Prepare Your Eyes for a Special Event

Weddings…reunions…barbecues…vacations…

Special events abound during the spring and summer months. Many people take measures to look their very best for special events – they go to the hairdresser, buy new clothing, maybe even lose weight. If you have a special event coming up, and don’t want to have to hassle with glasses or contacts, you may choose to add LASIK to your To Do list.

The good news is that most people can be back to their normal activities – and seeing with more clarity – the day after their LASIK procedure. It is advised that you not wait until the last minute to schedule your appointment. Some people simply aren’t good candidates for LASIK because of their overall eye health, the fact that their corneas are too thin or other health reasons.  It’s important to schedule a LASIK evaluation well in advance of your special event just in case a different type of vision correction procedure like PRK is warranted. Some LASIK alternative procedures require more recovery time even though they can provide similar vision outcomes overall.

LASIK is an investment in you. The procedure has helped millions of Americans have the visual freedom to live a lens-free life. Find out if LASIK can give you the same freedom.

Get your eyesight in tip-top shape for your next special event. Contact Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery to schedule a free LASIK Consultation at 843-856-5275 or charlestoncornea.com.

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.

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.

How Much Does LASIK Cost?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a long list of lasers that are used for LASIK. While the FDA has the power to regulate the sale of medical devices in the United States, approving only those that are deemed reasonably safe and effective, the power stops there. The FDA does not have the power to regulate how doctors manage or market their LASIK practices, including how much doctors charge for LASIK eye surgery.

The average cost of LASIK surgery ranges from approximately $1,600 per eye for non-customized LASIK to $2,500 per eye for customized wavefront-guided procedures. These are just average costs; variables that can affect the bottom line may include:

• Pre-operative testing 
• Equipment for eye tracking, corneal measurement and topography, pupil size and tear film analysis
• Surgery equipment, such as traditional blade LASIK or laser
• Whether the office owns or leases the laser technology

You may have heard some LASIK centers offering incredibly low prices on LASIK, such as $499 per eye. While this sounds great, these low prices are usually a ploy to get you into the center where, upon further examination, you discover the fine print:

• You may not be a candidate for the super low pricing because your eye prescription is too strong (meaning you need a correction greater than 1.25 diopters)
•  The center may also be using much older, and not as precise or effective, technology.
• You may be “nickel and dimed” for small costs that are typically included in the overall LASIK fee.

When you are researching LASIK centers, make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples. You want to ensure that the surgeon you choose has the proper training, plenty of experience, offers the latest state-of-the-art technologies and is up-front with all of the costs for your procedure. Quality surgeons will also openly discuss the advantages and potential risks of LASIK and will only approve patients for LASIK after a full evaluation.

Your eyesight is not something you want to gamble on; saving money is good, but don’t let price be the only determining factor in your LASIK surgeon choice.

Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery offers FREE LASIK Evaluations in our Charleston, SC office. Contact us today at 843-856-5275 or visit our website www.charlestoncornea.com to take their online LASIK Self Evaluation to see if you might be a candidate for LASIK.