the past 2 years.

• Pregnancy or nursing . The measured refraction of the eye may change during these conditions and LASIK is usually postponed until vision has stabilized.

• Dry eyes. While a history of dry eyes does not necessarily disqualify a patient, they may find the condition may worsen after surgery.

• Corneal Scarring. Any type of scarring of the cornea or corneal disease may be a contraindication for LASIK.
  

In addition to the above there are few other issues dealing directly with your eyesight that your surgeon will consider.

• The ideal candidate will have one of the common types of vision problems, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or some combination of the three.
• Refractive errors which are too severe for LASIK technology to correct or insufficient corneal thickness will disqualify one from the procedure.

Your surgeon will take a complete medical history and discuss any of the issues above with you. It is very important for the future of your vision that you be absolutely honest and forthcoming about your medical history and medication use.

One other issue to address in determining if you are a good LASIK candidate has more to do with your state of mind than with the technical procedure. Your expectations regarding LASIK must not be too unrealistic. It is quite easy to get caught up in the excitement of your expected vision improvement and not also consider that things don’t always work as planned. Not everyone will respond to LASIK surgery in the same manner. Some may need to rely on eyeglasses for their vision even after LASIK. Others may need to return at a later time for “retreatment”. There are also the possibilities of complications and unwanted side effects. While all of this sounds somewhat depressing it is important that you carefully consider how you might deal with a less than perfect experience.