Who is a good candidate for LASIK treatment or laser eye surgery affordable ?
Most people with myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism are profited with this kind of surgery.  The best candidates are those persons who are not comfortable with their glasses or contact lenses and are motivated to make a change and do not depend more on them. Myopic persons older than 40 years old should discuss about the procedure with the ophthalmologist since, by effect of the presbyopia, they may not be satisfied with their near sight.

How safe is the procedure?
On a good surgeon’s hands, this procedure is extremely safe if the following requirements are fulfilled:
Myopia lower than 10 diopters or hypermetropia or astigmatism lower than 6 diopters. The refractive defect should have kept stable during at least one year (they are generally stabilized around 18 years old), Absence of Glaucoma, Keratoconus and other ocular diseases (that the ophthalmologist should rule out before the surgery).
Appropriate corneal thickness (this measure always has to be made prior to the surgery through a pachimetry). 
The surgery is not recommended for pregnant women. 
As any other surgery, the LASIK has risks. There is never a guarantee for a surgery and a surgeon can not offer 100% guarantees. One from each hundred persons that receives an operation with this technique experiences any kind of complication.  In most of these cases there is a solution for the problem.  Severe complications are extremely infrequent.

What should be done before the surgery?
Prior to the surgery, your ophthalmologist should make a complete evaluation of your eyes in order to be sure that you have no disease or condition that does not allow executing the procedure or worsening the prognosis. It is very important to execute a computerized corneal topography and a pachimetry.  These two exams allow the specialist to know the shape and thickness of your cornea to plan the surgery and rule out some diseases that are not detected in the initial evaluation.  It is much recommended to execute an evaluation under pupillary dilatation in order to verify the degree of myopia or hypermetropia and be sure there is no disease on the retina. In some cases, it is necessary to improve the accommodation capacity through focus exercises prior to the surgery.  It is not necessary any kind of special preparation of the patient.

What should be done during the surgery?
During the procedure, you will be laying on a trolley specially designed for the equipment where the procedure is executed.  A small device will support your eyelids so that they do not interfere with the laser and you don’t have to be worried about blinking.  When executing the cutting with the microkeratoconus, you will feel a light pressure. Due to the suction required for holding the device, you would not be able to see for some seconds. Once the cutting is finished, you won’t see clearly. At that moment, your ophthalmologist will ask you to see to the flashing light within the laser equipment.  Actually, at this moment you can help in the surgery:  The prognosis and results are even better if you keep your head absolutely still and your sight fixed on the flashing light while the laser carves your cornea. Finally, the surgeon will put the superficial corneal layer back to its place and will indicate you that the procedure has finished.  In some moments, during the procedure, you will feel cold water on your eye that may run over your cheek occasionally.  It is only the solution used for keeping the eye hydrated and washing any particle that could interfere with the results.  It is important to have a company to go to the clinic where you will undergo the procedure since after the surgery, the sight will be enough blurred so that you would not be able to drive during the first 12 hours.

Is LASIK painful? How long does it take?
The surgery is executed with topic anesthesia (anesthetic drops) and does not require anesthesia injections or general anesthesia.  The patient is awake during the procedure but with the eyes with anesthesia. This means that he/she can’t feel anything in his/her eyes: There is no problem or pain.  The procedure lasts approximately 5 minutes per each eye.  Once the procedure is finished, you could go home without being hospitalized.

What should be done after the surgery? What is the disability?
It is important not to touch the eye the first day and do not pressure over it during 5 days (specially do not rub). It is normal that there is a light problem in eyes the same day of the surgery (similar to having an eyelash inside the eye). In general it is not required to occlude eyes more than 2 hours, so that the first day you will already have an appropriate sight (but blurred) for walking.  The sight will be blurred during the first 2 or 3 days, due to the minimal inflammation produced.  This blurred sight during 3 days is the one that determines the disability for your normal activities.
It is very important to apply indicated medicines, generally ophthalmic drops. During 15 days, the sun exposition should be avoided and eyes should not be opened under the water (for example, swimming pool). Fifteen days after the procedure, it is possible to execute any activity as you’ve never been operated.  With LASIK there is no risk as there was with other procedures where the cornea lost stability and therefore a hit in the eye would become a high risk situation.  The cornea structure is maintained and therefore the eye has the same characteristics of an eye that has not been operated.

What results can be expected?
The result of surgery mainly depends on the sight with glasses or contact lenses used before the surgery.  In general it can be expected the sight without glasses after the surgery to be similar to the sight with glasses or contact lenses prior to the procedure.  This sight is usually obtained 3 days after the surgery.

Could a second procedure be necessary?
During the LASIK, the excimer laser, craves the cornea. As it is a live tissue, the results are not always exact as a plastic material would be craved (due to the different scarring capacity of some persons). In some events, there could be a partial or an excessive correction of the defect. If it is the case, it is necessary a second procedure in which the cornea is carved again for correcting the residual refractive defect. This second procedure has no greater risk than the first one.

The Procedure
1. First, a small and narrow piece of cornea is lifted.  This piece stays stuck to the cornea by one side.
2. Your surgeon will put the laser into position and will ask you to focus on the red light over you. He will activate the Excimer laser and will start to reshape the cornea. Each pulse removes a microscopic layer of the cornea. The total time of laser for most of the patients is about a minute per eye. 
3. Then, the cornea returns to its place. There is no need to stitch, since the cornea closes itself naturally.  The center of the cornea has been reshaped, so that the beams of light are more focused directly on the retina and images are more focused.

For more information about

Lasik Eye Surgery Affordable