Rohr Eye Laser Center – Doing Business In Michigan

Preventing Complications With Proper Care After LASIK

Eye care after laser vision correction is crucial in ensuring the success of your surgery. Complications can occur with LASIK but are lessened with proper care before, during, and after the procedure. One of the most important aspects comes just hours after the surgery. It is recommended to rest for a minimum of four hours after surgery. Take a nap and rest your eyes. Some patients choose to wear protective eye shields.

Eye shields are recommended to use when sleeping for the first few days after surgery to prevent unnecessary rubbing from occurring. It is crucial to prevent any eye-rubbing while your eyes are healing after laser surgery. It is important not to rush recovery which is easy to do since most patients experience a return in eyesight quite quickly.

Post LASIK care has a great deal of importance, it is as important as the surgery itself. In order to receive the most out of your LASIK experience follow the tips below.

Plan Follow-Up Appointments: Appointments will be scheduled to follow up with your eye doctor/surgeon during the first three months after the surgical procedure. After this time period annual eye exams are necessary to ensure the health of your eyes.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders: Along with keeping follow up appointments with your LASIK surgeon it is imperative to schedule appointments with your primary eye doctor, ophthalmologist to keep up on changes in your vision. Annual eyes exams allow future issues to be caught quickly and immediately.

LASIK Healing Timeline

The First Week: Rest your eyes. Use prescribed eye drops to prevent dry eyes, infection, and inflammation. If you experience any issues, big or small, immediately call your LASIK surgeon.
Months After: Continue to follow up with your eye doctor and report changes that occur during the healing process. Monitoring the health, comfort, and vison changes of your eyes is necessary for preventing complications.

Returning to Normal After LASIK

For many patients they will return to work within a day or two of the LASIK procedure. The restrictions below are a guide to follow until you are feeling ready to return to normal activities.

Don’t drive until your LASIK eye surgeon says your vision has returned. This normally occurs within a day or two.
Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes all the time but especially the first week after LASIK.
Use restraint in reading and computer usage for the first days after your procedure.
Makeup should not be worn for at least a week after laser vision correction surgery.
As stated above do not rub your eyes for at least once a month after LASIK.
Exercise should be avoided for at least once a week. Contact sports should be avoided for a month.
Patients should avoid swimming, hot tubs, or whirlpools for a week after LASIK surgery.
Prevent dust and dirty environment to help eliminate the risk of getting something in your eye while your eye heals.

Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to suit your lifestyle and visual needs. As a leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery, our goal is to help you achieve the best vision possible without glasses or contact lenses. More information can be found online at https://michiganlasik.com.

Do the Benefits of Glaucoma Surgery Outweigh the Risks?

As with any surgical procedure there are potential risks that need to be weighed against the benefits, Glaucoma is no different. Even the most advanced cases of Glaucoma can be treated, patients need to collaborate with their eye surgeon to ensure the benefits offset the risks.

Glaucoma is a disease that is associated with aging. It is a disease of the eye that causes advanced decline of the optic nerve. The optic nerve which is at the back of the eye carries the visual message from the retina to your brain. Glaucoma is caused by increased pressure within the eye that doesn’t provide an environment for the nerve’s health.

In order to treat Glaucoma, the IOP (intraocular pressure) must be lowered. Lowering the intraocular pressure prevents (or slows) the damage to the optic nerve. Treating Glaucoma begins with the use of medication. If this fails to treat or your eyes do not tolerate the treatment your ophthalmologists will often turn to surgical procedures.

There are two different types of surgery that can be performed to treat Glaucoma. One method is using a miniscule incision into the trabeculectomy. This can be done with or without the ExPRESS microshunt implantation, tube shunt implantation (which is a glaucoma drainage device), and cyclophotocoagulation. Another surgical Glaucoma procedure that is often performed is known as MIGS, or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. Surgical procedures all have their own unique set of risks and rewards. Before you have any surgical procedure on your eye, especially for the treatment of Glaucoma, it is important to have talk with your surgeon about your specific diagnosis and the benefits and dangers of the specific Glaucoma surgery best for your specific situation.

Glaucoma Surgery Benefits Outweigh the Risks in Most Situations Even in Advanced Cases

There are risks involved with any surgery however, the results with Glaucoma surgery are typically successful. Success in Glaucoma surgery slows the progression of the disease. Success means that the intended eye pressure was achieved. If Glaucoma was left untreated, the loss of your vision is almost guaranteed. Surgery can help to prevent additional vision loss, often improving your vision. This however is temporary as the damage with Glaucoma has already occurred and is permanent. Surgery doesn’t reverse the damage it does however slow down the progression.

Although side effects do occur with Glaucoma, they are rare. Here is a list of occasional side effects that patients have reported:

• Vision Loss

• Bleeding

• Infection

• Eye Pressure

• Scarring

• Cataracts

Answering Questions Common to LASIK Surgery

Preparing for any surgical procedure comes with its fair share of anxiety, LASIK is no different. Laser surgery for vision correction has a number of benefits. Knowing the end benefit, vision without corrective contact lenses or glasses, is only half the battle. Preparation ahead of time to put your mind at ease is the other half. Below we will answer the top questions we get during LASIK consultations. As always, if you have questions that did not get answered during your FREE consultation with the LASIK specialists at Rohr Eye & Laser Center, patients can call the office at any time.

Will LASIK hurt?

The number one question we are asked involved the pain level that is experienced with LASIK. The truth is that most patients experience very little pain or discomfort during surgery. In fact, many patients explain the sensation as a slight pressure that is felt as the laser is reshaping the cornea. Of course, everyone’s pain tolerance is different but overall this is the experience patients have described after their procedure.

What occurs during the LASIK procedure?

The actual LASIK procedure itself is fairly quick and easy. Numbing drops are applied to the eyes. Once this occurs, doctors will cut a very thin flap on the surface of the cornea. The surgeon will use the laser to shape the cornea according to the prescription from the most recent eye exam. After this is finished the eye surgeon will carefully place the flap back into place and perform the same procedure on the other eye. Lasers are used in both the creation of the flap and shaping the cornea although in the past a thin blade had been used to create the flap.

Is LASIK performed on both eyes at the same time?

YES! Laser vision correction can be performed on both eyes at one time. With LASIK, vision improvement is virtually instantaneous, and healing is minimal. During LASIK the laser is only used for about 60 seconds per eye. Although LASIK can be performed on both eyes at the same time some patients prefer to have one eye done at a time. This is possible however, rare.

Do surgeons use anesthesia during LASIK?

No, anesthesia is not given during the LASIK procedure but instead eye drops are put into the eye just prior to the procedure. Some patients with higher levels of anxiety about the procedure require oral medication to be given for relaxation. Needles and intravenous drugs are not required.

How long does the LASIK process take?

LASIK is a quick process surprisingly. On average the procedure can take less than 15 minutes once the patient is settled in the treatment room. The laser aspect of the procedure usually takes less than 60 seconds per eye.

If I blink during LASIK what happens?

Surgeons use a speculum to keep patients’ eyes from blinking. Some patients remark that there is a slight pressure from the speculum. Patients are told to focus on a blinking light throughout the procedure. Movements of the eye are expected, lasers that are used include an eye tracker which accounts for movement and helps to ensure accurate delivery of laser pulses.

What are the side effects of LASIK?

Although infrequently experienced there are some side effects that patients experience following LASIK. The most common side effect is dry eye which is easily remedied through over-the-counter artificial tears. Rare side effects include:

Inconsistent vision
Difficult night vision with halos
Sensitivity to light

What Should I Expect at My LASIK Consultation?

When you seek a consultation from a surgeon specializing in LASIK it is to determine if you are a candidate for laser vision corrections surgery. If it is determined that you are a candidate, the surgeon will begin discussing the most appropriate surgical option to correct your unique vision issue. During the consultation you will be educated on the benefits and risks of LASIK surgery. It is important to remember that a consultation with a LASIK surgeon does not obligate you to have the procedure nor does it mean that you are no longer able to ask questions and gather more information. A consultation is the starting point into the process of determining if surgery is the vision correction route best suited for you.

Candidates must meet a certain set of criteria before they are considered for LASIK which includes:

Age:

LASIK candidates must be eighteen years or older.

Health:

In order to be a candidate for LASIK, patients must be generally healthy. They should be free of health problems such as diabetes, vascular disease, autoimmune disease, or on medication that interferes with the immune response.

Eye Health/Problems:

Candidates should also be free of eye disease including: glaucoma, cataracts, corneal diseases, retinal and optic nerve disease, or keratoconus. They should also not have eye conditions such as herpes zoster and simplex. Surgeons will do an eye exam before surgery however, it is important that candidates inform them of issues such as lazy eye, eye muscle imbalance, and other eye conditions that can affect healing. Candidates should also inform eye surgeons of other health issues such as mental health or issues with health. Obviously, the eye should also be free of any injury or infection. Dry eye should also not affect candidates.

Pregnancy/Nursing:

If you are pregnant or nursing you will not be eligible for LASIK. In fact, LASIK candidates must have had at least three menstrual cycles after they are done nursing and not expecting in order to be eligible for laser surgery. Pregnancy hormones may affect the effectiveness of your prescription which also makes them ineligible for LASIK.

Stable Vision:

LASIK vision candidates need to have had stable vision for at least one year before they are considered for laser vision surgery procedures.

Contacts:

In order for patients to have LASIK they must stop wearing their contacts for at least two weeks prior to the surgery. This helps to stabilize the cornea and will give surgeons an accurate valuation of your prescription prior to the procedure.

LASIK is a viable option in the treatment of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms. The goal of LASIK is to reduce the dependency of glasses and contacts with the end goal of 20/20 vision, although this is not guaranteed.