How Safe is Laser Eye Surgery?

Tired of hunting around for those pesky lost spectacles? Well laser eye surgery might be the answer to your problem because it can rectify visual defects rapidly and easily. There are two different types of corrective eye surgery by use of laser, PRK and LASIK. PRK differs from the latter because it involves a surface ablation procedure. This technique removes the outer layer of the cornea, or epithelium. Think of it rather as scraping away the outer layer of cells, rather like hosing away leaves on an autumn day. In LASIK, on the other hand, the laser is used to cut a flap in the cornea. These techniques might make it easier to read the newspaper of search for those missing car keys, but they might not suit everybody! So before embarking on what might be an expensive bout of surgery that causes you risky complications it pays to ask your ophthalmologist a number of searching questions, and don't let the specialist get away with it if you receive a series of evasive answers. First you need to know how effective your eye doctor thinks the procedure will be in your own particular case. Then how accurate will the re-shaping, or mapping of the eyeball be. You always want a global figure that will probably be a percentage of the number of patients who have undergone corrective eye surgery without having to resort to a second or subsequent intervention. In other words you want to be re-assured that the surgeon can get it right the first time. Of course another key question is whether or not there are side effects and what these could be. If your eye specialist is up to speed, you will have a body of evidence at your finger tips to help you make the decision of whether to proceed or not. How effective is laser eye surgery? Sometimes expectations are not met as people can experience a halo effect, find glare particularly disturbing and lose the ability to see clearly in the dark. All of that can have serious effects on night driving for example! Moreover, experts note that 20/20 vision from laser corrected surgery may differ considerably from that experienced by the use of corrective lenses. Sometimes it might just be better and simpler to stick with the eyeglasses. However, like everything in life you get what you pay for. It seems the more expensive the technique the less likelihood there is of risk and possible side effects. So the best advice one can give for those considering corrective eye surgery by laser is to research the subject extensively before embarking on the treatment and don't skimp on the cost! Interested in this subject? Try this link for more of the same