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People have traveled from around the country and around the world to see Dr. Stahl. Patients have traveled from almost all 50 states, and some from as far as Nicaragua, Kenya, England, Germany, and France.
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Want even more information?
The
FDA's fact sheet on LASIK: Fairly
unbiased general LASIK information organization: Non-promotional
site with contraindications, questions to ask, selection criteria, links: Magazine
article, highlighting some of the dangers of discount LASIK: Part
1: Background & Benefits There are two forms of laser vision correction, LASIK and PRK. Both are laser vision correction, using the same laser, and differ only in the very first step. With LASIK, a thin flap of surface cells is lifted and the cornea is accurately remodeled underneath with the laser. With PRK, the surface cells are gently removed, and the treatment is done on the surface. Both have in common the safety and accuracy of CustomVision™ and the reassurance of tracking with LadarVision. Once Dr. Stahl has measured your prescription, corneal thickness, and pupil size, he can discuss which procedure is best for your eyes.
If we did laser vision correction for robots, obviously everyone would be perfect. But people are not robots— results and recovery vary from person to person. Dr. Stahl is focused on getting as many people as possible to nearly 20/20. Although some people may need an enhancement or touchup to see their best, for most patients, the changes are lasting. Part 3: Risks & Limitations Expect to see well, but don’t expect to see perfect with laser vision correction. Although the majority of our patients see 20/20 not everyone does. Many who do not achieve 20/20 are the next from the bottom line, which is very acceptable vision without glasses or contacts. It is important to have realistic expectations going in, and if you feel that you would not be happy with anything other than perfect vision then you probably should not have this procedure done. Laser vision correction corrects your DISTANCE vision. Past the age of 40 to 45 everyone starts to need reading glasses or bifocals— laser vision correction will not prevent this. If you are over 40 and are accustomed to taking your glasses off to read, you should know that once your nearsightedness is corrected it will be harder to see up close. Each human responds and heals differently depending partly on your prescription, age and individual healing. Because of this variability, no guarantees as to your final vision or speed of recovery can be given. Our typical or average patient is 45 years old, with 6 diopters of nearsightedness and 1.5 diopters of astigmatism. If your prescription is higher, or you are older, then your recovery may take longer and the accuracy may not be as good; thus you are more likely to need an enhancement or second treatment. Patients who are farsighted have a longer recovery compared to nearsighted patients. The most common complication with LASIK surgery is an undercorrection or overcorrection requiring a second treatment or enhancement. Enhancements are a part of doing LASIK surgery and perhaps it is not even appropriate to call them complications. Your chances of needing an enhancement are 4% to 10% depending on your prescription and age. Not all patients can be ideally corrected even with retreatment and some could benefit from wearing glasses or contacts afterwards. With more than two million procedures done in the United States alone, serious complications have been reported at a rate less than one-percent. Some of these complications include infection, microkeratome problems (the device that creates your flap), irregular bowing of the cornea after surgery (keratoconus or irregular astigmatism) or other healing problems Some of the less serious complications that we have seen include abrasions (scuffing of the surface cells), inflammation, allergic reactions to eye drops, irregular healing, ingrowth of cells into the flap, slippage of the flap and some loss of contrast or sharpness to vision. These problems are usually short term. Most people have some dryness to their eyes for several months after surgery. Using non-preserved tears (Thera-Tears or Refresh Plus) helps and some patients find that taking one or two Flax Seed Oil capsules orally per day keeps their eyes much more moist. Both are available at drug stores without prescription. Most people notice some glare or rings around lights at night especially for the first few weeks. For most people this lessens over a few weeks to a level similar to what most people have with contacts. One key to keeping good night vision is keeping the treatment zone as large as or larger than your pupil size. One of the advantages of a LadarVision laser is that it can treat a much larger area or zones than older generations of lasers (notably VISX and Nidek lasers). The Alcon LadarVision laser system offers several advancements that can improve the safety and decrease the potential for problems after LASIK. Using radar technology borrowed from NASA, this laser tracks your eye position 4000 times per second and moves with you as your eye moves. And by combining a small scanning spot with the flexibility of larger treatment zones, recovery is faster, with better astigmatism correction and better night vision. LASIK requires the use of a microkeratome to create a “flap” of cells that will be reseated after your laser treatment. In about 1 in a 1000 patients the flap may not be created perfectly. If this happens, your treatment will not be done that day. The flap will be replaced and the eye allowed to heal 3 to 4 months— afterwards the procedure can be attempted again. This can be very disappointing for patients, but it is much better to be safe and delay any treatment if the flap is not perfect. Part
4: The Alternatives You can do this! No needles, no shots, no sutures. We understand that you're nervous, that's normal. We are here to help you each step of the way. Other happy patients refer most of our patients to us. This is a great indication of just how satisfied most patients are with their results. We offer free personal consultations at Laser Vision Correction of Dayton where you can find out if you qualify and if you would be a good candidate. You have nothing to lose except possibly your glasses and contacts! We can work closely with your own eye doctor or optometrist for some of your follow-up visits. Set Up a Free Personal Consult... |
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1-888-660-EYES and ask for a free copy of "What every patient
needs to know about LASIK". You can also
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Part
2: What to Expect
