Will I have 20/20 vision following laser vision correction?
The goal of any refractive surgical procedure is to reduce your dependence on corrective lenses. However, we cannot guarantee you will have 20/20 vision as a result. Our commitment to you is that we will not perform laser vision correction on you or anyone we feel does not have a good possibility of achieving independence from glasses and contacts. The vast majority of our patients are extremely happy with their results and can do most activities without dependence on corrective lenses after laser vision correction.

Is laser vision correction safe?
There are possible risks with any surgical procedure. Serious complications with LASIK are extremely rare. The chance of having a vision-reducing complication from LASIK has been documented in clinical studies to be less than one percent. Many of the risks and complications associated with this procedure can be reduced or eliminated through careful patient selection and thorough pre-operative testing using the latest diagnostic technology. After laser vision correction, you may experience some visual side effects. These are usually mild and most often diminish over a few days to a few weeks. But there is a slight chance that some of these side effects won't go away completely, such as feelings of dryness, glare and halos. If after a thorough examination we decide you are a good candidate for laser vision correction, you will be given additional information about the procedure that will allow you to make an informed decision about whether to proceed. Be sure you have all your questions answered to your satisfaction.

What is the IntraLase method used in iLASIK?
The IntraLase Method is a 100% blade-free technique used to perform the critical first step in the LASIK procedure: creating the corneal flap. The IntraLase Method uses tiny, rapid pulses of laser light to create your corneal flap-instead of using a microkeratome-during the first step of LASIK. A microkeratome is essentially a hand-held steel blade that moves across the cornea to create a flap. As it cuts, the blade oscillates back and forth, which can leave an irregular surface after the flap is lifted. This can affect the quality of your postoperative vision. Because of the unique way in which the IntraLase Method creates a precisely positioned layer of bubbles just beneath the surface of your eye, it creates a smooth even surface after your flap is lifted. With the IntraLase Method, a blade never touches your eye. This customized approach leaves the patient with better vision. The creation of the flap itself takes only about 15-30 seconds per eye.

What about nighttime side-effects?
You have probably seen news stories about people having difficulty driving at night after refractive surgery. Nighttime side-effects may include halos, starbursts, and glare around lights and blurry vision. Some of these can be caused higher order aberrations (imperfections). These effects usually diminish as the eye heals in the first three to six months. With Customvue LASIK, four times as many patients were satisfied with their night vision than with glasses or contact lenses! Another possible cause of nighttime side-effects is pupil size. At night, the pupil expands to let in more light. Light coming through the peripheral cornea may be out of focus if the pupil opens beyond the laser treatment area. This is why some patients are not good candidates for LASIK if they have very large pupils. However, our advanced laser technology has expanded treatment zones to the widest optical zone therefore patients that were at one time not candidates for LASIK because they had large pupils, can now be treated.

Does LASIK cause dry eye?
Following a LASIK procedure, every patient has temporary dry eye, which can be treated most often with artificial tears. This dry eye sensation usually clears up in eight to 12 weeks except in rare cases, where it may take longer. Patients with pre-existing dry eye may not be good candidates for LASIK, but may be candidates for PRK or LASEK. If you have dry eye, you should discuss it with your doctor at your pre-op examination. Tests can often diagnose dry eye but it is still somewhat difficult to predict who will experience significant dry eye following LASIK. A thorough evaluation of your current medications, medical history and work environment should all be taken into account.

Will it hurt?
There is no pain during any of the laser vision procedures since anesthetic eye drops numb your eyes, although some patients may experience mild discomfort or a pressure sensation during their procedure. After LASIK, you might experience mild irritation for a few days. An over-the-counter pain reliever or use of artificial tears will generally take care of this discomfort. PRK and LASEK patients experience more post-operative discomfort for three to five days while the epithelium heals.

How long does the procedure take?
Once in the laser room your eyes will be cleaned and prepared for surgery. The surgery itself usually only takes five minutes or so per eye. The excimer laser is being applied to your eye for just a few seconds. You will need to show up a least half an hour before your procedure so that we can get you relaxed and ready.

Do I have to go without my contacts before having laser vision correction?
If you are wearing hard or gas permeable contacts, it's important that you remove them at least three weeks prior to your exam. Soft lenses should be out for at least two weeks before your exam. Soft toric lenses may need to be out longer. Your doctor will advise you how long you need to be out of your contacts prior to your exam and prior to your surgery.

How old do I have to be for laser vision correction?
You need to be over 18 years of age, and your glasses or contact lens prescription should not have changed in the last year. If your eye is still changing from year to year, you should not have the procedure until the cornea is stable.

Can I have laser vision correction while I am pregnant or trying to conceive?
Pregnancy can affect your vision, therefore if you are pregnant or trying to conceive, you should not have laser vision correction. You should wait several months after your pregnancy or after you finish nursing before having laser vision correction.

How long will the results of the surgery last?
Laser vision correction is considered to be permanent. However, your eyes can still change as you age which may cause a need for glasses or contacts or additional vision correction procedures in the future. As people reach their early forties, they develop presbyopia and begin to need reading glasses. If you're over 40, you may want to consider monovision.

If I choose to have monovision, does that mean I'll never need reading glasses?
Not necessarily. The effects of presbyopia continue to worsen as you get older, whether or not you have monovision. At some point in time, reading glasses or another vision correction procedure may become necessary. The benefit to having monovision is that there won't be a complete dependence on glasses for close vision. Many who have monovision are able to see well enough both at a distance and near to do things at any age without corrective lenses.