Poor eyesight affects most aspects of your life and can make participating in certain activities such as swimming difficult. Laser vision correction has given millions of people freedom from glasses and contact lenses, and you may be an excellent candidate for the procedure. Dr. Jani offers LASIK and PRK laser eye procedures using state-of-the-art technology for best results and safety.
Candidates for LASIK Eye Surgery
LASIK is a two-step procedure. Dr. Jani will first use a femtosecond laser to create a flap in the surface layer of your cornea. The thin flap must be the correct thickness and shape to prevent post-surgical issues with healing and visual outcome. The second part of the LASIK procedure corrects your vision by reshaping the curvature of your cornea using a laser guided by previous measurements of your eye.. The flap is placed back on the cornea once the laser procedure is complete.
An important part of LASIK candidacy is the integrity of your cornea. If you have thin corneas, PRK may be a better option for you. People with certain eye diseases such as keratoconus, which causes the cornea to bulge in a cone shape, are not candidates for laser vision correction.
If you meet these criteria, you are likely a LASIK candidate:
- You are 18 or older (preferably over 21).
- You have reached “ocular maturity,” meaning your vision has stabilized for at least one year.
- Your eyes are healthy without signs or symptoms of eye disease, infection or injury.
- The corneal surface of your eyes is thick enough to create the LASIK flap.
- Your prescription does not exceed +6.00 diopters of farsightedness, six diopters of astigmatism or -12.00 diopters of nearsightedness.
What If LASIK Isn’t Right for Me?
Up to 20% of people interested in LASIK don’t qualify for the procedure, but you may have other options. PRK corrects vision in the same way as LASIK but does not use a flap. Instead, the surface (epithelium) of the cornea is removed, and a bandage lens is placed over the reshaped cornea while your eye regrows the outer layer during recovery. PRK recovery is longer than LASIK but offers the same results.
You may be a better candidate for PRK if:
- You have dry eyes.
- Your corneas are too thin for LASIK.
- You have severe refractive error outside the bounds of LASIK.
Systemic conditions or eye diseases rule out laser vision correction, such as cataracts, diabetes, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should wait to have laser eye surgery.
Schedule Your Laser Vision Correction Consultation
The best way to determine if laser vision correction is right for you is to schedule a free laser vision screening or a comprehensive laser vision correction exam at Vista Eye Specialists in Fredericksburg and Culpeper. Our eye surgeon will check your ocular health and evaluate your cornea, refractive errors and pupil size along with other measures before recommending LASIK or PRK.
