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Common
LASIK FAQ'S and their answers.
Includes queries asked by those travelling from abroad |
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| Q |
Am
I really a good candidate as my corneas are thin? |
| A |
A good candidate
for such cases specifically comes from our tests - once we
confirm that cornea is regular on Pentacam and also knowing
exact corneal thickness and your spectacle errors.
If you
are from out of town you may send us your Topography maps
(preferably Pentacam which also gives corneal thickness) and
exact spectacle errors. |
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| Q |
How
predictable will my results be, percentage wise? (i.e. 90%
chance of 20/20) |
| A |
Greater than 99%
of patients haven't required an enhancement. Less than 1%
we do free of charge in the first year of treatment. None
have lost any lines of vision, which means that if they were
seeing 20/20 with glasses or lenses, then they are seeing
20/20 if not better today after LASIK. |
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| Q |
Can
patients wear contacts after having lasik or in my case, will
my corneas be too flat? |
| A |
Corneas will become
regular after LASIK, so soft contact lenses can be worn if
required. Coloured lenses usually after 1 month of the procedure. |
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| Q |
Is
there a laser that is best suited in treating someone like me
with such high astigmatism and thin corneas? Such as your Allegretto,
Concerto laser? Also, what is this 90 micron treatment I read
about on your site? Will that benefit me? I want to leave behind
as much of my corneal tissue as possible. |
| A |
You are right when
you ask this technical query. There is no better combination
than using the 90 micron kit which saves 90 microns of your
cornea along with doing LASIK on the Concerto which also has
some corneal savings. So for patients like you, this combination
is most suited and effective besides being the safest option. |
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| Q |
Have
you treated someone with a high cylindrical error as mine?
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| A |
We have treated upto
-6D cylinders with great result! |
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| Q |
Can
you honestly tell me if this is something I should pursue
because I've been miserable with my eyes for years now and
I just want to be free from all the eyestrain, the contacts,
the glasses. I just don't want to pursue this without some
certainty that it has some predictability and will most likely
have a positive outcome. Ultimately, I just want an honest,
professional answer on whether or not this is for me. |
| A |
If after our detailed
check up we find that you are a good candidate for the procedure,
you will do very well. However, with just numbers being sent
to us to decide via e mail is difficult as you will aprreciate
that it will be general responses until the time that we have
examined you ourselves. We do not take any chances and do
not recommend the procedure to anyone whom we are doubtful
of results.. |
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| Q |
What
are the chances of developing any of the following side effects
(and for how long) post LASIK treatment :-
(I have gone through
your website which says there would be no side effects, still
I keep meeting people who complain of some form of side effect
at the least)
a) Halo effect/ blurred lights (bulbs / direct sunlight /
car headlights / faded bright colors)
b) Poor night vision
c) Night glare (especially while driving - from the headlights
of the oncoming vehicles) |
| A |
The above exist with
the kind of technology used. In the night the pupil expands
to let in more light, so if your treatment zone is smaller
than the pupil dilation, this issue will exist. Some lasers
do not have the capability to treat a large optical zone (which
in the Concerto Laser that we use is the largest possible),
hence we do not face this issue. You may feel some temporary
glare when the layers of the eyes are healing and this will
not extend to over 3 months. But the kind you read about on
the net is permanent night vision issues which we do not face.
For this we also check your pupil diameter in dim light condition. |
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| Q |
d) Prolonged irritation
in the eye e) Prolonged dryness
f) Blurred morning vision
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| A |
The above again happens
if you have dry eyes or are prone to dryness. The dry eye
is checked by Dr Shroff using tests and if having dry eyes
it is then graded as mild, moderate or severe. Severe needs
to be treated before LASIK, so, you will be declared unfit,
if this comes about. For mild to moderate we have Epi-LASIK
as an option.
As a precaution, we also prescribe lubricating eye drops
for three months after LASIK to cover all patients from the
temporary dryness and irritation that one would feel on the
surface of the eyes as a result of healing.
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| Q |
g) Blood clot in
the eye (in the visible white area around the eyeball |
| A |
This may or may not
happen; again it is outside the treated area and will fade
away in 15 days time. |
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| Q |
a)
My work involves working on the computer for 12-14 hours a
day. I am planning for a surgery on a Wednesday, post which
I will take rest till Sunday (i.e. 4 days). Are 4 days enough
to return to work after the surgery? It may be possible to
restrict computer usage to 8-10 hours but not less.
b) Or should I plan for a longer rest period?
c) Further, will the computer usage have any bad effect on
eyes especially after the LASIK treatment?
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| A |
Yes, most of our patients
return to computers on Day 3 as a full days 8 hr work schedule.
This is fine. In the first week you need to use lubricating
eye drops along with antibiotics (so, you will carry these
with you). Further, when you visit us, Dr Shroff will guide
you in the correct way to use your eyes when on the PC and
also prescribe a pair of computer glasses to you to negate
any effects that the computers may have on long term vision. |
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| Q |
a)
All the side effects mentioned in question 1 are short term
in nature. Are there any chances of developing any long term
symptoms? Let’s say, after a period of 1-2 years would
I need to take any precaution in any activity because of the
LASIK surgery b) OR, I will be at par with any other person
with healthy eyes?
c) Similarly, are there any specific disadvantages to a person
who has undergone a LASIK surgery vis a vis one who hasn't
in case of any future eye injury?
d) Since you are doing LASIK treatment from more than last
10 years, are their instances of patients coming back after
2-3 years or more with complaints of any sorts?
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| A |
We have not seen any
long term side effects of LASIK, which is a superficial treatment
and if done on the right candidate in the correct manner,
it is very safe and also its results are permanent. However,
vision is not just deteriorated due to spectacle errors or
powers. A lot goes into terming 'healthy eyes'. The laser
does not enter inside the eyes, hence if any changes due to
age, diabetes, high blood pressure etc were to creep into
the eyes, it would have happened irrespective of LASIK and
its line of treatment also does not change. However, when
one undergoes a cataract surgery, in today’s cataract
one can also get rid of their spectacle errors, but for this
an accurate formula needs to be applied if you have undergone
LASIK. Our surgeon, Dr Anand Shroff also performs cataract
besides LASIK and hence is able to with his expertise achieve
this in those patients who have had LASIK in the past. All
it requires is for you to inform your doctor that a procedure
was performed.
The only thing that we have seen with patients coming back
is a small number creeping in due to their lifestyle on the
PC and if they do not follow our instructions. This with our
instructions is reduced to being less than 0.4% of the time.
The choices are to either re treat or fine tune the initial
procedure or use glasses for very fine visual work (the choice
usually depends on their lifestyle and age). Besides this,
other eye events have been independent of the LASIK procedure.
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