The word Lasik has become very prominently used by eye patients and eye hospitals, as it has become commonly preferred and performed eye surgery, by using lasers. Lasik has become synonymous to Lasik Laser Eye Surgery and its full form is LASer Assisted in Situ-Keratomileusis. The surgery procedure makes use of Lasik Laser Technology, by ophthalmologists, for reshaping the eye cornea for vision improvement. Every Lasik surgeon has to abide the international guidelines for Lasik surgery, without fail and every rule has to be adhered for the patient he or she deals with.
Checklist of Patient Criteria for Lasik Laser Eye Surgery
- The candidate must have completed 18 years of age.
- Patient needs to have the prescription that indicates stable contact lens or glasses, for at least one year past. Surgery is not recommended in case the glasses or lens is changed frequently, as the vision has to reach a stable position.
- Though the candidate is qualified according to age, the surgery is recommended only after one’s eye reaches to stable vision.
- The candidate would be eligible, only one is not under pregnancy period or not a nursing mother.
- In case the candidate is from certain professions, like martial arts, wrestling, boxing or any such activities, where normal occurrences of blows to the eyes and face are possible.
- The most common general chronic diseases diabetes, blood pressure and some other eye related diseases, like Keratoconus, cataract, glaucoma and other rheumatologic conditions should not have affected the patient. One needs to have healthy corneal thickness, eye pressure and retina, in sufficient amounts. Tissue with minimum of RSB (Residual Stromal Bed) of 250 µm is accepted fairly as it must be remained after the Lasik surgery. And conservative approach of a few surgeons prefer to maintain 300 µm.
- The condition above for dry eyes need to be aggravate, after the procedure and hence the patient has to be very careful of refraining from the surgery procedure.
- If the patient has undergone RK, PRK, LASIK or any of refractive surgery, one must consult the doctor to take the decision of going for additional Lasik surgery and it also needs careful previous refractive surgery consideration.
- Patient seeking for the Lasik surgery must not possess any major disorders or diseases of eye, like no autoimmune diseases, no collagen vascular evidence, no recent ocular herpes for eye history, excessive corneal scarring or disease, eye inflammation or infection or dry eyes severely.
- Potential Lasik patient needs to have realistic expectations of vision from the outcomes of the Lasik eye surgery and willing to accept risks, visual side effects, and procedural complications of Lasik surgery.
Every surgeon has to adhere to and follow these guidelines prior to, during and after the Lasik surgery.