Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Researching LASIK Surgeons


You can spend years deciding to improve your vision though LASIK. Research on the Internet and feedback from others who have had similar experiences can aid in your process. However, regardless of how many people you ask about LASIK, without a full LASIK consultation you will never know for sure if you are a good candidate.

The LASIK consultation also allows you to “interview” the surgeon to make sure you are putting the best possible professional in your corner. Below are some questions you should ask your LASIK provider. If he/she cannot or will not give acceptable answers, it is best to continue researching other providers.

LASIK Surgeon Questions

  • What professional organizations are you certified by and what organizations to you belong to?
  • What specific training do you have in LASIK surgery?
  • How many years of LASIK surgery experience do you have?
  • How many LASIK procedures have you performed?
  • Where do you perform LASIK procedures?
  • What are the potential risks and complications of LASIK and how are they handled?
  • Does my overall health make me a good candidate for this procedure?
  • Do you think LASIK will produce the results I want?
  • How much will LASIK cost? Are there any hidden charges? Are there financing options?
  • Exactly how will LASIK be performed?
  • What type of technologies do you use?
  • What do I have to do before, during and after LASIK?
  • What will the recovery entail and what kind of external help will I need? 
  • What are my options if I am dissatisfied with my surgical outcome?

Armed with this information, you can make an informed decision about improving your vision through LASIK.

Dr. O'Day at Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery offers free LASIK consultations and a free online LASIK Self-Evaluation to take the first step in the LASIK discovery process. To schedule your consultation, visit www.charlestoncornea.com or call 843-856-5275.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Can You Be Too Young for LASIK?


The short answer to the question, “Can you be too young for LASIK?” is: Yes.

There are reasons why you still see so many children wearing glasses today, even when LASIK is performed on more than 700,000 people each year. LASIK is a refractive surgery that treats eyesight imperfections that cause myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. LASIK technology reshapes the cornea to allow light to focus properly on the retina. The result is clearer vision, even 20/20 or better vision, for many patients.

So why wouldn’t you want to have LASIK performed as soon as possible?

We all know that children are constantly growing and changing, and their eyes are no exception. In fact, some people have refractive instability into their early 20s. This means that their vision correction needs may be frequently fluctuating. One qualification of being a good candidate for LASIK is having stable vision, without prescription changes, for at least two years. Most children simply do not have that stability.

So what is the right age for LASIK? The Food and Drug Administration has stated the minimum LASIK age requirement is 18 years old, but there can be rare circumstances where the procedure is recommended earlier. The determination for LASIK for any age individual can only be made after a comprehensive LASIK Evaluation by a qualified doctor.

Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery offers Free LASIK Evaluations at our Charleston, SC office. To learn more, visit their website at www.charlestoncornea.com or call 843-856-5275.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Can You Be Too Old for LASIK?


The short answer to the question, “Can you be too old for LASIK?” is: No.

A person cannot be too old to have a LASIK procedure – there is no maximum age at which LASIK is no longer effective. However, the condition of your eyes may prohibit you from being a good LASIK candidate, regardless of your age.

The hard truth is that your eyes are continually changing as you grow older. There are a couple of eyesight conditions that begin to occur for most people that cannot be corrected by LASIK surgery:
  • Presbyopia, when you lose the ability to see up-close without reading glasses. This typically starts in your 40s.
  • Cataracts, when the eye lenses become more opaque. This starts slowly and can gradually become quite difficult to live with in our 60s and beyond. Cataract surgery replaces the impaired lenses with artificial ones, and refractive errors can also be corrected at the same time.

There is a small segment of society that does not experience significant changes in their vision over time. In those cases, it is possible for a person of advanced age, who has good overall health and generally healthy eyes with stable vision, to have a LASIK procedure to correct a refractive error such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.

Why not find out if you can enjoy the rest of your life with 20/20 vision? You’ve got nothing to lose and clear sight to gain. 

The only way to truly determine if you are a candidate for LASIK is to schedule a LASIK Evaluation with a respected practice like Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery in Charleston, SC. Visit our website at charlestoncornea.com or call 843-856-5275 to schedule your Free Evaluation today.



Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Adult Eye Exams


It’s not just children that should have their eyes checked. Even as an adult, if you have had 20/20 vision your whole life, there are age-related vision problems that occur with everyone. Presbyopia is just one of these vision impairments. After the age of 40, the lens of your eye begins to harden and lose its flexibility. You may not begin to notice it at first, but eventually you will have trouble reading things up close. You’ll start to notice you need to stretch your arms further and further away in order to read your cell phone or a restaurant menu.

The good news is that there is a solution to Presbyopia. Often people will start wearing bifocals. Bifocals allow someone with Presbyopia to see up close, but also to focus in the distance if they have nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

If you don’t want to wear lenses, you can also speak with an ophthalmologist about your options. Many doctors can provide lens replacement surgery. The lens of your eye is removed and replaced by a synthetic lens that will never harden. Depending on the type of lens, you may also be able to correct your existing refractive error at the same time.

So don’t put up with bad vision any longer! Come in and see us at Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery today!