subject: Should I Get Lasik Surgery? - Nurse's Guide
[print this page] If you've been thinking about getting laser eye surgery or LASIK surgery, you may want to know about any risks or complications that may occur. Although many people report good results, some problems may not show up until later. And the results, good or bad, of your surgery may not show up for several months. So it's good to know what risks there are before you get LASIK surgery.
These are a few of the things to think about:
Some employers will not hire you if you've had refractive surgery (RK, PRK, and LASIK). So check with your employer or professional association first to make sure it won't interfere with your job or future employment in your field. If you're in the military or planning to join, check with the military also.
You probably know that most medical or health insurance plans won't pay for LASIK or other refractive surgery. LASIK surgery is cheaper than it used to be but insurance companies still won't pay.
Make sure to discuss what is called refractive stability with you eye surgeon. If you're in your early twenties or younger or have hormones that are unstable due to diabetes or other diseases, you're pregnant or breastfeeding, you may be considered unstable for a LASIK procedure.
And some medications such as those containing retinoic acid and certain steroids may delay healing after your surgery. You need to tell your eye surgeon about all the medications and over-the-counter medications you take. Any one of these may cause fluctuations in your vision and interfere with the outcome.
If you participate in contact sports such as boxing, the martial arts or wrestling you may not want to get LASIK surgery.
If you've had certain eye diseases make sure you tell your eye surgeon if they don't already know. Perhaps another doctor treated you. This would include herpes simplex or shingles that involve the eye or the region around the eye, glaucoma, or elevated blood pressure in the eye, uveitis, iritis, keratoconus. and any eye injuries.
Other possible risks could include any current inflammation of the eyelids, which could cause problems after refractive surgery, such as infection in the cornea. Having thin corneas or dry eyes may cause problems after surgery.
If you have diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes or HIV you would not be a good candidate for laser eye surgery.
LASIK surgery can sometimes require additional surgery. Since LASIK and other laser eye surgeries are elective surgeries, you many need to consider the cost before you decide.
After surgery you may find you still need reading glasses. The long-term effects are still not known. Some people have lost some or all of their vision after surgery. Some patients have had problems with glare, halos, starbursts etc. Some patients have found night driving to be difficult. If you have dry eyes now you may find your condition worse or worsening after surgery.
These are just some of the risks and things to think about before you decide on LASIK surgery.
Learn all you can before you decide on or get LASIK surgery or any other eye surgery. Make sure you discuss all of this with your eye doctor and eye surgeon before you go ahead. Get a second opinion if possible. You want to make sure you know all the risks and complications that can occur during and after surgery.
by: Helen Hecker
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
