Introduction
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Lasik is a procedure to correct your refractive errors like Nearsightedness (Myopia), Long Sightedness (Hyperopia) and Astigmatism. LASIK stands for Laser assisted in situ keratomileusis and as the name suggests, it is correcting your cornea with the help of a laser.
The changes to your eyes that alter your vision may occur due to various factors like age, your work environment, your daily activities like prolonged screen usage and other such challenging routines.
LASIK is an effective method that helps you correct these errors and prevent the use of glasses or lenses.
What are the common types of Refractive Errors?
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Nearsightedness (Myopia)
Myopia is a condition of nearsightedness, where you are easily able to identify objects close to you and your vision becomes distorted at a distance. The symptoms may include blurry vision and due to the strain on your eyes to identify farther objects, headaches can follow.
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Farsightedness (Hyperopia)
Hyperopia is a condition of farsightedness, where you can see far away objects clearly but face difficulty in focussing towards closeby objects.
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Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a common condition of refractive errors for your eyes, where the light that enters the eye tends to deviate from the normal axis on the retina. The symptoms usually consists of blurry eyes, eye strain, squinting and often difficulty in night vision.
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Age Related Farsightedness (Presbyopia)
Presbyopia is a condition developed due to the age factor of a patient. As you age, the natural lens of your eye stiffens as it matures and loses its ability to accomodate. This is one of the main reasons, your require reading or bifocal glasses post the age of 40. Lasik
What are the treatments available to treat Refractive errors
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Spectacles
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Spectacles are one of the most common means of correcting most common refractive errors. The dependence of general patients on spectacles is high.
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Contact Lenses
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Contact lenses are a cosmetic option to treat refractive errors. They are to be handled with extreme care to avoid any infections or allergies
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Excimer Laser Treatment
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Excimer laser is a permanent solution from visual defects as it treats your refractive errors directly and provides freedom from contact lenses and spectacles.
Excimer Laser Treatment
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Excimer Lasers have been in use since 1970, but they opened up new possibilities in 1987, for the correction of spectacle numbers. Initially, laser procedures were done using PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) method, but since 1990, Lasik has been the preferred choice for correcting refractive errors and getting freedom from glasses. Lasik procedures have been studied by numerous regulatory bodies as well as individual bodies and has been proven efficient, including by US Food and Drug Administration FDA). Today, millions of patients live a healthy lifestyle, independant from glasses and contact lenses by the use of Excimer Laser.
The Lasik Procedure
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A flap is created on the upper layer of the eye and carefully folded back
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The laser is directly focussed at your eye, which reshapes the cornea
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The flap is then put back into the place, where it completely adheres and heals .
What are the steps to be taken before the Lasik Procedure
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Topography and Pachymetry - The corneal thickness and curvature are evaluated
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Retinal Evaluation is done to rule out any degenerations
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The intraocular pressure is checked.
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The use of contact lenses is stopped a week before the procedure
What are the steps post a Lasik Surgery?
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Rest is recommended for a couple of hours due to irritation and watery eyes.
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You can return to your routine activities after a day
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Do not rub or touch your eyes for about 2 weeks post the procedure.
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No swimming, or head wash or any straining activities for a month
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Use your drops regularly as per the doctors instructions
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Use protective sunglasses and avoid overuse of eyes for a long time.
What are the benefits of having a Lasik Surgery?
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No dependence on spectacles and contact lenses
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The freedom to choose the career of your choice. For Example, Defence services, Pilot, Modelling etc.
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Improved vision for daily routine, eliminating any difficulty faced to bad sight.
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Better vision for recreational activities like water sports, trekking, tourism etc.
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Refractive errors for both the eyes can be done at the same time.
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Vision gets corrected within hours of the procedure
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Virtually painless and high precision procedure with the use of a laser.
What are the different types of Lasik Procedures?
Microkeratome Lasik Procedure
In this procedure, a microkeratome is used to make the corneal flap and with the help of a laser, the refractive error is corrected.
Femtosecond lasik Procedure
In this procedure the femtosecond laser is used to create a corneal flap and then the excimer laser corrects the refractive error. The advantage of a laser is the precision with which they operate. We can reach a precision level of about 5 microns with the laser which helps us to achieve better vision post surgery with almost no losses.
What are the complications of a Lasik Procedure?
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Dry Eye Syndrome most commonly occurs after a lasik surgery and can be easily treated with the use of lubricating eye drops.
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Irritation may persist for a couple of days that can be taken care by use of eye drops.
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Post Lasik Ectasia, which is the weakening of the cornea, which is extremely rare, when the pre lasik evaluations are meticulously done.