(HealthDay News) — LASIK eye surgery reduces a person’s need to wear glasses or contact lenses. But an improvement in vision often isn’t quick.The U.S. National Library of Medicine says here’s what you can expect after the procedure:  

• Initially, the affected eye may burn, itch or feel like you’ve got something in it. Avoid rubbing the eye under any circumstance.
• You may have hazy or blurry vision on the day of the surgery. But it should subside soon afterward.
• You may need to wear a protective shield over your eye until your follow-up appointment with the doctor, which typically is 24 hours to 48 hours after surgery. If you have severe pain after the procedure, do not wait for the follow-up appointment to call your doctor.
• You shouldn’t drive until you can see clearly.
• Avoid using hot tubs or whirlpools, swimming, playing sports, and wearing cosmetics or lotions around the eyes for two to four weeks after the surgery.
• Expect that your vision may not fully stabilize for three to six months.

– Diana Kohnle  

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The U.S. National Library of Medicine says the following factors make candidates more likely to benefit from LASIK:

• People aged 18 or older.
• Women who aren’t pregnant or breast-feeding.
• People who aren’t taking certain medications, including prednisone or Accutane.
• People who have healthy eyes and a lens prescription that doesn’t change often.
• People who don’t have chronic health problems such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
• People who are unhappy wearing contact lenses or glasses, and have realistic expectations of surgery results.

– Diana Kohnle

I liked them, that is, until a thunderstorm blew through our neighborhood recently and knocked out the power. I got up in the middle of night, blind as a bat, grasping around for my lifeline. After several moments of panicky fumbling, I woke my sleeping husband.

“Help me find my glasses,” I said, making a request he has heard more times than I would like to admit.

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In that helpless moment I decided to revisit the research I had done months earlier on Lasik, a laser-assisted surgery that reshapes the cornea, allowing many to see without corrective lenses.  (click here to read the full story)

“I never wore glasses or contacts,” Matt Carroll of the Dallas Mavericks said. “And last year, my vision just wasn’t as good. I just noticed little things, like when I was driving and seeing signs and numbers and letters. So I thought when the season’s over, I got to get it checked out.

“The doctor told me ‘yeah, you definitely need something, either wearing contacts or you’re a candidate for Lasik if you want to do it.’

“So I said I’m going to do it and get it corrected.”

Two and a half weeks ago, Carroll had the surgery and the results of the procedure have been remarkable, he said. (Click here for full story)

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“I woke up the next morning and saw clear numbers on my alarm clock. I reached for my glasses, but when I snapped out of my half-asleep stupor, I shot up in bed and gazed around my room in awe. I didn’t have to look around for my glasses and I didn’t have to decide if I wanted to wear contacts for the day either.”

Three major technology advances in laser vision correction – (click here for full story)

Wouldn’t you love to experience life free from contact lenses and eyeglasses? Imagine seeing near, far and everywhere in between without relying on your contact lenses or glasses.

Vision correction has come a long way and the number of options available grows with advancing technology, which is great news for those who have been told that they were not candidates. People are now being treated who, as recently as a year ago, were not suitable candidates.

(view full story)

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In response to a Food and Drug Administration public forum on LASIK last week, where Schnell and other people shared their experiences with life-altering complications following the procedure, an FDA advisory panel has recommended ways to make warnings of the risks more clear. The panel suggests that photos depicting what people with visual impairment actually see be made available to those considering the surgery, as well as information on conditions such as large pupils and severe nearsightedness, which would disqualify a person from the procedure, and statistics on side effects. The FDA and a number of organizations, including the National Eye Institute and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, have formed a task force to study quality of life post-LASIK and figure out how to minimize problems.

Experts emphasize that serious complication rates are quite rare. Patient satisfaction hovers around 95 percent, according to a worldwide analysis released in March by another task-force member, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Among those remaining, many are simply dissatisfied that LASIK didn’t measure up to their expectations–their vision isn’t quite 20/20, and they still need reading glasses, for example. According to the FDA, only about 1 percent of patients report worse vision and have permanent side effects like eye pain, dry eye, and poor night vision. (Lots of people experience temporary effects like dry eye, glare, and halos.)

(click here for full story)

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