Do we experience pain during Lasik eye surgery?

Do we experience pain during Lasik eye surgery?

LASIK stands for Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis. It is a surgery conducted to correct vision in people who suffer from Near-sightedness, farsightedness or have astigmatism.

During the surgery the cornea is reshaped, thereby refocussing light on the retina, which is in the back of your eye.

Lack of focus of light on the retina leads to blurry vision. This medically is known as refractive error. Like mentioned above there are three basic types of refractive errors:

Near-sightedness (Myopia) – You are unable to see things clearly that are farther away from you.

Farsightedness (Hyperopia) – You are unable to see things clearly that are closer to you, but farther vision is clear.

Astigmatism – Overall vision is blurry because of the basic shape of your eyes.

Is LASIK necessary?

It is an elective surgery wherein vision is corrected to help you avoid wearing glasses or contact lens. LASIK surgery can improve the quality of your life by eliminating the need to wear glasses or contact lens. In addition to the obvious cosmetic benefit of avoiding glasses, LASIK also improves overall quality of vision by increasing field of vision, contrast sensitivity and also eliminates the minimization (apparent reduction in size of objects) caused by high powered minus glasses. LASIK provides an overall quality of vision similar to that of natural vision.

Is Lasik Surgery Painful?

LASIK surgery is completely painless and recovery is almost immediate. Yes, patients do experience mild irritation & discomfort for a few hours immediately after the procedure is complete. Even though it doesn’t affect all patients, such discomforts can include:

• Itching sensation several hours post-surgery which is temporary
• General discomfort post-surgery which is also temporary
• Blurry vision temporarily but immediately post-surgery
• Haziness immediately post-surgery.

All the above symptoms completely recover in the following day after surgery.

The Facts of Lasik

Benefits of Lasik Surgery

• 98% of patients achieve their vision goals post-surgery
• Little or no pain is involved, during surgery and post-surgery
• The correction is permanent, and no incision or bandages are required
• If at all vision changes with age your ophthalmologist can reset, it
• You won’t need to wear glasses or contact lens ever again.

Who cannot get Lasik Surgery?

• Children who are 18 or younger
• Pregnant women, women who are still feeding their babies
• Patients who have thin or uneven corneas; they can undergo another procedure called phakic intraocular lens
• Those who suffer from Glaucoma or dry eyes
• Those who suffer from chronic illnesses like diabetes or lupus.

Your vision may change post Lasik surgery. As you grow older you might even need to use reading glasses. Research shows that even after several years less than 5% of people need a second Lasik procedure to correct minor power and restore the effects. Which means, 95% of patients have achieved their vision goals of 20/20 post Lasik Surgery and continue to remain so for decades together.