The 7 Sure Reasons You Won’t Qualify For LASIK Surgery

Do you want to enroll for LASIK eye surgery? Wait. The laser-assisted in Situ Keratomileusis refractive surgery indeed provides a permanent solution to different levels of vision imperfections, but the downside is that it is not for everyone.

As much as people want to have LASIK surgery to heal their long-time sight problems, many become heartbroken when the doctor breaks the shocking news that they are not qualified. Though LASIK has been approved for public practice, you might not be the right candidate for the vision corrective procedure. 

Before going for a LASIK consultation, you are expected to have discussed with a vision specialist like personalEYES eye surgery groups in Australasia, to know whether you’re qualified or not. The vision specialist would assess on different grounds of qualification before recommending LASIK surgery. 

The 7 Sure Reasons You Won't Qualify For LASIK Surgery

From the expert’s point of view, here are the seven most likely reasons you cant be enrolled for LASIK surgery. If you don’t meet the standards, you are not the right candidate for LASIK. You can consider other options available.

Top 7 Reasons You Can’t Qualify For Lasik Surgery

1. You are below 18 years

LASIK surgery is not recommended for anyone below the age of 18. If you are not up to that, don’t think of going for the consultation. Today, much is not known about vision changes in the sigh of children and adolescents. More so, scientists are yet to establish tested and trusted measures to determine what influences the dramatic changes during childhood and adolescent years. Hence, doctors don’t recommend LASIK for people in that age category as results may be unpredictable or temporary. 

2. You are pregnant or breastfeeding

Have you ever wondered why women are less numbered in the record of LASIK patients worldwide? Here’s a hint. Women are not qualified to go for LASIK surgery during pregnancy and when breastfeeding. By implication, if a woman develops a vision problem when pregnant, she would have to wait for more than a year before she could be allowed to undergo the LASIK procedure. Why is time that long? Pregnancy takes up to nine months on average, and exclusive breastfeeding lasts for 6ix months. If you add that figure together, you already have an answer.

Women experience fluid retention and hormone fluctuation during pregnancy which can cause drastic changes in their vision corrective prescription. Also, the hormone changes can cause dry eyes during pregnancy or breastfeeding. In addition, doctors administer medications for dilation during LASIK, which can later become harmful o the fetus when absorbed through the mucous membrane.

The 7 Sure Reasons You Won't Qualify For LASIK Surgery

3. You are on prescribed medications

Certain prescription drugs can affect the potency of LASIK surgery. While some can delay the healing process, others may prevent you from getting the best possible result. Acne medications can also lead to dry eyes, which can cause a scar on your cornea after LASIK. Of course, your situation may warrant that you are on prescription drugs for some time, but you must allow your health care provider to make that call. 

4. You have an unstable prescription 

If your eyeglasses or contact lenses prescription fluctuates, you can’t have LASIK surgery. Based on experience, you are expected to have a stable prescription for more than a year. Meanwhile, one ear is the minimum. It can be longer depending on vision complications. Due to contact lens wear and tear, natural aging, and diabetic blood sugar changes, prescriptions can fluctuate. It is recommended that you ensure your prescription is stable before going for LASIK.

5. You are not healthy 

Health is wealth as it determines whether or not you will participate in certain beneficial things or not. If you’re not in good health, you are not qualified to have LASIK. The reason is that it may delay quick recovery after the procedure. For instance, patients with autoimmune diseases cant have LASIK as it can cause dry eye syndrome. If you have been attentive to this article, you would have learned that dry eyes are a discouraging factor in LASIK surgery. Dry eyes don’t heal well after LASIK and can cause further damage to patients’ vision. Other health conditions such as diabetes, lupus, glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts can disqualify people from having LASIK.

In addition, you must have maintained a previous year free of health complications to be qualified for LASIK the following year. If you have heard about eye infections or injuries, going for LASIK might post some detrimental effects on your eyes.  

The 7 Sure Reasons You Won't Qualify For LASIK Surgery

6. Your pupils over-dilate in the dark

During LASIK, the surgeon can only laser 6mm diameter of your eye. That might not be good news for people whose pupil dilates to 7 or 8mm in the dark. If your pupil over-dilates, you may have unwanted glare, starbursts, or halos when the light is on at night time. That is nothing but a side effect. However, people with such pupils can be advantageous since lasers are larger than 7mm. It is best to ask your doctor to know the type of laser he operates. That way, you can manage to have LASIK surgery with your over-dilating pupil 

7. You have dry eyes 

Having dry eyes means you are not likely to be qualified for a LASIK procedure. Earlier in this article, we have mentioned, on different occasions, that dry eyes can prevent you from having a good LASIK result. Now, it’s time to discuss why it can be dangerous.

Dry eyes can cause post-LASIK discomfort or even worsen the dry eye symptoms. As a result, it can pose further damage to your eyes when you are expected to recover and have perfect vision. However, there are ways to make up for your dry eyes syndrome. Your healthcare provider can put you on certain dry eyes medications to suppress its effect before the day of LASIK.

Finally 

If you don’t tick all the standards above, you can’t be recommended for LASIK. Meanwhile, if you are not qualified for LASIK surgery, that does not necessarily mean you should opt for contact lenses or eyeglasses. Other laser refractive surgeries can provide similar solutions as LASIK. You can get professional advice from your ophthalmologist to make an informed decision.

More to read:

Eye problems that Lasik Surgery can treat
A Detailed Guide to Choose Between LASIK, SMILE, and PRK

A Detailed Guide to Choose Between LASIK, SMILE, and PRK

For those that need to correct their vision imperfection with laser eye surgery, your best options are LASIK, SMILE, or PRK.  All those abovementioned three procedures are effective ways to correct your vision imperfections and result in similar outcomes, but how do you know the best one for you? We will help you navigate some of these three treatments’ main differences and advantages.

LASIK (Laser-Assisted Stromal In-situ Keratomileusis)

What’s the Procedure?

Lasik eye surgery is the most popularly performed laser vision surgery today. During a lasik eye surgery procedure, your doctor will create a small flap of corneal tissue, folded back for the excimer laser to reshape your cornea and correct your sight.

What’s the Prescription Range?

Lasik eye surgery is suitable to treat mild to moderate myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.

A Detailed Guide to Choose Between LASIK, SMILE, and PRK

Dry Eye, thin Corneas, and other Issues:

Because the surgeon needs o to create a corneal flap during a LASIK surgery, a good LASIK candidate needs to have a suitable corneal thickness.  Certain patients with thin corneas cannot receive lasik eye surgery and will consider themselves better candidates for PRK or SMILE. In addition, because the LASIK procedure runs a higher risk for postoperative dry eye, patients that already have preoperative dry eye might not be the best LASIK candidate and may do better with PRK or SMILE.

Healing and Visual Recovery:

Lasik eye surgery has a quick healing time: most patients can return to work, do daily activities, and drive the day after lasik eye surgery. You will experience immediate results, as your vision will begin to stabilize within the first few days to some weeks.

What Are Refractive Outcomes?

LASIK patients experience 20/20 vision and can live free from glasses or contacts.

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)

What’s the Procedure:

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) is a wide-known laser eye surgery using surface ablation. During a PRK procedure, the surgeon will remove the outer layer of your cornea (the clear window in front of the eye) and reshape your cornea using a cool excimer laser.

The critical difference between a LASIK and PRK procedure is that the surgeon doesn’t need to create any flap during a PRK surgery, making the vision recovery slower than expected. The procedure only takes about five minutes per eye and is a quick outpatient procedure.

A Detailed Guide to Choose Between LASIK, SMILE, and PRK

Prescription Range:

PRK can treat hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (near-sightedness), and astigmatism.

Thin Corneas, Dry Eye, and Other Issues:

PRK is appropriate for people with thin corneas and reduces the risk of post-surgery corneal thickness. Some surgeons may also recommend PRK for those who engage in contact sports or have professions that risk an eye injury, like boxers. Candidates who have this lifestyle are more prone to have flap-related complications after a LASIK surgery, should they experience some severe eye infections or contact with the eyes.

Healing and Visual Recovery:

PRK has the most extended healing period of these three laser eye surgery. After a PRK Surgery, hour vision may become blurry for at least a week or two. If PRK, the surgeon, performed the procedure on both eyes on the same day, we advise you not to work or drive for about one week or two due to the blur. In addition, many PRK patients complain of more visual discomfort during or shortly after the procedure and even within the healing process than a SMILE or LASIK patient. Because the surface needs much time to heal after a PRK surgery, it can take several weeks or months before patients begin to experience the best visual outcomes.

A Detailed Guide to Choose Between LASIK, SMILE, and PRK

What Are The Refractive Outcomes?

Refractive outcomes from PRK are identical to LASIK. Once your vision has been restored, you will likely experience optimal vision and reduced or no need for eyeglasses or contact lenses.

SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction)

What’s the Procedure:

SMILE is the most recently FDA-approved and newest laser vision correction procedure. The core procedural difference between a LASIK procedure, SMILE, and PRK is that surgeons don’t use an excimer laser in the process. Instead, he uses a femtosecond laser to cut a tiny keyhole incision in a patient’s cornea, where the lenticular (a small piece of corneal tissue) is removed. That helps to reshape your cornea and improve your vision, thus incorporating all the benefits of both PRK and LASIK.

What’s the Prescription Range?

Currently, SMILE can correct vision for patients with low to moderate levels of short-sightedness. If your prescription doesn’t fall under this category, SMILE might not be the best option.

Thin Corneas, Dry Eye, and Other Issues:

SMILE is also an option for those who were not good LASIK candidates due to thin corneas.  Like PRK, no flap is created like in LASIK, which allows the outer corneal layer to stay intact. Because of this, SMILE is mainly considered a safer option than LASIK for patients with trauma to the head or eye because of more excellent corneal stability. There’s evidence that SMILE is a better laser surgery option for patients predisposed to severe dry eye because research shows fewer corneal nerves cuts than with a LASIK flap.

Healing and Visual Recovery:

SMILE has been performed over half a million times in the world. SMILE has exhibited fast visual recovery during clinical trials with minimal postoperative discomfort.  The SMILE visual recovery period is almost as quick as LASIK. However, it is much quicker than a PRK procedure.

What Are The Refractive Outcomes?

Like all three procedures, SMILE provides an excellent refractive result that rewards patients with extraordinary eyesight and freedom from glasses and contacts. Studies show that visual results from SMILE, LASIK, and PRK are virtually identical. Some data implies that SMILE may have lower retreatment (enhancement or touch-up procedure) rate than LASIK or PRK.

In conclusion 

Ultimately, that question can be determined by your laser eye surgeon.  You will have to schedule a comprehensive eye exam and preoperative consultation to determine which procedure is correct for your unique needs and eye characteristics.  Dr. Paul Dougherty and his team at Dougherty Laser Vision are among the nation’s most experienced laser and lens-based vision correction surgeons. They are ready to help anyone on their path to a better vision. Learn more eye problems that Lasik Surgery can treat.

Eye problems that Lasik Surgery can treat

It is wrong to assume that all eye problems can be treated by eye surgery lasik. Countless people have fallen into this error. Due to the good news they’ve heard about how perfect eye surgery lasik is, they kept on telling their doctor to do this surgery for them. How would it sound to your ears if you heard people talking about eye surgery lasik as though it is the only means of correcting one’s vision? 

The fact remains that this surgery is just one of the ways of bringing people’s vision back to work. Other means include using medicines, eye drops, and cataract surgery. What am I saying in essence? I am trying to explain that there are eye problems that can only be treated via undergoing eye surgery lasik. On the other hand, there are other eye problems that cataract surgery is the best to correct. 

Therefore, the essence of putting this write-up together is to explain and pinpoint the eye errors that can be resolved by eye surgery lasik. This information will help you to have a piece of background knowledge about Lasik. So, once your doctor mentions any of the eye problems that I want to explain here, you may likely conclude in your heart that the solution to it is eye surgery lasik. Let us briefly talk about what this surgery entails.

What is Lasik Eye surgery?

Lasik surgery uses a laser to resolve, reshape, and correct the eye’s cornea whenever there’s a vision problem. So, what happens doing Lasik surgery? There’s a thin cornea flap in the upper layers of the cornea. The flap is lifted. The work of a laser is to reshape the corneal tissue underneath. The essence of doing this is to ensure that light focuses better on the retina. So, when the process is carried out carefully, the corneal flap is restored to its original state. This fantastic process remains one of the most used strategies for correcting vision problems. However, one must not forget that this process requires specialized knowledge in its operation. This implies that a competent Lasik eye Surgeon must be the one to handle your eye if you want to tell a lovely story about how this process restores your vision.

Eye problems that Lasik Surgery can treat

Eye problems that need Lasik eye Surgery

  1. Myopia: Myopia can be otherwise known as shortsightedness. It is said that one is battling with myopia when one can only see an object close to them. People suffering from this eye problem cannot see things at a far distance. Some of them cannot read things from afar. If you want to know if one is battling myopia, you can ask the person to read something from a distance. The moment the person finds it so hard to read, there should be a cause for alarm. Please note that the next thing is not to conclude or judge based on this writing. If you feel you have myopia as you read this article, the next step is not to call an ophthalmologist to carry out eye surgery lasik on you. Please don’t misquote me. The action you need to take is to visit your eye doctor for examination. Remember, this article only aims at explaining the eye problems that may likely lead to eye surgery lasik. Myopia happens when the shape of one’s eye causes light rays to refract inappropriately. Of course, it needs medical attention. 
  1. Hyperopia: Hyperopia is otherwise known as farsightedness. One is battling with hyperopia when one can only see an object that is far from them. People suffering from this eye problem cannot see things close to them. This common eye problem can be corrected only by eye surgery lasik. If you see these signs, you need to visit your eye doctor for a proper checkup. The moment you notice that objects nearby become blurry that is the sign of hyperopia. What are the causes of this eye problem? This eye problem occurs when the cornea is not curved enough. Hyperopia can also happen when an eyeball is too short. Once these problems occur, the light will be prevented from focusing on the retina. And you know there’s a problem the moment the light start focusing behind the retina. So, this eye problem can be corrected by eye surgery lasik. However, the decision to go for this surgery must come from the doctor. I am only trying to explain some eye problems that can lead to Lasik surgery. So please don’t misquote me. Don’t assume that once you see things from afar clearly, the next thing you need to do is Lasik Surgery. Please visit your eye doctor to examine you.
Eye problems that Lasik Surgery can treat
  1. Astigmatism: When there’s an imperfection in the curvature of your lens or cornea, then you are battling with Astigmatism. And with Astigmatism, your vision becomes blurry at all distances. This eye problem might be in the form of farsightedness or shortsightedness. It occurs when the front surface of the lens mismatches the curves. So, Astigmatism is one of those eye problems that could later result in Laski eye surgery. Remember, you must act based on the doctor’s prescription. Therefore, if you have an eye problem, the first thing you need to do is to consult your doctor. The eye doctor will carry out some tests on you to determine your eye condition. The test result will be the determinant factor if you need to go for surgery or you need to use medicines to correct the lens. 

On a final note

Dear reader, this article is what is you need to know. You can also share the link to this page with friends and family. This write-up aims to create a miraculous shift in people’s thinking about eye surgery lasik. Therefore, it is expedient to know that not all eye problems can be treated via this surgery. This article has done justice to that. Finally, while reading this article, a question regarding this topic might come to your heart. So, kindly drop your question in the comment box.