Lasik Surgery

Are you a candidate for LASIK surgery?
By Melissa Smith, M.D.

If you are tired of relying on glasses or contacts, LASIK eye surgery is an excellent option to consider.

LASIK involves reshaping the cornea using a laser. With traditional LASIK, we input your prescription into the laser. With custom LASIK, we create a custom map of your cornea to treat specific irregularities, making it less likely that you’ll suffer from glare. Because both procedures are considered cosmetic, they are not usually covered by insurance.

I typically perform LASIK on patients ages 20 to 40. Most of my patients—especially athletes—are thrilled with the results. The surgery usually provides a permanent corrective solution for vision problems, although young people with high prescriptions may need additional surgery down the line. Regression occurs in less than 10 percent of cases, and overall, less than 1 percent of patients experience complications.

Before the procedure, patients who wear soft contact lenses must go without them for three days to a week (a month or longer for hard lens users). About half of patients request mild sedation, and we anesthetize everyone using eye drops. The surgery takes less than 10 minutes.

Patients’ vision may be fuzzy initially, but most people are back to their normal routines the next day. After-surgery care includes wearing goggles to bed, using eye drops for about a week and wearing sunglasses when outdoors. Dry eye is the most common short-term side effect, and some people may experience glare at night; both typically go away within a month. Since LASIK doesn’t affect near vision, some patients may still need reading glasses.

Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK surgery, so a consultation is necessary. People who have thin corneas will need to investigate other options, such as PRK, which affects only the surface of the cornea. You may not be a good LASIK candidate if you routinely experience eye trauma (boxers and martial arts aficionados) or if you have extremely dry eyes or cornea problems.

Melissa Smith, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist with Solano Regional Medical Group, sees patients in Vacaville. Request a consultation with Dr. Smith today.