I have astigmatism, can I get lasik eye surgery?

Question

How old do you have to be? What other alternatives are there, besides glasses, contacts, and lasik eye surgery? I'd like something permanant. How long does it take for it to heal? Are there serious risks during the procedure? If I can't get lasik eye surgery done, what's the problem? Sorry about all the questions, feel free to give me as much information as you can because I'm pretty sure I'm missing something that I'll want to know later . .

Answer 1

Sure.
Lasik works for most healthy people with healthy eyes who need total corrections less than about 3 or 4 diopters. It has to do with the shape of the eye and the thickness of the cornea.

You really should wait to have the proceedure until you have stopped growing and until your corrective prescriptive lenses have been the same for a year. When you are older, you will probably go 3 or 6 years without changing your prescription. You will not want to risk complications by having a lasik revision frequently while you are young.

The cornea is sliced with a micro thin blade (micro karatome) and flipped up. The lazer contours the freshly exposed inside tissue of the cornea and corrects the vision. The flap is then closed.

The corneal flap makes a bandage and the whole thing heals pretty quickly.

There are risks. Infection, halos in the night vision are the ones that come to mind.

You need to see two or three doctors, in my opinion. The consultations take about an hour. The consultations are free or about 50 dollars.

Lasik will not work if the astigmatism is very severe. My correction was more than 4.75 diopters and would have required PRK.

PRK requires the lazering off the front of the cornea and takes 2-3 weeks of rest and no work to heal.

My brother had PRK and needed 16 days. My sister had lasik and was back to work in three day. Both are happy and generally do not need any glasses.

See the doctors. Google LASIK and read about twenty sites.

God Bless you.

Answer 2

Yes you can - you need to see a specialist to have them determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure.

Even if you don't have an astigmatism, you may still not be a good candidate because of several different factors.

As to the age, I believe it is 16, but you need to check with the professional performing the surgery. Some will not operate on anyone under 18.

Traditional lasik surgery usually has you at 90% of final result of the surgery with in 3 hours, although you will literally see a marked improvement right after surgery. Complete healing takes from 3-7 days.

Just so you know LASIK is not permanent. You may need to have follow up surgeries 10-15 yrs down the road, depending on your particular condition.

I'm including some links to help you get more information.

http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/hw123827
http://www.lasikeyesurgery.com/
http://www.lasikinstitute.org/

good luck

Answer 3

you have to be old enough so your eyes are done changing. i have astigmatism and got lasik. worked fine. couple days and things are better. struggle with dry eyes for 6 months. nothing eyedrops cant take care of though. the surgen will do tests to make sure your are an ideal candidate. if you are not DONT DO IT. the dr. told me i had a 95% chance of getting out of glasses. go to someone who has done a lot of surgeries. dont go to the cheapest one.

Answer 4

Don't do it. Wait 10 years until they come out with something else. Research all the horror stories, too. They don't tell you about the risks or complications that may develope, you figure in 3 days to a week? NO, they could develope later on down the line. Nothing is permanent! Your probably looking good enough in those sexy specs!!! I don't trust doctors, period.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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