Weighing the Risks and Benefits of LASIK Surgery
The benefits of LASIK surgery are easy to learn about, since it's such a successful procedure. Worldwide, it's become highly popular, because it's so quick and effective.


/Vision-Eye Care News Articles/ - LOS ANGELES, CA, March 02, 2007 - But all surgery comes with attendant risks and it's wise to know what they are before having the surgery.
Benefits
1. In one short session, you can dispose of vision problems you may have had your entire life:
· Nearsightedness
· Farsightedness, and/or
· Astigmatism
2. LASIK has been well researched and FDA-approved, so we can rely on it being an effective and safe procedure. As long as you choose a LASIK surgeon who puts quality of service above profits, you should have excellent results from your LASIK surgery. Part of the excellence of service will be screening potential LASIK patients, so as to perform this surgery only on good candidates. This will in turn ensure good results.
3. You can throw away your old glasses or contacts and have more freedom in your life.
· No more will you have to remember where you last put those glasses
· No more visits to the eye doctor to update your prescription
· No more concern about them being broken in sports, lost on a hike, or dropped over the edge of a cliff or a boat
· No more crawling around on the floor to find that lost contact lens ...
4. More career opportunities can open up for you:
· Airplane pilot jobs
· Military advancement
· Police opportunities
· Modeling and acting work
5. Wider choice of recreation:
· Contact sports
· Skiing, snowboarding etc.
· Water skiing, sailing, racing etc.
Risks
1. There are some vision side effects which can turn out to be permanent:
· Halos around lights
· Blurred or double vision
· Poor night vision
2. Some people develop dry eye syndrome. This is a temporary side effect, but sometimes the laser has impaired the eye's ability to produce tears. This creates ongoing discomfort, requiring continual use of eye drops, and may even impair vision to some extent.
3. You may be disappointed with the change in your vision. You may have expected a more dramatic improvement. This risk can be avoided by good initial consultations with your eye surgeon, and good patient selection on the surgeon's part.
4. You might be under-treated. This could arise from several causes.
· Some facilities emphasise quantity of patients over quality of service, so they may neglect to give you a thorough pre-op eye exam. In those situations, you might be able to obtain follow-up treatment, but it will probably be charged a second fee.
· Sometimes a quality eye surgeon will err on the cautious side with the best of intentions and skill. In this case, you'll almost certainly be offered follow-up surgery at no charge.
· In some cases no second surgery is advisable, in which case you'll have to continue wearing glasses or contact lenses, as you did before surgery.
5. Infection could develop. Any time the body is cut, bacteria can invade and cause infection. The small flap your eye surgeon makes to expose corneal tissue for the laser can sometimes become infected, although antibiotic eyedrops should be given to prevent this. But sometimes it happens and can be painful and alarming until it's treated.
6. In rare cases, the small flap doesn't heal properly, but forms little ripples or ridges. These cause blurry areas in your vision. This can usually be corrected by a good LASIK surgeon.
If you're considering a LASIK procedure, the best way to approach it is to choose your eye surgeon very carefully. Don't be shy about interviewing several, asking lots of questions, and moving on if you feel the doctor isn't listening to you or answering questions clearly. A good LASIK surgeon will take as much time as you need.

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