Lasik Surgery Berkeley, laser vision correction

LASIK surgery is a procedure that tries to reduce a patient’s dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

LASIK is an acronym that stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and it permanently modifies the shape of the person’s cornea, the transparent outer layers of the front part of the eye, this is accomplished using a laser. Either a mechanical or laser keratome (cutting device) is used to cut a flap in the cornea. A hinge is left at one of the sides of the flap, it is folded back to reveal the stroma, the middle section of the cornea. Using computer controlled pulses from a laser, parts of the stroma are vaporized and once the right amount has been reduced, the flap is replaced.

Taking into account that it requires less time for the patient’s recovery, and the patient feels less pain overall, laser vision correction procedures are preferred to photorefractive keratectomy. There are a number of LASIK clinics around USA, including Lasik Surgery Berkeley options.

You’ll find many refractive surgery centers advertised in newspapers, radio, TV and online. Check their adds and prices, but do not use these as the only guidance to choose a surgeon.

Check if the doctors are associated with an academic medical center, such as a teaching hospital or a hospital that is renowned for its high technology, that way they’ll be more likely to be up-to-date on new procedures, techniques and the most recent information on the laser vision correction.

Though many companies make it sound like it’s a flap-and-zap treatment, it still is surgery, so choose a doctor with credentials, you can also ask for a referral from your regular optometrist or ophthalmologist, tell them you want to find a LASIK specialist in your area and with the best reputation. You can also use the American Academy of Ophthalmology website www.aao.org and look for refractive surgery under specialty.

LASIK (Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) has assisted an enormous amount of people all over the world reduce their use of glasses or contacts. It still is an operation with some serious risks, plus it is done on an eye that is otherwise healthy and that has non-intrusive alternatives for correction: glasses and contact lenses. There are many variables involved and there is no way to conclusively say what the outcome of any given procedure will be.

Considering that there is no central database with results from LASIK operations, what is known regarding visual acuity are based on a series of clinical studies and those that the FDA requires laser manufacturers to do in order to merit approval.

The FDA has approved lasers used in LASIK to treat myopia and hyperopia accompanied by astigmatism or not. The best results in general are seen on people with low to moderate myopia or hyperopia.

Depending on the laser used, percentages of LASIK patients obtaining 20/20 vision or better in FDA clinical trials have varied from approximately 40% to over 80%. Those achieving 20/40 vision or better has gone from around 75% to over 95%.

As people that originally enrolled in the series of FDA studies have different conditions, results are not directly comparable, the most recent results are surely better as laser eye correction surgeons have more experience and the LASIK lasers have improved.

Below you’ll see the results obtained for the various laser vision surgeries. Most experts inform that current numbers are probably better than the ones presented.

Patient Results Three Months After Treatment Procedure

• LASIK for myopia  – 20/20 or Better : 42.0% to 84.8%  – 20/40 or Better : 76.8% to 99.4%
• LASIK for hyperopia  – 20/20 or Better :  48.8% to 58.3 – 20/40 or Better : 93.4% to 98.3%
• PRK for myopia and hyperopia*  – 20/20 or Better : 67% (approx.)  – 20/40 or Better : 95% (approx.)

Source: *American Academy of Ophthalmology

LASIK as many operations, your starting point affects your ending point, that is, results are affected by your health, your lifestyle, your eyes in particular and your current eyesight. As will all other operations, your surgeon’s skill and experience is a major factor. The best way to determine what you can expect from a Lasik Surgery in Berkeley and elsewhere is to take a look at yourself and your specialist surgeon, those will determine your eye correction results.

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