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 Who is a candidate for refractive surgery?
You are probably a good candidate for refractive surgery if you are:
- At least 18 years old.
- Have stable vision for one year.
- Have a full eye exam.
- Have a problem (farsightedness, nearsightedness or astigmatism) that can be corrected by refractive surgery.
- Are informed of the benefits and possible complications.
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What is myopia?
Nearsightedness, or myopia, is the most common vision problem, afflicting one in four Americans or about 60 million people. For nearsighted people, distant images are blurry. The condition exists when a misshapen cornea causes converging light rays to focus in front of the retina, the inside back wall of the eye where light receptors are located. Before refractive surgical techniques were developed, eyeglasses and contact lenses were the preferred method of correcting nearsightedness.
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What is astigmatism?
Astigmatism is the result of an eye shaped like a football instead of a basketball. Some portions of the cornea have too much curvature, others not enough. Consequently, light rays focus at several points inside the eye. The result is that objects near and far are out of focus.
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What is excimer laser surgery and how does it differ from RK (Radial Keratotomy) surgery?
Ophthalmologists use the excimer (cold) laser to reshape the cornea, the clear tissue on the front of the eye. Laser bursts last only billionths of a second. Microscopic layers of the cornea are vaporized to obtain the proper curvature of the cornea. The laser, which is programmed according to the patient's corrective prescription, completes its task in only 30 to 120 seconds. The result is a reshaped cornea that correctly focuses light rays on receptors on the inside back wall of the eye. The excimer laser also is much more precise than RK (Radial Keratotomy) surgery, which is performed by hand with a scalpel. This older technique involved a series of incisions in the cornea, in order to change the cornea’s curvature. RK is less accurate than excimer laser surgery.
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How do LASIK and PRK surgery differ?
Excimer lasers are used in two surgical procedures: Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK). As many as two million excimer laser surgeries have been performed worldwide. PRK uses the excimer laser to vaporize a microscopic layer on the front of the cornea. No corneal flap is created. This slightly older technique has no risk from rare flap complications, but has a longer healing time, increased discomfort and greater risk of haze than in the LASIK procedure.
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What is an enhancement?
This refers to a procedure performed several weeks after your LASIK surgery, in which your correction may be fine-tuned and improved. The surgeon lifts the flap and applies additional laser. This procedure is painless and occurs only 10 - 35% of the time, depending on your level of myopia and the individual healing of your eye. There is no additional charge for this procedure. This and all other costs are included in the $1,600 fee.
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Doesn't all surgery involve some risk?
Yes. In rare cases refractive surgery may result in loss of vision or infection. There also are possible side effects, including fluctuating vision, occasional halos around lights at night, temporary pain and sensitivity to light and glare, some post surgical pain and other effects lasting up to six months such as hazy vision and minor glare. Side effects typically diminish as the eye heals. Complications are rare, but can include infection, inadequate healing, unstable vision and progressive over-correction. We recommend you discuss with your ophthalmologist all potential side effects and complications to fully understand the relative risks of refractive surgery.
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How long does it take to recover from laser surgery?
Many patients are able to return to work the next day with little or no discomfort. Most patients recover fully in three days to two weeks following excimer laser surgery. Occasionally vision may take several weeks to fully stabilize.
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Is there pain?
The surgical procedures themselves are virtually painless. The eye is anesthetized with drops. In LASIK surgery, the patient hears a clicking sound as the laser does its work. Some mild soreness may be experienced after the surgery, but is alleviated with medication.
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 Will refractive surgery eliminate the need for reading glasses?
Refractive surgery cannot correct the problem of poor reading ability (presbyopia), which often occurs in middle age requiring reading glasses. (Monovision correction is possible, though. See below)
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Will my insurance pay?
Most insurance programs do not cover refractive surgery because the procedures are performed on healthy organs and therefore not considered medically necessary.
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What is monovision?
Can you do himself or Persuasive Essay you can find more. . Buy cheap host for your business . Flyttning och städning . Forex online system trading Normally both eyes are corrected for distance during the LASIK procedure. Getting rid of distance glasses or contact lenses is the most important element of the procedure for most people. The LASIK procedure is not able to correct the need for reading glasses which commonly occurs when people reach their mid to late 40’s. For people who would like to minimize the need for their reading glasses, we can perform a modified laser correction on one of the eyes to allow that eye to see near objects well. In this way, one eye is corrected for distance, and one for near vision. This arrangement is not for everyone, and testing pre-operatively can be undertaken to see if this would be an appropriate option for an individual patient. This should be discussed at length with your LASIK surgeon. Dr. Keller and his staff make sure all your questions are answered prior to your procedure.
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What are "intacs"?
This is an alternative refractive surgery procedure for people who have very low levels of nearsightedness. Most nearsighted people will not qualify for this technique. Small plastic semicircular inserts are placed within the substance of the cornea. No laser is used. This is a newly approved procedure, and little long-term data is available on its success at this point.
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What are intraocular contact lenses?
These lenses are actually placed inside the eye along with the eye’s natural lens. This surgery is appropriate for patients with extreme levels of nearsightedness and farsightedness. This procedure is currently in limited clinical studies and not generally available.
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How do I schedule an appointment?
Telephone Dr. Keller.
Consultations are free.
Dr. Keller (714) 633-5696
Or … Click Here
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