Cool Facts About Dolphin Eyes - Part 3

“A dolphin’s pupil has a type of built-in shade. When our eyes are exposed to light, our pupils get smaller to let less light in. Dolphins have a kind of lid, called an operculum, that slides down to cover most of the pupil when it is bright. It almost looks like two pupils when this ‘lid’ comes down.”

-          Joy Clausen Soto, Senior Dolphin Trainer at SeaWorld

Humans don’t have instant shades on our eyes. We have to wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from the harsh sun. When you are nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism, it’s often necessary for you to purchase expensive prescription sunglasses to be able to see in sunlight.

LASIK has allowed millions of Americans to expand their sunglasses collections with a multitude of cheap sunglasses by correcting their refractive errors.

In a LASIK procedure, a surgeon creates a thin flap on the cornea that is peeled back to allow access to the underlying corneal tissue. This can be done using a microkeratome or femtosecond laser. Once the flap has been created, an excimerlaser is used to reshape the cornea (correct the refractive error) so it can properly focus light on the retina (the back of the eye). This is the actual vision correction step in the procedure. Once the cornea is reshaped, the flap is put back into place so it can heal. The entire procedure only takes minutes per eye.

Like any surgical procedure, LASIK does carry risks. You should always have an open discussion about all of the risks of LASIK with your surgeon before you make any decisions to move forward with the procedure. You should also remember that even if you have 20/20 vision, it’s still important to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. You’re not a dolphin, after all!

Find out if cheap sunglasses might be in your future. Contact Charleston Cornea and Refractive Surgery to schedule a LASIK Consultation and see if you’re a good candidate for LASIK. Call 842-856-5275 or visit charlestoncornea.com today.

Cool Facts About Dolphin Eyes-Part 2

“Dolphins have built-in goggles. Dolphins have a secretion that covers their eyes and helps protect them from infection, wash away debris and lubricates to help them see better underwater.”

-          Joy Clausen Soto, Senior Dolphin Trainer at SeaWorld

One thing that LASIK patients often get excited about is the fact that they can actually wear regular goggles, snorkels and scuba masks and be able to see…just like dolphins! It’s nearly impossible to wear glasses with goggles, and contact lenses can be a real nuisance. And prescription goggles are just plain expensive!

LASIK may give water-loving adults the ability to don any old snorkel and hit the water. The idea behind LASIK eye surgery is that it is used to correct a person’s nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism by actually altering the shape of the cornea so better vision can be achieved.

Some patients are able to see with 20/20 vision after LASIK, reducing or even eliminating their need for glasses or contacts. Some patients see even better than 20/20! Of course, no LASIK surgeon can guarantee that you will never need glasses after LASIK. This is especially true when the LASIK patient develops Presbyopia (the natural and gradual stiffening of the eye lenses over time). This condition usually begins around the age of 45 and can result in the need for reading glasses.

Unfortunately, not everyone is a good candidate LASIK. Sometimes the corneas are too thin; sometimes there are medical conditions or eye diseases that make the surgery too risky. Only an experienced LASIK surgeon can determine if your eyes are right for LASIK.

LASIK may not give you dolphin-type goggle-eyes, but it might help improve your vision. To see if you might be a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery, please contact Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery in Charleston, SC to schedule a LASIK Consultation. Call 843-856-5275 or visit charlestoncornea.com today.

Cool Facts About Dolphin Eyes

Recently we read an article about dolphin eyes written by Joy Clausen Soto, Senior Dolphin Trainer at SeaWorld. We thought it was so interesting that we’re going to devote our next series of blogs to her cool facts about dolphin eyes.

“A dolphin can move each eye independent of the other.”

While that is cool for a dolphin, it’s not so cool for humans. In humans, this condition is similar to one called strabismus. It occurs when the muscles of the two eyes don’t work together to maintain proper alignment. You might have one eye looking straight forward while the other eye looks a different direction:

·         Inward (cross-eyed), known as esotropia

·         Outward, known as exotropia

·         Upward, known as hypertropia

·         Downward, known as hypotropia

Refractive surgery, such as LASIK eye surgery, won’t resolve strabismus. However, there are surgical and non-surgical treatments that can be used to correct the problem.

A person with corrected strabismus can also have instances of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. In these cases, they may consider having LASIK eye surgery to correct the vision problems. If you had strabismus at any time in your life, be sure to inform your LASIK surgeon of this and all of your medical history prior to undergoing the procedure.

To learn more about LASIK eye surgery, please contact Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery in Charleston to schedule a LASIK Consultation. Call 843-856-5275 or visit charlestoncornea.com today.

Potential Risks of LASIK Surgery

If you ever have a doctor tell you that there are no potential complications of LASIK, run the other way – and don’t look back! LASIK eye surgery, not unlike any type of surgery, carries with it possible risks. More than 14 million Americans have had LASIK, and if you search hard enough, you will find people who are willing to share their LASIK horror stories.

You may hear of LASIK patients who experienced:

·         Temporary vision problems and discomfort, such as light sensitivity, halos, glare, double vision or hazy vision

·         Corneal flap complications (this is the flap that is created on your cornea to allow the surgeon access to reshape your underlying corneal tissue and correct your refractive error), such as flap wrinkles, irregular healing, inflammation under the flap, epithelial ingrowth

·         Decreased tear production leading to dry eyes

·         Need for glasses after surgery due to incomplete vision correction

·         Eye infection

·         Vision loss

People who do report negative outcomes of LASIK may be the receiving end of:

·         Inferior technologies

·         Inexperienced surgeon

·         Not being a suitable candidate for LASIK in the first place

The fact is that LASIK has an overall excellent safety record and very high success rates for the majority of people who want to reverse their nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Studies in the 1990s showed that up to 5% of people who had laser vision correction had some type of problem; today this percentage is under 1% for serious complications. When you are researching different LASIK providers, be sure to ask them hard questions to find out what their LASIK success rates are. If the surgeon isn’t willing or able to provide you with a satisfactory answer, keep looking.

A LASIK Consultation will provide answers as to your candidacy for this popular procedure. Your eye health and unique vision characteristics may not be suitable for LASIK, and the Consultation is the only way to properly determine this.

Contact Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery in Charleston, SC to schedule your free LASIK Consultation. You can find out if your eyes are right for the procedure and have all of your questions answered. Call 843-856-5275 or visit charlestoncornea.com.

Differences Between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists

Many people think all eye doctors the same. They use the terms Optometrist and Ophthalmologist interchangeably. The truth is that these are two very different types of eye care professionals.

Optometrists

Optometrists have earned a Doctor of Optometry Degree (OD). Optometrists have completed a four-year Bachelor’s Degree, plus four years of post-graduate professional training in optometry school. Their main focus is to provide primary eye care, including vision checks, eye disease diagnosis and overall eye health review. They prescribe corrective lenses to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and they can prescribe some medications. Optometrists often work closely with ophthalmologists to provide pre- and post-op care for eye surgery patients.

Ophthalmologists

Ophthalmologists are Medical Doctors (MDs) or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) who have achieved a Bachelor’s Degree, four years of medical school encompassing care for the whole body, internships, at least three years of hospital-based residency and additional years of training in eye disease treatment and eye surgery. Ophthalmologists diagnose and treat eye diseases, perform eye surgery, perform eye exams and write prescriptions for medications or corrective lenses.

Certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts or macular degeneration, are managed and corrected by ophthalmologists. Eye surgeries such as LASIK or Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Lens (IOL) implants should only be done by an eye surgeon who is highly experienced and using the latest technologies.

Frequent eye exams, even if you aren’t experiencing any vision problems, can provide early detection – and treatment – of developing issues.

Visit the website of ophthalmologist Dr. O'Day at Charleston Cornea & Refractive Surgery to schedule a Vision Consultation in Charleston, SC. Visit charlestoncornea.com or call 843-856-5275 today.