Fears and Misconceptions of Vision Correction – Losing Your Vision

Glasses and contacts have their benefits – mainly helping people with refractive errors see clearly. Since the late 90’s, lasers have been used to correct these refractive errors in very safe and effective ways. Procedures such as LASIK and PRK have been providing patients with clear vision for over 15 years now. However, many people continue to put up with the inconveniences of glasses and contacts because they have fears or misconceptions about laser vision correction, like LASIK.

One of the most common fears of laser vision correction is losing vision as a result of the procedure. This fear comes from not understanding how your eye works and how specifically laser vision correction works.

How LASIK Works

There are three main parts to the human eye: the cornea, the lens, and the retina. In normal vision, the cornea refracts (bends) light so it can be directed correctly through the lens and onto the retina. The retina works as a transmitter to transfer the message to your brain, where it processes the message to tell you what you are looking at. Refractive errors – nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism – are caused by the cornea being slightly misshapen. LASIK utilizes cool lasers to reshape the curve of the cornea so you can have normal, clear, vision.

Prior to surgery, your surgeon will map out your specific eye and plan out exactly how to correct your vision. Your surgeon will then program this plan into the laser, ensuring that the correct amount of your cornea is altered.

There are risks associated with laser vision correction, mainly dry eye. It is essential to ensure that you are an excellent candidate prior to receiving treatment, to give you the best results possible.

To find out more about LASIK, including risk information, see our website. To schedule a Free LASIK Consultation, give us a call today at 512-427-1125.

LASIK and Your Retina

Some patients think that because they are having LASIK, issues with their retina will also be corrected.  This is a misconception.  The work we do in LASIK is on the cornea, outside and at the front of the eye, and not on the retina, which is inside and at the back of the eye.

Light is reflected off objects and is refracted by the cornea of your eye.  When the cornea is perfectly shaped, this light will focus directly onto your retina. If the cornea is misshapen, the light will not focus perfectly onto your retina.  This imperfect focus is called refractive error - nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism - and causes doubled vision, blurry vision, or fuzzy images.

LASIK works by reshaping the cornea so that the light will be more perfectly focused onto your retina.  An advanced laser guided by a skillful surgeon removes corneal tissue and changes the cornea’s shape to improve its focus.  The laser affects only the cornea and not the retina; therefore, LASIK does not correct any retinal issues you may be experiencing.  If you have a problem with the retina that affects the quality of your vision, LASIK is almost certainly not the correct option to help that problem.

A board-certified surgeon should carefully analyze your eyes prior to approving you for LASIK surgery. Most of the risks associated with LASIK have been markedly reduced by advances in technology.   The risk of negative effects, such as doubled vision, blurry vision, halos or starbursts, may be increased by operating on less than excellent candidates, but negative effects will occur occasionally despite the best patients, surgeons, equipment, and intentions.  Everyone will experience a degree of dry eye, which resolves in most people without significant difficulty through careful screening and by thoughtful and cooperative management of the postoperative process. EyeClinic of Austin has recently become an accredited Dry Eye Center by using tear osmolarity as the most advanced way to diagnose and manage dry eye symptoms.  We use tear osmolarity to screen for unsuspected dry eye preoperatively and to help us resolve postoperative dry eye more successfully.

To learn more about LASIK and how to find out if you’re a good candidate for laser vision correction, please visit our website.