If you’re nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism, you aren’t doomed to a life of glasses or contacts if you’d rather not wear them. LASIK eye surgery can correct your vision so you can see clearly without corrective lenses.
The optometrists at Valley Eye Professionals offer LASIK to patients in the Studio City area of Los Angeles, California. They can evaluate your vision and let you know if you’re a good candidate for this remarkable surgery.
So how does LASIK get your clearer, sharper vision?
The cornea is a clear dome that acts as your eyes’ outermost lens. It controls the entry of light into the eye. When light enters, your cornea bends the light and refocuses it onto the retina, which then transmits the light to the brain to become an image.
Clear vision occurs when your cornea focuses the light just right onto the retina. If you have a curved cornea, light doesn’t hit the retina correctly and you end up with a blurry image.
LASIK is a procedure that reshapes the cornea into a dome that properly focuses light onto the retina. To begin, your eye is numbed and your doctor uses an instrument to hold your eyelids open for the duration of the procedure.
Your doctor then uses a specialized laser to cut a very small hinged flap of your cornea away from the front of your eye. This corneal flap gives your doctor access to the cornea for reshaping.
The team at Valley Eye Professionals uses an advanced laser — LASIK stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis — that’s programmed with your particular prescription to reshape your cornea. This customization is achieved using wavefront technology to create a 3-D image of your eye. The laser then transmits energy that removes very tiny amounts of your corneal tissue until the desired shape is achieved.
Your doctor then places the corneal flap back in place, and it heals with time — usually without stitches or other intervention. The eye is one of the fastest healing parts of the body!
You may notice a scratchiness in your treated eyes a few hours after the procedure, but expect to go back to work the next day — with clear vision. Some people experience dry eyes and changing vision after their procedure, but these side effects usually fade within a month.
If you have a refractive error — such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism — you may be a candidate. You should be 18 years or older, and your eye prescription should have remained stable in the past year.
During your consultation, your doctor assesses your overall eye health and makes sure your corneal tissue is thick enough to undergo the procedure. You’ll understand what type of correction you’ll get, and you’ll learn about what to expect after surgery.
While the wavefront technology used to customize your procedure greatly improves your chance of getting 20/20 vision or better following surgery, some people may still need prescription lenses for certain activities like reading up close.
The Valley Eye Professionals team is committed to promoting your eye health and your best vision. You can trust the experienced optometrists to perform your LASIK procedure to free you from corrective lenses. Call the office today to set up an appointment, or use the online tool to book.
