Are You a Good Candidate for Refractive Laser Eye Surgery?
Wondering if you make a good candidate for refractive laser eye surgery? Wondering if it’s the best option for you? There are a few necessary criteria for the surgery and patients are divided into groups of ideal candidate, not so ideal but still can be done, might be a candidate as technology advances or other changes take place, the patient who will not be able to have this type of corrective surgery. Let’s examine the criteria for each group so you can see which one you fall in to and if you are a likely candidate for surgery.
The ideal candidate is over 18, not only because of age of consent but because eyes are in a state of change prior to that age. The patient must have had a stable prescription for preferably 2 years prior to the surgery. There must be sufficient corneal thickness without scarring or trauma as a flap is made in the cornea during the correction. The patient should not have an autoimmune disorder such as Lupus or Sjogren’s Syndrome or be taking any medications such as steroids or other immunosuppressants for the same. An ideal candidate will have an uncomplicated prescription that falls within the FDA approved category for correction. Myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia are the conditions that are most amenable to refractive laser eye surgery.
Most of all, any patient considering this type of corrective surgery must have reasonable expectations of what the surgery can do. The procedure is highly effective, but not 100% guaranteed to give you perfect 20/20 vision. The goal is to reduce the dependence on eyeglasses and contacts, not totally eliminate them.
The not so ideal candidate can still have the surgery done, depending on how severe the pre-existing condition is. If you already suffer from dry eyes, this may not be the right choice for you. Almost half of patients who have this correction will have increased dry eyes for 6 months following the surgery. So, if you already suffer from this it will be worse afterward. The condition can be helped with artificial tears as well as prescription eye drops. An autoimmune disease affects how your body heals which in turn would affect the outcome of the surgery. If your condition is under control, you may still be a candidate as long as you take into consideration the healing process and outcome.
There is a group of patients who are not eligible for the surgery at present, but may be later on as technology changes and/or their own situation changes. Patients who are under 18, have not had a stable prescription for over 2 years, or are pregnant or nursing will potentially be able to have the surgery at a later date.
Patients who are not good candidates and who shouldn’t have the procedure done at all have pre-existing eye diseases that threaten vision such as cataracts, advanced glaucoma, corneal disease, corneal thinning disorders (keratoconus or pellucid marginal degeneration). These are treated differently and corrective surgery such as refractive laser eye surgery would not be a viable option.
