Did You Know That You Have Options in Surgical Eye Care Procedures?

The most popular of these eye surgeries is LASIK, but is not the only one by any means. Before you consult with an eye care expert, you need to know your options. Keep in mind that both eyes are not done at once. You will have to have one eye corrected and, after it is healed and focusing, you can look into having your other eye corrected. Eye surgery options which you may want to consider are:

Excimer Laser Procedures are eye surgeries which utilize lasers in reshaping the cornea. This reshaping changes the way that light enters the eye and helps correct focus. The following procedures are Excimer Laser Procedures:

Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis, commonly referred to as LASEK (not to be confused with LASIK, which is different), can be used to treat astigmatism, farsightedness, or nearsightedness. This eye surgery is used if you have flattened or thinned corneas. People who will not get optimal results from LASIK eye surgery are often excellent candidates for LASEK eye surgery. However, it does take a little longer to heal from LASEK eye surgery.

Epi-LASIK eye surgery is done by an eye care professional and is much like LASEK eye surgery. In this eye care procedure, no blade or alcohol is used. Less pain seems to be experienced along with more rapid healing that LASEK eye surgery.

Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, commonly known as LASIK eye surgery, is also used to treat astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness. Lasers are used to reshape your eye in this eye surgery; scalpels and alcohol are used but the surgery is very quick, less than a minute per eye as a general rule.

All Laser LASIK is a LASIK surgery that does not use a scalpel. Like traditional LASIK eye surgery, lasers are used to reshape the eye. Both discomfort and healing time are reduced because surgery only utilizes lasers.

Photorefractive Keratectomy, commonly known as PRK, is used to treat astigmatism, nearsightedness, and mild farsightedness. In this eye surgery, surface tissue is removed from the cornea (reshaping the eye) using a laser. Like LASIK eye surgery, this surgery takes less than a minute per eye as a general rule.

Non-Excimer Laser Procedures are surgeries in which new lenses are actually places in the eye. The eye is then reshaped using radio waves, lasers, or scalpels. The main Non Eximer Laser Procedure is Astigmic Keratotomy, otherwise known as Limbal Relaxing Incisions. This eye surgery is used to help correct mild astigmatism. Scalpels are used to reshape the eye and the surgery is often used as an enhancement to another eye surgery.

If you are considering eye surgery, you need to know all of your options. This list is a general learning tool but it is recommended that you do further research on any surgery you are interested in or your eye care professional suggests. Keep in mind that each surgery is much like the others, but they are all different as well.

While on surgery may be fine for some peoples lifestyle, it may not be fine for yours. For instance, as a general rule, the older surgeries fit budgets better, but have longer healing times. You need to consider all aspects of eye surgery and how they will impact your life. When figuring healing times into the equation, it is best to plan on the longest healing time named for that surgery. Faster healing is just a bonus, while extended time could cause problems with other life events (such as work).