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If you currently wear glasses or contact lenses, you know how frustrating it can be to have less-than-perfect vision. Without your corrective lenses, you’re left with blurry vision that can make everyday life challenging. Thankfully, a procedure known as LASIK is available to help correct your vision and prevent the need for glasses or contact lenses. This procedure has been around for many years and works to correct your vision using a laser-guided surgical technique. Here are some of the basics of this procedure and how it can help.
What is LASIK?
LASIK or laser vision correction uses a guided laser to reshape the cornea of your eye, which improves the way that your eye focuses external light rays onto your actual retina. The laser eye surgery is done quickly in-office and requires minimal recovery time. Millions have already had LASIK surgery done and are thrilled with the results that they’ve been able to achieve. Most patients are able to achieve either 20/20 or 20/40 vision, preventing the need for glasses or contacts. Some patients may still need to wear corrective lenses when reading or driving, but this will vary from one person to another.
Is LASIK Right for You?
In order to be eligible for the LASIK procedure, you need to be at least 18 years of age and have diminished eyesight. Certain prescription drugs can interact with the procedure and reduce recovery time. For this reason, it’s important that you speak with your ophthalmologist at Boston Vision to ensure that you’re still a viable candidate to have the procedure completed in-office. You should be healthy enough to undergo laser surgery and should have had an eye exam within the last year. During a consultation at Boston Vision, we can determine if LASIK is right for you. Most patients who want LASIK surgery can easily have the procedure completed.
What is Monovision?
Lasik vision correction is to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses and contacts. If you are approaching the age of 40, you may wonder what about the need for reading glasses later on in my early to mid 40’s?” For patients over age 40, Monovision (with LASIK, PRK, or contact lenses) may be a great choice. Monovision can help the majority of patients achieve good distance and near vision without glasses. Please watch the video to learn more.
What to Expect with LASIK
A complete eye exam is required prior to having LASIK done at Boston Vision by one of our certified ophthalmologists. A thorough consultation is done prior to the procedure, as this is the best time for you to ask any questions you may have. You will need to sign a consent form that addresses any concerns relating to the LASIK procedure during this time.
A special anesthetic that numbs the eye is all that is needed to perform LASIK surgery. This is in the form of an eye drop, so it is comfortable and noninvasive. The surgical procedure itself takes just 12 minutes for both eyes. During the procedure itself, a small suction cup is used to keep the eye in place. A laser is guided to reshape the cornea and the small area that was affected is reattached as needed. No stitches are required, making the procedure easy and quick for most patients who are choosing to have it done.
Meet Dr. Brenner
Dr. Brenner is a board-certified ophthalmologist, specializing in cornea, refractive, and anterior segment surgery. As a cornea specialist, he performs corneal transplants including less invasive partial-thickness procedures like DALK and ultrathin DSEK. He has also been performing corneal cross-linking for keratoconus since it was FDA-approved. His primary interests include LASIK, cataract surgery, the use of the femtosecond laser, sutured intraocular lenses, and anterior segment reconstruction.
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Meet Dr. Keshav
Vinny Keshav MD, MS received his medical education at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio and completed his residency training at Boston Medical Center in Boston. He then completed his Cornea and Refractive Surgery fellowship at Tufts University and Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston. Prior to his career in ophthalmology, he earned a B.S. from Tufts University in biology and biomedical engineering. He also earned an M.S. from the Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in biomedical sciences in Newark, NJ.
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Meet Dr. Melki
Dr. Melki founded Boston Vision in 2000 and has pursued an academically oriented practice since. He joined the Cornea service at Mass Eye and Ear (MEEI) in 2007 as a part-time faculty. Dr. Melki was the Medical Director for Ophthalmology at the UK Specialist Hospitals from 2005 to 2013 where he established and managed quality controls for about 20,000 cataract procedures.
Read MoreRecovery and Aftercare
The recovery time for LASIK is very quick, but it’s recommended that you take a few days off of work to give your eyes time to rest and heal. You may experience some side effects including dry eyes, light sensitivity, and irritation.
The need for rest is especially vital if you work a job that requires you to be staring at a computer screen for hours a day, further drying the area. Special eye drops may be needed to keep the eyes moist while they heal. It’s important to avoid wearing eye makeup for the first two weeks after the surgery and avoid driving until your vision has been restored. It might be essential for you to make several trips back to Boston Vision in order to have aftercare checkups and make sure you’re recovering well.
Get your questions and concerns answered by patients like you who have been through surgery
VISIT VISION LIKE ME LEARN MOREFrequently Asked Questions on LASIK
Although every patient is different, the goal of LASIK is to bring vision to normal, which is 20/20. Some patients may only be able to achieve 20/30 or 20/40 depending on their unique eye condition.
Depending on the condition of your eyes before the procedure, LASIK is performed to return your vision to normal without the use of glasses. However, some visual disorders cannot be corrected by LASIK, and may still require corrective lenses.
Yes. Patients may choose to only receive LASIK treatment in one eye for many reasons, like having a visual disorder in only one eye or wanting to test the benefits of LASIK in one before committing to both.
Yes, you can get LASIK if you have astigmatism and permanently improve your vision. An astigmatism is caused by the shape of the cornea on one or both eyes being asymmetrical.
The appearance of your eyes will not change as a result of LASIK. However, during recovery, some people may involuntarily act as if they were wearing contacts, which astute observers may pick up on.
Schedule a Consultation
LASIK is an excellent option to restore your vision without the need for corrective lenses. To get started on discussing whether LASIK is best for you, schedule an appointment by booking an appointment online or giving us a call at 617-202-2020.
LASIK and PRK procedures are available at our Brookline, Milford, Medford, Wellesley, Burlington, Woburn, and Andover locations.
