Every year, 2.5 billion dollars is spent on Lasik eye surgeries. Between 1997 and 2001, a total of 2.4 billion people opted to have Lasik eye surgery. By the time 2008 rolled around, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 15 different types of lasers for use in this type of surgery.
Over the years, those who perform Lasik surgery have advertised it as a procedure that will quickly improve nearsightedness without the patient suffering any pain but this is not going to be the case if the physician performing the procedure does so in a negligent manner; it can actually cause harm to the patient when a surgeon is not qualified to perform it.
People who have Lasik eye surgery have the intention of improving their myopia, or nearsightedness, but sometimes, the result is tragic. The result can be that people lose their eyesight at the hands of a physician who was charged with making it better, and it is a highly somber subject.
When the Lasik surgery has been performed incorrectly, several complications may occur including:
- Vision loss
- The possibility that the patient begins to observe a glare, double vision or a halo that obstructs their vision
- Severely dry eyes
Advantages and Disadvantages of Lasik Eye Surgery
Lasik surgery has made it possible for several Americans to see better, but the surgery does not have the same results for everybody. To determine if the surgery is right for each particular patient, they need to make sure that they consult with their Lasik surgeons to find out what the benefits would be as well as any possible complications from the surgery, and it is imperative that they have this information before they go through with the procedure.
The Lasik eye surgery is a relatively new surgery that corrects the cornea. During this surgery, the surgeon uses a microkeratome to cut the cornea into a flap. Then, the corneal tissue can be reached as the surgeon raises the flap to reshape the patient’s cornea with the laser. After the surgery, the surgeon can replace the flap that will automatically adhere to the patient’s eye, so there is not need for any stitches. A plastic or metal shield then goes over the flap to keep it safe.
People need to understand that having this surgery doesn’t necessarily mean that they will have 20/20 vision. Sometimes, subsequent surgeries will be necessary to complete the process. They may also suffer from some consequences from having this surgery including:
- The inability to read some lines on a vision chart
- Glare
- Halos
- Double Vision
- The inability to keep the eye moist
- Farsighted patients may notice that their good results diminish with time
The medical profession does not know the long-term effects of this procedure because the first surgery was only performed in 1998. It’s also important to remember that good results from a surgery cannot be guaranteed.