While Lasik is currently the most popular form of laser eye surgery, it is not necessarily the right solution for everyone wanting to move away from the inconvenience of corrective glasses or contact lenses.

PRK vs Lasik – quick summary:

• Lasik is less painful;
• The recovery time is shorter after lasik;
• There is no corneal flap – so there is no chance of flap complications ;
• PRK is more suitable for people involved in activities or sports that might result in some kind of impact on the eye (boxing, martial arts);
• The PRK procedure can be used on corneas that are too thin for Lasik;

PRK  vs Lasik – from Scalpel to Laser

PRK is an improvement on the original process, which was called radial keratotomy (the RK part of PRK).    In this procedure surgeons used a scalpel to make  a radial pattern of fine cuts in the cornea to improve a patient’s vision.

The obvious risk was that the procedure relied completely on the eye surgeon’s experience, skill – and steady hands.

The newer PRK process (photorefractive keratectomy) uses a laser.

For most people weighing up the PRK vs Lasik options, the big difference between the two is that in Lasik surgery, the doctor cuts a flap in the surface of the cornea, lifts the flap out of the way, and then uses a laser on the inner tissue the cornea.

The flap is then folded back into place and is held there by corneal suction, so no stitches are needed.

In PRK, on the other hand, there is no need for a flap, as the laser is used directly on the surface of the cornea to reshape it.

PRK vs Lasik – the PRK Procedure

The surgeon removes the top layer of the cornea, which is called the epithelium.  This later is only a few cells thick, and is usually softened with alcohol and then removed by hand or with a laser.

The surgeon then uses an excimer laser to reshape the surface of the cornea.   After anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory treatment the eye is covered with a bandage contact lens.   This lens stays in place for a few days and is removed once the epithelium has had a chance to grow back.

You will probably need to use medicated eye drops for anything up to six months after the procedure to stop or minimize haze or possible scarring.

PRK vs Lasik – the Lasik Procedure

Your eye (or eyes) will be numbed so that you do not feel any pain.   The surgeon will then cut a flap in the front of the cornea using either a  microkeratome (a blade) or a femtosecond laser in a procedure that normally takes less than a minute for each eye.

The flap is folded back and the surgeon then uses an excimer laser to remove minute bits of the cornea and reshape it.

The flap is put back in place and the procedure is finished; it  probably lasts no more than 15 minutes per eye.

Most people feel no pain, although there may be some prescribed eye drop medications.

Follow your eye doctor’s instructions; most surgeons recommend staying away from work for a few days, and no strenuous activity for a week or so.

Anyone involved in contact sports will need to give the eye a longer healing time.

PRK vs Lasik – the Pros and Cons of the Two Procedures

Lasik

By far the most common reason for choosing Lasik is that the procedure is virtually painless.

The second major advantage is that healing takes place much faster, and there is much less discomfort after the procedure.

A third benefit is that patients commonly start seeing better very quickly, sometimes within hours of the operation.

On the other hand, lasik does result in a reduction of the thickness of the corneal stroma, which is the middle of the five layers that make up the cornea itself.

When you consider that the cornea of the average adult is only half a millimetre thick, it is easy to appreciate the extreme accuracy that is needed in any form of laser eye surgery, and the possibility of a less than optimum outcome.

Lasik has a re-treatment rate of somewhere between 5 and 10%, versus the 1 to 2% of PRK.

There are more likely to be glare and dry eye problems (see separate articles) with Lasik than with PRK.

But haze issues can be more of a problem with PRK than with Lasik.

PRK

First and foremost, because there is no flap, there are no flap problems.

If your degree of shortsightedness (myopia) is low to moderate and your cornea is thinner than normal, then PRK is probably safer than Lasik.

Your eye or eyes will be painful (unlike Lasik) for a week or more.  Visual recovery will take longer; you could need anything up to six months to achieve optimal vision.   During that period you could suffer from  blurred vision, have problems with glare, and be sensitive to light.

PRK vs Lasik – a Summary

Here is a neat summary from a practitioner:

“LASIK was developed to give faster results with less discomfort,” says Dr. Neil Griffin, corneal disease, Lasik and cataract specialist with Carolina Eye Associates.

But he also warns:

“Both surgical options, PRK and Lasik, have their advantages and disadvantages.”

A common theme in chat rooms is the fear of something going wrong during the procedure.

Remember that both procedures involve surgery, and there are never any guarantees with surgery.

Both procedures give broadly the same results in the long term.

Lasik offers freedom from pain and a quicker recovery.

PRK offers freedom from any chance of a dislodged flap or flap complications, and the option of laser eye treatment for patients who have thin corneas and for whom Lasik would be too risky.

Before deciding which one is right for you, talk to your surgeon, who will help you balance out the pros and cons of PRK vs Lasik.

Lasik Eye Surgery Cons – Wrinkles

The medical professionals call them corneal striae.  Essentially, they are wrinkles that can develop in the flap after lasik surgery.  There are large (macro) and small (micro) striae, and they are more like to occur when near-sightedness is being corrected, although they can also occur when far-sighted correction is being undertaken.

Macrostriae must be treated as soon as they develop, but microstriae will usually disappear during the normal healing process.
Striae are more likely to occur when a big correction is being undertaken.   Severe striae can cause ghosting and degraded vision.   Patients who suffer from dry eyes after lasik may find that striae are made worse by this condition.

Lasik eye surgery Cons – Keratectasia

This complication is a biggie with a big name – Keratectasia – and is a potentially very serious problem.
It occurs when the flap is too thick (the cut was made too deeply) or too much corneal tissue is removed during the procedure.   The structure of the cornea is weakened, and the cornea will start to bulge outward, resulting in more astigmatism and distorted vision.
There are some estimates that this condition occurs in about 1 in 2000 lasik procedures, but not enough research has been done to know if this figure is accurate.
The bad news is that this is one of the most serious lasik eye surgery cons, as it cannot be correct by a second lasik enhancement, or even by eyeglasses or contact lenses.   In severe cases the patient may need a corneal transplant.
In the United States corneal transplants are relatively routine operations – but the procedure involves further surgery, and surgery always involves risk.
There is some evidence that there is a lower risk of ectasia where a patient opts for one of the following procedures:

• Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), a form of treatment that does not require the cutting of a flap;
• Lasek (Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileusis), which uses a thinner blade than Lasik, and in which a thinner flap is created; or
• epi-Lasik, which uses a different blade and is a sort of cross between Lasik and Lasek.

Better screening methods have been developed to help surgeons assess the risk that a lasik procedure will induce keratectasia; anyone with a thin cornea is a high-risk patient.

Lasik Eye Surgery Cons – The Microkeratome Blade

Lasik flaps can be cut either with a blade, or with a laser.
Metal blades sometimes create a flap with uneven edges, or even too shallow a cut that results in a “buttonhole” flap – a flap with a hole in it.   This in turn could cause scarring that will result in less than ideal vision.
Generally, using a laser to cut a flap results in a more accurate procedure that produces better results and certainly lowers the risk of post-lasik complications.

Lasik Eye Surgery Cons – Other Problems

Getting the flap size right can be a problem.
Sometimes flaps are cut too short, or too thin, or are not smooth enough.
Sometimes instead of the flap being left on a hinge, it is cut right through.   The lasik procedure can still be performed if the “cap” is of a high quality, but this “corneal cap” is then replaced immediately and the eye is allowed to heal.
In such circumstances the eye needs special care to make sure that the cap is not lost or moved over the next two days or so.
Another of the lasik eye surgery cons related to the flap is epithelial ingrowth.   The epithelium is the outermost layer of the eye, and sometimes cells from this layer get under the flap and start growing there.   To treat this condition, the flap must be lifted again and the cells removed.
Small areas of ingrowth are not really a problem, but large areas can distort vision and cause flap damage.
So the reality is that because the flap exists, there are always potential flap problems.   If these issues still worry you after a thorough discussion with your surgeon, you might like to consider PRK, which does not involve the creation of a flap.
When you are assessing the benefits of the operation versus these lasik eye surgery cons, discuss the matter carefully and select the option that gives you the best chance of a successful outcome to the procedure.

The average price for lasik will vary, depending on where you have the procedure, which lasik surgeon does it, which eye clinic you choose, and the type of treatment you opt for.
But be very careful about buying on price; eye surgery is forever!
Lasik prices vary from a cut rate of $1000 to anything around $3500 per eye.   The final cost depends largely on the extent of the surgery you may require and any follow-up treatment.

An Average Price for Lasik Is No Real Guide

And that’s because lasik eye surgery is treated as an “elective treatment”; in other words, it is one you choose to have, so when you’re doing your sums it’s better to over-estimate and assume that you will have to cover the full cost.
In the United States most insurance companies, and Medicare, will not cover  the cost of Lasik eye surgery, although there are medical plans that do offer some benefits.

You might also be able to deduct the cost off your Federal income tax.

Average Price for Lasik?  It All Depends

It is obviously important to assess Lasik eye surgery costs when you are trying to decide whether to have the treatment.

Unfortunately, there are no clear rules to follow when you’re trying to decide if  you can afford the treatment.   Costs vary widely between regions, lasik doctors, and eye clinics.

Probably the only real constant is that prices are quoted per eye.

Until recently there was another constant in the average price for lasik – it has had been going up for some time.   Now, however, there are signs prices have stabilized.   So as a rough guide, the average price for lasik is probably north of $2100 per eye. Prices are highest on the West Coast and in the Northeast.
“Ability to pay” explains some of the price differences; prices will obviously be higher in the richer areas.

Custom Treatment Bumps Up the Average Price for Lasik

Prices are also going up because of greater use of new and more expensive technology, in what is called “custom lasik”.
For instance, a clinic that uses wavefront technology to determine the aberrations in the eye’s visual field will add anything up to $500 per eye to the bill.

Some surgeons use IntraLase (a type of laser) to create the Lasik flap rather than a blade. The benefits are fewer complications, fewer “re-treatments” and better visual acuity, and all this reduces lasik eye surgery risks. But this also increases the total lasik eye surgery cost by between $250 and $500 per eye.
By now your “average” part of the “average price for lasik” has been well and truly destroyed!

Initial screening and pre-operative testing is important, helps avoid problems – and adds to the final  cost of lasik eye surgery.
By now, the figure you were working on as the  average price for lasik  is long gone!

Clinics have to cover their normal operating costs and maintain a range of equipment. They have to pay royalties to the laser manufacturers, cover their overheads and of course make a profit.
Besides offering a highly-desirable service, lasik centers and surgeons also run a business.
Make sure you read the fine print. Make sure you understand all the processes and procedures that are being quoted, and make sure they are inclusive and fully-disclosed.
The fees for any subsequent prescriptions, any special glasses or lenses, and the cost of follow-up visits should all be included in your final lasik eye surgery cost.
So all in all, it’s probably better to do some research in your area, get accurate prices, and avoid any unpleasant surprises when you see how much your average price for lasik has been pushed up by additional charges.

Are you a good candidate for a  Lasik procedure?

This should probably be your first question, and a good examination will provide the answer.

Make sure you tell your doctor about your general state of health and the history of any eye problems you experienced or still experience.
Anyone under 18, anyone is who pregnant or nursing or who will be within six months, is also not a good candidate.

Will degenerative eye diseases disqualify you?

Poor candidates increase the risk of an unsatisfactory outcome to a lasik procedure – neither you nor your surgeon will be keen to take that sort of chance.

Will a Lasik procedure allow you to get rid of corrective lenses?

The only real answer to that is “maybe”.
Lasik procedures are not designed to produce perfect vision, but rather to correct.  The aim is to improve vision and reduce your dependence on corrective lenses. So you may still need some form of glasses or contacts.

Are thre any risks in having a Lasik procedure?

This is one of the more frequent lasik surgery questions, and the answer is – Absolutely Yes. Lasik is surgery, and all surgery carries risks.
But the incidence of what are termed “bad outcomes” is low.
Most people make a good recovery from a lasik procedure, with minimal (or at least acceptable) side effects such as reduced vision at night or in low-light conditions.
But there are occasionally long-term complications, and sometimes even problems bad enough to threaten vision itself.

Is the lasik procedure painful?

The Lasik procedure is quite quick and painless; it should take about a minute an eye, and the whole process should take about  an hour.
Only your eye is numbed using drops, so you’ll stay awake the whole time. If this thought makes you feel uncomfortable you could ask for a mild sedative.
You’ll probably be able to walk out of the clinic once surgery is finished.   But you must arrange to be taken home, and it would be wise to take three or four days off work.
You need to visit the eye surgeon a day or two after the lasik procedure. You will already have been briefed on the post-operative procedure; your doctor will probably remind you of it again.

What does  a Lasik procedure cost?

The “cost” part of the normal lasik procedure question list is something of a “how long is a piece of string” one.   The range is somewhere between $1000 and $3500 per eye. It depends on where you live, the condition of your eyes, and the techniques and equipment that have to be used.
Lasik eye correction is an elective process (you choose to have it) so it is not normally covered by insurance plans. Many clinics have finance plans available.   Some employers have schemes that will help anyone who decides on a lasik procedure, and you might even quality for some tax relief – talk to your financial advisor.
Before you go ahead with surgery, you must make sure you get all the answers you need to the lasik eye surgery questions that concern you.
Only then can you make that crucial “informed decision” about undergoing a lasik procedure.

Wavefront Lasik Improves Chances of Seeing Well

Lower-order aberrations are the ones you hear about most often – myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism.
There are also higher-order aberrations, which account for about 15% of eye problems, and have exotic names such as coma, spherical aberration and trefoil.

These aberrations cause problems that can include difficulty seeing at night, halos, issues with glare and blurred vision, and account for about 15% of eye problems – and wavefont lasik plays an important role in helping to minimise these.
Simply put, lower order aberration control how much you see, while higher order aberrations control how well you see.
Unfortunately, ordinary lasik surgery increases the chance of higher order aberrations. With wavefront lasik eye surgery higher order aberrations still increase, but not as much as with conventional lasik.

What is Wavefront Lasik?

Wavefront technology is a system that collects information about the eye from hundreds of separate points over the central 6 millimetre area of the cornea. This creates a “map” that is specific to the eye being measured.
This information can then be linked to the laser to enable a completely customised and very accurate surgical procedure – wavefront lasik.
A further advantage is that wavefront can help identify patients who are not good candidates for Lasik surgery.

Wavefront Lasik Adopts Wavefront Technology

Wavefront technology has been used by astronomers for many years, but the first wavefront mapping of the eye was done in 1994. Towards the end of 2002 the Food & Drug Administration approved the Custom Cornea Wavefront Lasik.
To understand how it works, think of  a bundle of light rays entering the eye.
When the light enters the cornea, the very front of those light rays is perfectly flat – like a sheet of paper. In a perfect eye, the light will be reflected back and exit still flat.
But of course, the light passes through an imperfect crystalline lens (in the eye) and so is distorted when it emerges.
This distortion creates the “map” that tells the specialist what problems exist within the eye and how they can best be corrected.
It also provides the information used to create the prescription that will be used to reshape the cornea, using the wavefront lasik.
There are limits to the use of wavefront lasik eye surgery. If you are too myopic or too hyperopic, or have too much astigmatism, you will probably not be a candidate.

Thin Corneas a Problem for Wavefront Lasik

Thin corneas will be a problem, while having abnormally-large pupils may increase the risk of ending up with poor vision at night.
There is also the issue of cost.
Most, if not all, doctors charge more for wavefront lasik eye surgery than for conventional. As a rough guide, expect to pay about $3000 and up per eye.
In summary – wavefront technology offers precise and individualized prescriptions for Lasik eye surgery patients.
If you meet the requirements, it also offers an increased probability that the resultant wavefront lasik eye surgery will provide a successful outcome with fewer side effects.

And sometimes you need two sets, one for near and one for far.   Or you combine them, and get bifocals.   Some people even need trifocals.
This gradual loss of the ability to focus well at all distances is called presbyopia.   It usually happens slowly (although there is a condition called “sudden presbyopia”) and is irreversible – but there is something you can do to improve matters.

The Lasik Monovision Decision

If you decide to go the lasik monovision route because presbyopia has become a problem, you have to make a choice.   One option is to have both eyes adjusted for the best possible distance vision, and then use glasses for reading.
Many, however, choose another solution – lasik monovision.
One eye is adjusted for far vision, and the other for close vision.   This technique offers the possibility of doing completely without glasses – at least for a time.
Lasik monovision was first talked about 40 years ago, and has been has been used with lots of success for over 20 years.  Normally the stronger eye is corrected distance vision and the weakest eye for near vision.

Brain Compensates After Lasik Monovision

Strange but true, once the lasik monovision surgery has been done, the brain starts to compensate.
It ignores the eye producing the out-of-focus image. The result is that within six to eight weeks of the Lasik monovision procedure, most people have adjusted completely to the changed images they are receiving.

However, this is not always the case.   About 15% of people who choose lasik monovision can’t adapt to the change. They then usually have a second treatment to make both eyes the same, and just use glasses as well.
If you want to try the lasik monovision option before opting for surgery, you can get contact lenses that will produce the same effect, and see how you cope.   If things go well, you can then decide whether to go the lasik monovision route, or stick with the contact lenses.

Lasik Monovision Drawbacks

There are drawbacks to opting for Lasik monovision.
The FDA has found that because the two eyes no longer work together, the result is poorer quality vision and a loss of depth perception.
These problems can be more of an issue when the light is bad.
Driving a car could be stressful until your brain adjusts.   In effect, you will be driving a car with one eye closed, which can make you very anxious when you’re behind the wheel..
Also remember that if you suffer from presbyoptia at the age of 40, things will get progressively worse.   Your eyesight will probably get worse until you are about 65 or so, which will affect the amount of correction required.
However, consider lasik monovision if you’re over 40 and you want to minimise your dependence on glasses or contacts.
Under such conditions, most specialists consider that lasik monovision is the best surgical option to manage presbyoptia.

Lasik Dry Eyes Affects 10 million

Lasik dry eyes affects about 10 million Americans, and is one of the most common problems treated by eye specialists. It is caused by a low level of tear production; in other words, the tear duct does not produce a tear film that will properly lubricate the eye.

The findings are sort of “wisdom in hindsight”.  Logically enough the study found that people who produced plentiful tears before the operation were less likely to suffer from Lasik dry eyes after surgery.
What is important, though, is that the team has been able to quantify the desirable level of tear production, and so help surgeons make a more accurate prediction of how severe the lasik dry eyes symptoms were likely to be after the procedure.
The study team was led by Dr. Darlene Dartt, director of the Military Vision Research Program at Schepens.
Lasik surgery is of particular interest to the armed forces.  In recent years thousands of military personnel have chosen Lasik surgery in order to help them in combat. They can obviously identify objects and people more easily in the field, and also don’t have to worry about lost or damaged glasses.

Lasik dry eyes is normal, happens to many people who after lasik eye surgery, and is usually a temporary condition.
But that doesn’t make the burning, itching, scratchiness that sufferers feel any easier to bear, or help the problems they have with contact lenses.

Lasik Dry Eyes Common Even Before Surgery

In fact, dry eyes is quite common, even where there has no been no laser or Lasik treatment. It can be a natural by-product of aging.  It often affects women who are approaching, or have experienced menopause.   It can can also be caused by some systemic diseases.
But in the case of Lasik surgery, why is there a link between refractive surgery and lasik dry eyes? (Refractive surgery is a general category of procedures that includes Lasik surgery.)
The answer lies in the actual creation of the flap during the Lasik process. When the flap is created some of the corneal nerves may be cut (a quite normal part of the procedure).
Unfortunately, these nerves are the ones that signal the gland in the eye (called the Lacrimal Gland) to produce tears. If the signal level or frequency is reduced, the result can be fewer tears to lubricate the eye – and the condition know as Lasik dry eyes.
It’s important to let the surgeon know beforehand if you suffer from dry eyes.  Your chances of more severe lasik dry eyes symptoms as a side effect are increased if you have a pre-existing condition.

In fact, one of the conditions needed for a successful Lasik eye surgery procedure is the existence of a sufficiently healthy tearfilm, the layer of liquid that normally covers the eye. This tearfilm is quite a complex, with three layers – an oily outer layer, a watery middle layer and an inner mucous layer.

Three Ways to Handle Lasik Dry Eyes

Your surgeon could handle potential problems in several ways.

• One is through the use of prescription medicines.
• Another is through dietary supplements.
• And a third is by putting in Tear Duct Plugs.    These will reduces the amount of tears that flow from your eyes to your nose – sort of like putting a plug in a sink to hold back the water!

The plugs are placed quite easily, and can just as easily be removed months later once they have done their job.
In addition, your surgeon may recommend somewhat different custom procedures if he/she knows that you have a dry eye problem, or if the tearfilm is inadequate.
Instead of Lasik and IntraLasik, for instance, other surgical options options such as PRK, LASEK or Epi-Lasik might be better choices. Discuss these options carefully with your surgeon before making your final choice.
As always, making informed decisions is the best and only real way to go with any form of lasik eye surgery.   In this particular case, it could help you reduce any Lasik dry eyes problems.

Lasik Eye Treatment – the Three Major Conditions

The three major conditions that Lasik eye treatment can usually handle successfully are myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism.
If you are nearsighted, light from somethimg some distance away is focused in front of the retina (the back “screen” of the eye), rather than on the retina itself.

This means you can easily see something that is close, but have problems with things that are further away.
The reverse happens with hyperopia.
The light is focussed behind the retina instead of on it, so you can clearly see objects some distance away, but have problems with closer ones.
With astigmatism, there are problems either with the shape of the cornea (the very front portion of the eye)or the lens itself.
Light reaches two focal points on the retina instead of one.
The result – blurred vision.

Fourth Lasik Eye Treatment – Presbyopia

There is a fourth condition, called presbyopia, which is a natural process and really is a function of aging.   It mostly affects people over 40, when the cornea and the lens become less flexible and can’t properly focus light rays on the retina.
The result is problems focusing on nearby objects, and the usual solution is bifocals.
One possible lasik eye treatment for this particular condition is to go the monovision route, in which one eye is corrected for distance vision and one for closeup work.
However, not everyone is comfortable with this solution, and later opt to have both eyes made the same in a second treatment.

Myopia Success Rate with Lasik Eye Treatment

Lasik eye treatment is generally very successful with myopia and somewhat less so when dealing with hyperopia.   Astigmatism lasik surgery can also be very successful.  Presbyopia is more difficult and generally can’t be corrected by laser eye treatment without going the monovision route.
There are some limits that eye surgeons generally stick to when considering lasik eye treatment.
For myopia the limits are -0.75 to -11 diopters; for hyperopia the limits are +0.75 to +4; and for astigmatism the figures are +0.75 and +4.
In addition, your pupil diameter must be less than 8.5 millimetres, and the cornea must be at least 500 microns thick (a micron is one millionth of a meter).
Within those limits, surgeons are generally happy to undertake lasik eye treatment.

Those that happen during surgery are more correctly called lasik complications, and relate more to lasik eye surgery risks rather than lasik side effects.

One of the more common lasik side effects is dry eye, which obviously is a “dry” feeling in the eye, itchyness in the eye, perhaps also blurred vision.

The condition usually disappears anywhere between one month and three months after lasik eye surgery.   Lubricating eye drops are the normal treatment for dry eyes, and are normally very effective in controlling this particular problem.

One of the next most common sides effects is sensitivity to light, and it is obviously important not to touch or rub your eyes when you suffer from this particular problem.   The good news is that the sensitivity drops quite quickly after the first few days.

Night Glare One of the Common Lasik Side Effects

If you were nearsighted before Lasik and wore  reading glasses or contact lenses, you might have suffered from night glare, halos or starbursts.

These are caused by peripheral rays of light, i.e. the rays at the edge of the pupil.   These rays are scattered more in a nearsighted person by the time they reach a pupil that is dilated at night.

After Lasik eye surgery this pre-existing condition may get worse for a while, sometimes because the flap that is created by the laser on the cornea (the corneal flap) does not re-bond properly when it is replaced.

Fortunately, this is one of those is one of the lasik side effects that normally clears up in anywhere from one to three months.
But do brief your lasik surgeon before the laser vision correction if you suffer from glare or a halo effect at night.   He/she will then be able to use a technique that will minimize future glare problems.

Lasik Side Effects – the Cornea

The way your eye heals can also affect the probability of various Lasik side effects. If your eyes heal faster (or slower) than normal, you could end up with eyes that have been either under- or over-corrected.

The shape and thickness of the cornea might also change during healing, which could also affect the amount of correction.
Your doctor can normally fix all of these conditions via a second operation (an enhancement) once the eyes are properly healed and stabilized.

More Lasik Side Effects – Contrast Sensitivity

Another of the Lasik side effects is contrast sensitivity, which is the difference between the lightest and the darkest part of what you’re looking at. This sensivity is measured with the familiar wall chart, with black letters on white, which of course is not a real-life situation.

For good vision, particularly at night, you need to be able to tell the difference between shades of the same colour, or shades of grey, and one of the lasik side effects could well be a much-reduced contrast sensitivity.
You could be affected for a couple of weeks after the lasik procedure,  even if you can read a wall chart quite well.
But this is another of the lasik side effects that is usually temporary, and contrast sensitivity is almost always back to normal within six months of lasik eye surgery.

• 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.

That said, the lasik information you can find on this site and on the other sites  listed will give you a very good base from which to make an informed decision. And your doctor will be very happy to be talking to an educated consumer.

Start at the FDA Site for Lasik Information

• 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 lasik information on the pros and cons of lasik eye surgery, on what will happen before, during and after surgery, advice on selecting a lasik center, and numerous other matters.

• You’ll find one of the most comprehensive lasik information sites at All About Vision, http://www.allaboutvision.com/.  In fact, it provides much more than just lasik information and has a wide range of articles on all aspects of vision correction, from glasses to advanced Lasik eye surgery.

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 a site with lots of lasik information -  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.

Assess Lasik Information with 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 illustrated approach to providing lasik information in a simplfied way, try The Vision Correction Website at http://www.lasersite.com/.

It provides lasik information on 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).

More Lasik Information – 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.
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 lots of lasik information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasik.   There’s a good history section together with explanations of the lasik procedure, and information about safety and possible complications. They also provide you with some external links and other lasik information.

• One of the most-used pages on the Internet for those looking for health information is WebMD (the home page is at http://www.webmd.com/).

For lasik information, enter “refractive surgery” in the search box and you’ll find links to a huge supply of authoritative medical articles to help you research lasik eye surgery.

• And of course, you can always use  search engines to scour the net to help you gather Lasik information.