Who is candidate for lasik eye surgery

However, it is important to note that once you hit your 40s, you may still need reading glasses to correct near vision due to a normal, age-related condition called presbyopia.

Of course, your surgeon may also consider you a candidate for surgical correction of presbyopia such as monovision LASIK, which can improve your near vision without reading glasses or bifocals. Keep in mind that women are more at risk for dry eyes after menopause , and men have a greater risk for dry eyes later in life as well. Teenagers and many young adults often experience changes in their contact lens prescription and eyeglass prescription from year to year.

It's important for refractive errors to be stable for at least 12 months before undergoing LASIK or other refractive surgery. Usually it is nearsightedness that gradually becomes worse, but there may be other changes as well. Younger people are not good candidates until their eyes have "settled down" into one prescription. Your eye doctor can tell you whether your prescription is stable.

Contraindications to laser eye surgery may include certain uncontrolled degenerative conditions or uncontrolled autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome , rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and AIDS. Basically, if your body has any trouble with healing, you will have a higher risk of an unsatisfactory LASIK surgery outcome.

Opinions vary among LASIK surgeons regarding which diseases are automatic disqualifiers and which ones might pose acceptable risks in certain cases. Also, certain medications can increase risks associated with laser eye surgery. Hormonal changes can alter the shape of your cornea, leading to temporary changes in your vision. Surgery should not be performed until your hormones and vision have returned to normal after pregnancy. This could take a few months. In fact, on average between 15 and 20 percent of patients are considered ineligible for a procedure like LASIK.

While every patient is unique, the following are general guidelines surgeons use in determining if a patient is a candidate for LASIK eye surgery:. Certain health issues and medications may interfere with the healing process, making laser vision correction a poor choice. It is important patients share their complete health history with their surgeon to ensure a recommendation for candidacy based upon all available facts.

To determine if you are a LASIK candidate requires a complete eye examination with sophisticated testing to screen patients for these problems that may make you a non-candidate. Many patients are not good candidates for laser vision correction because of systemic or ocular disease. Conditions, such as cataracts , diabetes, or autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, may make LASIK and other laser vision correction options not a good choice for some patients. Also, certain medications, such as corticosteroids, acne medications, and pregnancy can affect the healing process.

LASIK surgery offers many patients the opportunity to dramatically reduce or even eliminate their need for glasses or contact lenses by correcting refractive areas directly on the eye. If your refractive errors are not within these ranges, we will provide a further consultation to inform you of alternative choices of vision correction. During your consultation we will also consider other factors that may temporarily or permanently disqualify you from undergoing LASIK.

These may include:. Pregnancy Severe heart problems, especially those requiring the use of a pacemaker Diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, vascular disease, severe glaucoma, cataracts, ocular herpes simplex, or severe diabetes. Search for:.