Lasik Eye Surgery on the News

Custom Lasik procedure was accepted by the Food and Drug Administration last September 2005. Because of this latest innovation, patients who were before declined for the conventional Lasik surgery can now be treated. This procedure can correct severe myopia or nearsightedness. Nearsightedness takes place when the eye is very long and the light rays are directed to the front of the retina rather than on the retina.

Some indications of myopia are inability to see things at a distance, squinting to better see an object and eye strain. Seeing at night becomes a challenge. This condition can be easily corrected by wearing contacts and glasses. But many people find its use very inconvenient. It is a liberating feeling to start the day seeing everything clearly. And this is what drives everyone to try this latest technology which has made so much difference in people’s lives. It has greatly improved their quality of life and are now able to do so much not any more deterred by missing contacts or misplaced or broken glasses.

The FPD has also accepted the Lasik procedure for treating astigmatism. Astigmatism is caused by an irregularly formed cornea brought about if a person’s eye is similarly formed as a football, rather than being shaped like a circle. Light waves received are directed on two points of the eye rather than being focused in just one point. This defect results in poor vision, double vision or seeing shadows when reading.

Latest innovations on contact lenses have helped people with severe astigmatism. Yet contact lenses cannot correct every patient’s eye defects. With the revolutionized Lasik technology patients now have a chance to restore their vision to the usual or at the very least make it possible to use contact lenses without any discomfort. Both ways, the patient’s vision is improved and a lot of people are just so grateful to be able to see without the cumbersome glasses or just wear contacts or better yet, nothing at all.

Another approved method of surgery is Lasik surgery for hyperopia or farsightedness. This is also brought about by an irregular curvature of the cornea which causes the light rays be focused at the back of the retina, rather than on the retina. This will result to distorted vision. Some people with severe hyperopia have to put what they are reading afar from their face. Others have to use a magnifying glass to see things that are already so close to them, which is a cause of embarrassment to many.

They can see someone when they are 30 feet away, but would not recognize you when you are already right up their face. It makes one feel anxious of going blind. Although this condition can be treated with prescription glasses to be able to see things close by, it is really difficult to keep on taking it off when you have to look at a distance. Sometimes you forget about them and misplace them. Securing them with a chain around your neck makes you feel ancient and insecure, bringing your morale to the floor. So having an eye surgery is something that a lot of individuals desire to correct their eye defects. Before, that alternative was not easily available to them.

Tremendous breakthroughs produce a highly advance laser procedure, the Visx STAR Excimer, which was recently approved by the FDA. This new technology enables the doctors to treat their patients better. Today, they are capable of restructuring the eye to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, which before was not possible for patients not qualified for the Lasik procedure. Now they have a reason to rejoice as they can now be in the ranks of those people who have been freed from eyesight problems through Lasik procedure.

Research by the FDA show that more than 98% of patients who have done these procedures are now able to see with a 20/40 or better vision half a year after surgery, while over 84% are seeing much better than 20/20 after six months.

A lot of people love to move freely without the inconvenience and hassles of wearing glasses and contacts. They want the use of their own eyes, pure and unencumbered. Lasik has brought the realization of these dreams and an improved quality of life.