What does a LASIK evaluation entail? This is a common question we receive from patients who visit Eye Care Solutions. During this comprehensive eye examination, our optometrist will evaluate and determine the health of your eye. At the same time, he will assess your eyeglasses prescription and make sure that you qualify for LASIK.
LASIK surgery is an outpatient procedure designed to eliminate or reduce your need for contacts or glasses. Typically with computer-controlled exactitude, an excimer laser is used to gently reshape your cornea to correct astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness.
To qualify for this procedure, you should be 18 years or older. Your eyes should be healthy, and your eye prescription over the past year must have remained stable.
What a LASIK examination entails
During your LASIK test, Dr. Vishal Patel will review your medical history and evaluate your cornea. The consultation will last about two to three hours. During this session, our optometrist will assess your eyes, vision, and general health to determine whether LASIK surgery is best for you.
Below is a list of the kind of information our optometrist will collect regarding your eyes during the consultation. With this information, Dr. Patel is able to make recommendations about the options available to correct your vision.
Let’s dive in and explore:
Your eyes’ ability to focus
Since you wear contact lenses or glasses, you’ve done some of the exams before, but for an accurate reading, we will administer various tests to measure your vision. In addition to manual refraction, we use digital eye analyzers to measure refraction. This process will check the quality of your vision and how light disperses upon entering your eye. This analysis is used to determine the best way to rectify your vision.
Eye dilation
For this procedure, our optometrist uses one to two drops of medication to enlarge your pupils. This enables him to see the lens, the area behind your pupil, the retina, and the back area of the eye. During your consultation, refraction (vision measurements) is done again while your eye gets dilated. Generally, these measurements are more accurate and will help in confirming the first refraction.
The eye front
Due to their precision, the high-resolution scans can evaluate your eye tissues at the micron level. Images of the eye surface and lens are captured as you look into several high-definition digital scanners.
These images will aid in the evaluation of the cornea (a tear film found on the eye surface), the eyelid health, and may even help to determine the early formation of cataracts. The scans offer elaborate data about the shape, thickness, and curvature of the cornea– that is the front area of the eye.
The eye surface
A tear film covering the eye is vital for cornea health. As LASIK procedure reshapes the cornea, a tear film is necessary for supporting healing after surgery. Nowadays, technology is available for thorough evaluation of the composition of the tear film and volume to determine that your eyes are in the best state before surgery.
Inside the eye
To help capture images of the retina, you will need to gaze into a digital camera. Your retina is a structure inside the eye, behind the eyeball, that sends light rays entering the eye and prompts nerve impulses for the brain to see images. These digital images get used in evaluating the function and health of your retina.
Other measurements
Our optometrist will use a high-powered microscope to analyze the different eye structures in detail. This test will screen for various conditions such as diabetes, allergies, glaucoma, pink eye, and macular degeneration. Additional high-definition exams will measure the pupil size and proportions of the eyeball (width, length, etc.).
Is LASIK safe?
This laser correction surgery has few, if any, complications. Although our optometrist will offer you the best possible outcome for your surgery, no doctor can guarantee specific optical acuity.
For individuals with specific medical conditions and pregnant or women who are nursing (in the past three months), LASIK is not recommended.
