How to Research Lasik surgery before going to the doctor

There are a number of very good reasons to research lasik surgery, even before you see your doctor or surgeon.

While the idea of doing without eyeglasses or contact lenses is attractive, remember that:

• The process involves surgery, and surgery is never risk-free;
• The results are permanent;
• The possible side effects range from negligible to serious;
• The process is expensive.

Top of the list, at least because one can assume it is not driven primarily by commercial considerations, is the Food & Drug Administration site at http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/. The site introduction says its goal “is to provide objective information to the public about LASIK surgery”, and it succeeds admirably.

There’s lots of information on the pros and cons, on what will happen before, during and after surgery, advice on selecting a clinic, and numerous other matters.

Comprehensive

You’ll find one of the most comprehensive sites at All About Vision, http://www.allaboutvision.com/. It deals with much more than just lasik, with a wide range of information on all aspects of vision correction, from glasses to advanced Lasik procedures.

The discussions on Lasik procedures are solid and in depth; there’s also a two-minute screening test with a personalised report that will help you decide if you’re a good candidate for Lasik.

You’ll see a lot of advertising for various vision products, and even coupon offers.

Next up is an information-heavy site, AboutLasikEyeSurgery.com, which you’ll find at http://www.aboutlasikeyesurgery.com/. You’ll find details on cost, a description of what the pre-op examination entails, the actual surgical procedures and finally post-operative care.

At http://www.complicatedeyes.org/ you’ll find a site run by an organisation that says it is there specifically to cater for the needs of patients who have LASIK complications, and at the same time to provide more information on lasik complications for the doctors themselves.

The organization behind ComplicatedEyes.org is the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (CRSQA); the organisation has generated some heat and controversy on the Web, so read and evaluate with care.

If you’d like to see simple, illustrated explanations of the whole process, try The Vision Correction Website at http://www.lasersite.com/.

It covers matters such as how the eye works; the structure of the eye; the equipment used in Lasik procedures; and other procedures such as Intacs, PRK (which states for Photo Refractive Keratectomy) and Radial Keratotomy (RK).

College of Surgeons

One of the professional bodies in this field is The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). If you want to find a certified AAO member in your area, to the web site at http://www.aao.org/aao/find_eyemd.cfm and use the search function.

You’ll need to enter your city, State and Country and then choose "Refractive Surgery" in the "Specialty" selection box; leave the "Last Name" box blank.

You’ll have to "Accept" the disclaimer, after which you’ll get a list of qualified refractive surgeons in your city.

You’ll see the letters FACS after the names of some of these members. This means they are also "Fellows" (members) of the American College of Surgeons; in competence and conduct.

That wonderful resource Wikipedia has a good history section at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasik together with explanations of the lasik procedure, and information about safety and possible complications. They also provide you with some external links and other information related to Lasik.

If you’re looking for health information, one of the most-used pages on the Internet is WebMD (the home page is at http://www.webmd.com/).

Enter "refractive surgery" in the search box and you’ll find links to a huge supply of authoritative medical articles to help you research lasiksurgery.

And of course, you can always use Google to search the net.