LASIK Patient Criteria

If you are considering having LASIK eye surgery, see your eye doctor for a consultation. A professional needs to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for the surgery. One of the most important factors in achieving positive results is making sure you meet patient criteria for the LASIK procedure.

Age for LASIK

If you are under 18, the physician will probably not recommend the surgery, as the eyes continue to change until age 18. Some surgeons prefer that their LASIK candidates be 21 years of age. An eye exam and corneal measurement will also be done to determine that you are a good candidate for the surgery.

LASIK Eye Exam and Contact Lens

The first step is to set up appointments and consultations to determine if you are a good LASIK candidate. These appointments are often called baseline evaluations. If you wear contacts, your eye doctor may not schedule the appointments in the short term after you call. The reason why is that if you wear contact lenses, you must stop wearing them and switch to glasses for at least two weeks prior to your evaluation. Contact lenses alter the shape of your cornea and may affect the pre-operative consultation. The same also has to be done before your surgery - contact lenses must be removed several weeks before the surgery to ensure the natural shape of the cornea has been reassumed. By not doing this, you are running the risk for complications or a poor result in the surgery. If you wear hard contact lenses, the lenses should not be worn up to a month before surgery. The hard contact lenses change the shape of the cornea even more significantly than the soft contact lenses.

Importance of LASIK Consultation

During your consultation, make sure to tell your doctor if you are taking any medications or have had any past or present eye conditions. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions in your consultation. The eye doctor should communicate the full expectations, risks, benefits, and alternatives of the procedure to you during the consultation. The doctor should also explain what the patient's responsibilities are before, after and during the surgery.

Considering LASIK Surgery

Be sure and take the time to think about the information you are given during the consultative appointments prior to the surgery. Fully understand the risks: sometimes the procedure does not result in perfect 20/20 vision and you may still have to wear reading glasses or contacts. Although extremely rare, there is also a risk for vision loss or other associated vision problems.

Once you have been designated a good candidate for the surgery, it is then important to plan for the surgery. While what to expect before and after the surgery may depend on your doctor, there are some common denominators among routine procedures that can help you prepare for your surgery ahead.