Factors That Can Affect the Success of LASIK Surgery

If you no longer wish to wear corrective lenses, you may be able to have a LASIK procedure to correct your vision. While LASIK is a widely available corrective eye surgery, not everyone who wants it is a good candidate for it. This information can help you determine if it’s right for you.

Need Healthy Eyes

Anyone considering LASIK surgery needs to have healthy eyes since their condition can affect the recovery time after surgery. If your surgery is scheduled and you’ve had an eye injury, they are dry, or you have an eye infection such as conjunctivitis or pinkeye, you should reschedule your surgery and have it when the condition is resolved. If you have chronic dry eyes, you may not be a good condition for surgery as it can aggravate the condition.

Adequate Cornea Thickness

The LASIK procedure corrects vision by reshaping the surface of the cornea. If the cornea is too thin and the surgery is done, then it can permanently impair your vision. However, if you’ve been told in the past that your corneas were too thin for LASIK in San Antonio, have them checked again since there have been many improvements in the procedure due to technology. There are other options if the surgery is still not an option for you.

Refractive Errors within Limits

Although the surgery can be performed on people with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, your prescription must be within acceptable limits. The results of LASIK for those with high refractive errors can be unpredictable and another type of corrective surgery may be a better option. Also, too much cornea tissue may need to be removed for those whose eyes have high levels of myopia, which puts patients at risk for complications.

Within Age Range

To have certain LASIK procedures, you should be at 18 years old; however, other procedures may require you to be 21 years old. There isn’t an upper age limit but most people in their 40s may require reading glasses if they develop presbyopia. Also, after menopause, women have a tendency to have dry eyes. Older men’s eyes can become drier too and LASIK can worsen the problem.

Be in Good Health

It is also important that your overall health is good to be a candidate for LASIK. People with conditions that can complicate the healing process may not be good candidates for the surgery. Medical conditions that can affect healing after the procedure include autoimmune diseases such as: