Pre-LASIK Eye Exam - A LASIK Evaluation is Necessary

Pre-LASIK Eye Exam - A LASIK Evaluation is Necessary

You will be required to take a Pre-LASIK Evaluation to determine whether your eyesight problems could be corrected with Lasik surgery. Many people assume that LASIK replaces contacts or glasses, and this is not always the case-- because there are some problems that cannot be corrected with LASIK. You will need to have a Pre-LASIK evaluation done by a licensed eye doctor or vision correction center to determine whether the conditions you have will be correctable.

Because LASIK surgery can vary in procedure and expense, a Pre-LASIK evaluation will help determine which method and how much correction you can expect, as well as predict any possible side effects.

A Pre-LASIK Evaluation determines several things:

1. Your visual capabilities-- with or without corrective measures
2. Pupil measurement, to see how large your pupil gets during low light
3. Dry eyes
4. Corneal topography, to analyze cornea shape, thickness, and irregularities
5. Dilated eye exam

The pupil measurement is important to make sure your pupil is not going to expand beyond the treatment area of LASIK. A Colvard Pupillometer may be used to measure precisely and is considered the best method available for measuring dilation.

Since excessive dry eyes will slow healing of the LASIK surgery, a tear film and dry eye analysis is done in a Pre-LASIK evaluation. Problems of this nature must be corrected prior to surgery. In the Pre-LASIK Evaluation they may determine you would be a better candidate for IntraLase Lasik, which costs more, but there is less dry eye associated with IntraLase or iLasik surgery.

A final step in the Pre-LASIK evaluation is a cycloplegic dilated eye exam, a pupil dilation exam where the pupil is dilated without affecting the lens behind it, to analyze the lens for correction purposes. This is an important part in the success of the LASIK surgery.

A Pre-LASIK evaluation not only determines whether you are a good candidate for LASIK but also what type of LASIK surgery procedure would correct your vision problems. The degree of correction depends on how much vision impairment and what type you have. Because LASIK involves removing some corneal tissue, it may often correct astigmatisms, or can make them worse. It is important to your eye doctor to have a Pre-LASIK evaluation that lets everyone be able to expect the outcome with minimal risk of side effects.

By Becki Andrus

Pre-LASIK Eye Exam - A LASIK Evaluation is Necessary