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What To Consider Before Choosing Refractive SurgeryIt's like a miracle: one day you're wearing glasses, and the next day you don't need them anymore! No wonder so many people are considering refractive surgery to correct their nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. But just like any surgery, it's serious business. If you're thinking about it, first consider these important issues that two eye surgeons shared with us in recent interviews: Should You Believe the Ads?One reason that refractive surgery is being talked about so much is you can't turn on a radio without hearing an ad for it. Not that there's anything wrong with advertising. Most surgeons and medical centers are doing a good job of educating the public about LASIK, PRK, and the various lasers and other machines used in the surgery. Radio and print ads are the first step, but these centers also have detailed brochures and videos that tell you exactly how they plan to correct your vision problems. You shouldn't assume too much from advertising. Just because someone is advertising, it doesn't necessarily mean they're more qualified. A lot of companies make LASIK sound like it's a commodity. But the truth is, it's surgery, amy physicians recommend choosing a doctor who is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. The credentialing process there is pretty steep; also, that group is diligent about advancing the field of surgery. Watch out for misleading advertising claims. Physicians warn "If someone says he's been using a laser for 15 years, don't accept that -- he's probably talking about another type of laser or procedure, because LASIK hasn't been around that long."Five Questions to Ask Your SurgeonThe Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance is a new organization that reviews credentials of refractive surgeons. The Council has a long list of tough questions you can ask a surgeon before opting to use his or her services, as well as answers to look for. Here are just a few:
The Personal TouchAs with any relationship you have with someone in the medical profession, it has to be one of trust.. You have to feel that you trust the person and that they're personally interested in you. If you can't develop that rapport, It would be concerning. If everything goes well, you probably won't have to see that person too often, and that's the end of it. But if for any reason you're not happy with the quality of the result, or there's any issue with healing that's going to require more attention, you want to know that you have someone who is personally connected to you and is working hard to address your concerns -- someone who isn't just running a mill where they don't even remember who you are. We stress that you should expect complete honesty from a surgeon: Be very, very specific as far as what you ask the doctor. Be like a good reporter -- don't accept vague information. If a doctor doesn't answer your questions fully, leave and go somewhere else. What Could Go Wrong?The laser is just a surgical tool. If you don't have a good surgeon, you can have the most precise laser in the world and still get poor results. We've seen a plethora of doctors who are generalists that go through a short training course and then go home and start cutting. Even some of the earliest physicians to investigate and perform this procedure say they are still learning new things. In the past year, experts have noticed an increase in complex cases being referred. They are seeing patients with corneal flaps that were cut irregularly or too thin; or the cases weren't managed very well, and the patient may need a corneal transplant in order to see better." Leading physicians say that when something goes wrong during the flap-cutting stage of LASIK, some less experienced surgeons may go ahead and perform the laser ablation (tissue removal) anyway, instead of stopping surgery and trying again at a later date. This is one reason for poor results. Patients who aren't ideal candidates -- Another problem has to do with physiology. "There is a subset of patients who have weak epithelial attachments [which connect the outer layer of the cornea to underlying corneal tissue. "They may show no signs of it pre-op, and you don't discover it until surgery. If that happens, you need to stop and maybe do PRK [a laser-only procedure] at a later time." Side Effects -- A common side effect of LASIK and PRK is seeing glare, starbursts, and/or halos for a few days, especially when looking at lights during nighttime. However, this usually diminishes or disappears altogether. If it doesn't, surgeons may want to re-treat the eye, which isn't that unusual. Too much redoing can lead to hyperopia [farsightedness]. Glare is more likely to occur in people who have very large pupils, as well as people who must do exacting work in low light or at night. Physicians can look at the pupil with infrared to see how much it dilates. Many times we screen athletes who must perform under different lighting conditions, such as bright stadium lights. Dry Eye -- Dry eye is a common occurrence. The corneal nerves are severed when we make the flap in LASIK. The nerves in the cornea sense dryness, so when that feedback loop is disconnected, patients' eyes get dry but they don't feel it. The reestablishment of the tear film and re-enervation of the cornea takes some time, so patients with dry eye need an aggressive lubricant program after surgery. In fact, if you have chronically dry eyes, you may not be a good candidate for refractive surgery at all, since dryness interferes with healing. Post-Op Injury -- Care must be taken not to traumatize the eye after surgery. We recommend that our patients who are professional athletes, wear a face-mask or other protection for the first year so they won't be hit in the eye. And airbags can be especially dangerous to eyes after surgery. How Refractive Surgery Can Make Life SaferThe purpose of this article is not to scare you, but rather to make you think. Despite their words of warning, we are strong proponents of refractive surgery -- Family EyeCare physicians perform it often and have seen many patients who are very satisfied with their new vision. In fact, some patients are leading safer lives after their surgery. "Mark Royals [of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers] is seeing things in the field that he never saw before with his contacts, so for him, that's added safety," he says. "And [powerboat racer] Michael Allweiss was very blind without his glasses. He also had contact lenses blow out of his eyes while racing. So his surgery made all the difference." To sum up, the decision to proceed with refractive surgery should be based on a careful weighing of pros and cons. These are your eyes, and you are your own best advocate. |
