You are tired of using both your eye glasses and contact lenses yet you cannot stop wearing them because you are near-sighted. You’ve research online about eye surgeries and you saw this very interesting five-letter word, LASIK. It just might be the solution that you are looking for.

LASIK or Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis is is a corrective eye surgery for conditions such as astigmatism (blurring of vision), myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). This technique was developed by a Spanish ophthalmologist when he cut thin portions of the cornea to alter its shape around 1950. Today, thanks to advances in medical technology, LASIK utilizes laser lights, bladeless incisions and is therefore more reliable than that of the last couple of years.

What is Wavefront Lasik?
Wavefront Lasik, also called Wavefront-Guided Lasik, is a variation of this LASIK surgery. It utilizes the concept of wavefront technology of using three dimensional measurements to reshape the cornea properly. This measurement system is very accurate that it enables vision correction in cases that eye glasses, contact lenses and standard LASIK cannot treat. This technology takes into account that every person’s eyes are different and so it has to modify itself based on the person’s needs.

What are the benefits of choosing this technology?
Wavefront LASIK creates an individualized correction for your eyes that is guided by in-depth analysis of your corneas. Patients who underwent this procedure showed significant sharper vision. It is not just the mere 20/20 vision that most surgeries offer, but rather will be improvement on sensitivity on contrast and fine details. Also, there are lowered accounts of side effects such as glaring, sensitivity to contrast and difficulty with night visions.

What are the preparations before the surgery?
Patients are advised to stop wearing contact lenses weeks before the scheduled surgery. He or she should avoid possible eye irritants such as smoke, dust and wind particles. The patient should also avoid touching his or her eyes too much as it will cause unwanted redness.

What to expect after the surgery?
Patients are usually advised by doctors after this surgery to get lots of rest and sleep. They are given eye shields to protect their eyes from light and dirt. Proper care is taught on emphasis of cleanliness to avoid any complications. A series of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicines are given, which should be taken completely and strictly adhered to. Artificial tears and droppers are given also to constantly hydrate the eyes.

What are the usual complaints after the surgery?
Probably the most common complaint of patients post-op is the occurrence of “dry eyes”, which would need proper treatment such as the use of artificial tears.

Fear of Pain
Most people believe that a LASIK procedure is really painful and greatly believe that they would be able to experience discomfort since this surgery is done while they are fully conscious. But it is important to know that a mild sedative is actually given to patients to make sure that they remain comfortable throughout the procedure, while numbing drops are also applied to the eyes so even though patients may be able to feel some pressure, they can be assured that the LASIK process is relatively pain free.

Fear of Laser Contact
A lot of possible patients are also afraid of the idea of having a laser beam shot directly into their eyes. But in fact, even though laser is used to remove tissues from the cornea, it only comes in contact with each eye for around 10-15 seconds. Aside from that, patients need not worry about them blinking or looking away during the procedure because LASIK has an eye tracking system that follows every eye movement, thus laser pulses can be matched to those movement. Furthermore, eye lids are also held open to prevent them from blinking during the surgery.

Fear of the “Scalpel”
Patients need not fear about undergoing a LASIK procedure because it does not use scalpel but instead uses a computer operated surgical blade to ensure that the procedure is done in an excellent and precise way.

Fear of Possibly Going Blind
Most importantly, patients need not be scared of possibly going blind in case a complication occurs after the surgery. As a matter of fact, there has been no cases of patients who has gone blind after a LASIK surgery. And if indeed a complication ever occurs, rest assured that the surgeon can perform a second procedure to finally correct the problem.

The more you ask about LASIK surgery, the more you will be able to fully understand the processes that are involved in this, thus making you feel more comfortable about actually undergoing one. The best way to do that is to talk to a qualified surgeon who can help address all your concerns and questions.

For many people, the US$2,000 cost of Lasik procedures is already quite expensive. And the fact that Wavefront Lasik procedures are even more costly only contributes to this impression. However, the cost of the eye procedure is actually quite justifiable. So, where does the money you spend on a Lasik procedure go?

Firstly, it pays for the salary of all the employees of your eye surgeon. This includes his surgical assistants, his secretary, and other staff members. Then, it also helps pay for the electricity bills, water bills, and other taxes incurred by the clinic. The cost of surgical and office materials, medicines, and other items are also covered by what you pay.

Maintenance of tools and machinery used during Lasik procedures is also covered by what you pay. And of course, you pay for the services and expertise of your eye surgeon—not only for performing the surgery, but for the pre and post operation consultations and such. Now you should understand better why these procedures are priced so high.

What Are The Factors That Affect The Cost Of Wavefront Lasik?

There are other factors which affect the cost of surgery. One of these is the location of the clinic in which you’ll be having your surgery. The price of surgery is higher in more highly urbanized and populated areas. This is because the people there can afford to pay more, taxes and cost of living is higher, and surgeons use more advanced machinery.

The opposite is true for clinics in rural areas. Another factor which affects the price of Lasik procedures is the expertise of the surgeon. Generally, more experienced surgeons charge higher rates than their newbie counterparts. Likewise, surgeons who have famous clients such as celebrities charge much higher rates regardless of their skills and expertise.

As you can see, there are many factors that affect the price of Lasik surgery. However, the prices stay generally within the US$2,000 range.

Recently the cost of wavefront lasik procedures—as well as other kinds of lasik procedures—has lowered quite a bit. This is because the procedures have become more widely available to the general public. Also, more and more people are undergoing the treatment, so surgeons are able to gain more customers by lowering their prices.

Right now, the price of a customized procedure is around US$2,000. The cost for a non-customized procedure is a bit lower while the cost of a wavefront procedure is a bit more expensive. This is because the procedure is the most accurate and effective in curing eye defects such as nearsightedness and farsightedness.

Keep in mind that these prices are quoted on a per eye basis. This means you will have to pay double the price if you need to have both your eyes corrected. Lasik procedures are cheaper now, but they are still quite expensive. Make sure you save enough money before undergoing a procedure.

See How Easily You Can Get Fooled By Cheap Lasik Ads

If you pay attention to various advertisements in print media, television commercials and online ads then you should know that there are bargain discounts being offered for Lasik surgery. They offer prices as low as US$400 per eye. Sounds good, right?

What you may not know is that these prices are not for the complete surgical procedure. Rather, they are only for the initial operation. There are numerous follow up procedures and sessions with your surgeon that will cost you more money. In the end, you will be paying the regular price for surgery anyway, so don’t be too excited about these offers.

Remember that the price of the different kinds of Lasik procedures vary depending on how effective they are. Wavefront Lasik is the most expensive because it is the best. Wouldn’t you want the best procedure to be performed on your eyes?

To understand more about the Wavefront procedure and its differences with the conventional one, watch this video to learn about the very process and other useful information.

When you are planning to undergo a Wavefront Lasik procedure what is the most important factor when choosing the right surgeon? At first, you may be thinking the cheaper the better. Right? While cheap rates will allow you to save loads of money there could be an accompanying bad consequence to this— a failed procedure.

When it comes to any medical procedure, health is always more important than wealth. This is why you should not be fooled by all those flashy advertisements you see on television, internet and print advertisements. Most surgeons who offer bargain prices are either inexperienced in their field or use cheap equipment.

What if some of these advertisements are actually true? Indeed, hidden amongst the false advertisements may be a good surgeon who is really offering rates better than most. So perhaps it is best that you do not ignore these advertisements altogether. Instead, you should call up the surgeon and ask for a consultation where you can find out more about him and his services.

How To Choose The Perfect Wavefront Lasik Surgeon

During your consultation you should ask him important questions about his practice. Firstly, you should inquire about how long he has been a practicing eye surgeon. You should also ask him how long he has been performing Wavefront Lasik procedures. He should have been practicing for a year or two and performed over a hundred procedures, so you can consider him reliable.

You should also inquire about how many successful procedures he has performed. On average, the success rate for eye surgeries that result in perfect (20/20) vision is only 60%. Thus, if the surgeon claims to have a 100% success rate when it comes to all the surgeries he has performed on his patients then perhaps he is a little untrustworthy.

There are many other questions you should ask and you can find these online. Now that you know how to find the right eye surgeon, you should begin searching for one that can perform a Wavefront Lasik procedure for you as soon as possible.

Preoperative:

This isn’t the operation itself yet, but the preparation for it. This usually takes one week before the actual operation. During that week, patients who wear soft contact lenses are usually instructed to stop wearing them. This is to ensure that the measurements of thickness and contours of the cornea itself are accurate with the eye in it’s “natural” state. These measurements are then used by the surgeon to calculate just how much remodeling needs to be done, and exactly where in the cornea.

Operation

Here’s the big day! Now comes what might be the most uncomfortable part of LASIK, and that’s dealing with the nerves of having the operation being performed on you, especially while you are awake. You will not be put to sleep during the process – you’ll be seeing every bit of it, which in itself is a scary prospect. However, you shouldn’t really be nervous, as they’ll be giving you a mild sedative, as well as anesthetic eye drops to make sure your procedure is as comfortable and pain-free as possible.

The Lasik operation itself is performed in the following Steps:

Flap Creation

The first thing the surgeon will do is to make sure the eye doesn’t move around too much during the procedure. This is through the use of a corneal suction ring that holds it in place. During this process your vision will begin to go dim, but don’t panic, as that’s how it’s supposed to go. From there, a small flap is created from your cornea, which is then folded back to reveal the middle section of the cornea itself. This inner section is called the stroma. You might feel a bit uncomfortable with the lifting and folding back of the flap, but it’s still how it’s supposed to feel like, so don’t worry. It is a procedure that has been done on hundreds of thousands of patients.

Laser Remodeling

With the flap successfully created, we’re now at the halfway point of the operation. The next step is the remodeling of the corneal stroma itself. The “remodeling” part of the process is actually done by vaporizing tissue with the excimer laser. This may sound painful but it actually isn’t, since there is no burning or actual cutting required – and the layers of tissue removed are so small, they’re quantified as tens of micrometers thick. That’s pretty thin of a layer. And during this process, you won’t actually see it being performed – all you’ll see is a white light surrounding the orange light of the laser. It might be disorienting for a while, but that is the procedure and it’s only temporary. It sounds a lot worse than it really is.

Repositioning of Flap

Once the remodeling is finished, the flap is repositioned over the treated area by the surgeon. While this is pretty much the final part of the operation, it is just as
important, as the surgeon must check for the presence of air bubbles and debris. The flap itself must fit flush back into the gap. If anything gets under the flap or it doesn’t fit perfectly, the patient is at risk for infection. Once the flap is put back to its original position, however, it’s left to heal on its own.

Postoperative

Congratulations! You’ve just had your very first (and hopefully the last) LASIK Eye surgery done! Now all that’s left is to make sure your eyes heal properly. Usually, patients will be told to sleep much more, and to use a darkened pair of eye shields to protect their eyes from excessive light. Protective goggles will also have to be worn at night to prevent any unconscious rubbing of the eyes during sleep. You will be prescribed Valium pills that will make you drowsy and will make it much easier f or you to sleep more often. And you’ll also have to use prescription eye drops and eye moisturizers to make sure the cornea stays as moist as possible, and to prevent drying.

Wavefront Lasik eye surgery is no joke. One mistake committed by an eye surgeon during a procedure could lead to your eyes becoming permanently damaged or God forbid you going blind. There are numerous ads on various forms of media such as in newspapers, magazines and on the television or radio. They may even offer irresistibly cheap prices.

You must never decide on which surgeon to have eye surgery from based solely on informative or interesting ads and cheap prices. The most important qualification of a good surgeon is his expertise as regards eye surgery and his knowledge regarding the latest and best methods for performing these procedures.

It is best if your surgeon is a member of an academic medical center instead of just being a stand-alone practitioner. A surgeon who belongs to a group of medical professionals is bound to be more up-to-date when it comes to the various procedures for Lasik eye surgery, and is more reliable because there must be standards one must meet to remain a member of a medical center.

WARNING: Don’t Even Think Of Getting Eye Surgery Until You Ask These Questions

Aside from this there are numerous questions you should ask a surgeon before you agree to be operated on by him or her. Firstly, you should inquire on how long he has been a practicing eye surgeon and how many procedures he has done. Ideally he should have been practicing for at least three years and should have performed around five hundred successful surgeries to be trustworthy.

Wavefront Lasik surgery is not a perfect procedure. Normally, only around 65% of patients are able to regain 20/20 vision or better. Should your surgeon claim to have a better success percentage, you should ask for proof of his claim. If he is able to do so, then you might have found yourself the perfect eye surgeon.

You can also find reliable surgeons by asking for referrals from eye doctors whom you trust. Wavefront Lasik eye surgery is a very complicated process that can only be done by experts on the subject matter. Affordability should only be second your list when it comes to your health and your eyesight.

Individuals with eye problems such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism should consider the whole procedure for Wavefront Lasik surgery. This type of eye surgery uses state of the art Wavefront technology and has helped a number of people. One has to be sure about the whole process before engaging in it. This is because, the eyes still have to be in a certain condition before undergoing the procedure.

The most important reminder is: individuals who are planning to undergo a Wavefront Lasik surgery should first consult with a doctor. This is to learn whether or not a person is a candidate for the procedure. Basically, the physician will tell the patient all the necessary precautions, benefits, side-effects and other information about the treatment. A patient should be 18 years old and above to be able to take the surgery.

People who wear contact lenses should be reminded not to wear these weeks prior to their operation. This is because they tend to change the shape of the cornea for a period of time after the first wear. This is to certify the condition of the eyes. Also, one should make sure not to wear anything that can cause any complications to the eyes like creams or make ups.

On the day of the surgery, the patient just needs sit back and relax. They should let the doctor do everything. The whole surgery takes about a few minutes. Although, the patient is to be awake while the surgery, the doctors would make sure that they are mildly sedated and that their eyes are given anesthetics.

How to get through the Aftermath of the Wavefront Lasik Procedure

Even after the surgery, the patient still has to take care of their eyes. They still have duties to accomplish before their eyes can fully function well. The whole operation will leave the eyes inflamed. This should clear up within a week due to prescription drops given by the doctor. A special type of cover will be put on your eyes to prevent the patient from touching his/her eyes.

The eyes would definitely sting for a few days but this is a small price to pay for perfect eyesight. Although patients have experienced the benefits of 20-20 vision, they should still continue to consult their doctor in order to see the eyes’ progress and to prevent any problems. Basically, a patient does not need to worry about anything. The whole procedure of Wavefront Lasik surgery is safe.

Overcorrection is a rare possibility when undergoing Wavefront Lasik eye surgery. A 40-year old friend of mine who was suffering from extreme nearsightedness recently underwent Lasik surgery. She was ecstatic about there being no pain or discomfort throughout the surgical process.

However, she began to notice that there were starbursts or bursts of white light that clouded her vision especially at night. At first, she thought it was just a temporary side effect of the operation. Ten days later, the problems were still there.

Have you ever had Lasik surgery done on your eyes, but find yourself having a difficult time reading or driving at night? If so, you eyes might have been overcorrected. It is best to see your eye surgeon as soon as possible, so he can assess the gravity of your situation.

Overcorrection with Wavefront Lasik Eye Surgery Usually Corrects by Itself

In my friend’s case, the doctor told her that an overcorrection was indeed done on her eyes. He gave her temporary reading glasses, and told her to observe her eyesight for a few more weeks. He told her that overcorrection usually corrects itself over time. Luckily, he was right.

4 weeks after her operation, my friend began bragging to me that she could see like a hawk again. Her face glowed with happiness and her sweet smile became a permanent fixture on her face. She could also join her friends for dinner now, as the starbursts have completely disappeared from her vision.

Once, again she could engage in activities she used to do when she was a young adult like swimming and playing golf, without being burdened with wearing eye glasses or contact lenses. She felt and looked young again. It’s the effect of a successful Wavefront Lasik eye surgery, even with the overcorrection.