Archive for the ‘Lasik Recovery’ Category

There are complications as a possibility in any form of surgery, but some of the complications from Lasik surgery can be alarming for the patients. The truth, however, about complications from Lasik surgery is a little different than a lot of people would have you believe. First of all, less than one percent of Lasik patients have experienced a consequence from Lasik that would be considered serious. This complication is often also solved with a quick retouch surgery or administering some medication to assist with the problem. The reality of the complications is that the chance of experiencing them remains to be quite small.

The rarity of the complications from Lasik surgery makes it among the safest in surgical procedures to have in the US. There is an extremely small possibility, around one percent or less, that you will experience significant or total vision loss as a result of Lasik eye surgery complications. Many, as mentioned, of these complications can be repaired with a simple retouching surgical procedure or a medical assessment that results in treatment of another kind. Selecting competent staff and a goal-oriented surgeon to perform your surgery is the best way to prevent any problems that may result from your procedure.

The Reality of Complications

If you are not qualified for Lasik eye surgery, you may qualify for a number of other procedures that could also help you. The qualifying procedure is very important because it establishes the workability of the procedure on your eyes and on your person. If you do not qualify for this procedure, do not attempt to find a way around it or visit a less reputed surgeon to do the procedure anyway. You will be denied qualification for a proper medical reason and you should not toy with this reasoning because it is in place for your own protection. Without the qualification procedure, the risk factor increases by a significant degree.

If you qualify for Lasik eye surgery, your doctor will make you aware of some of the Lasik eye surgery complications that resonate with your case. From there, with the knowledge of the Lasik eye surgery complications in your mind, you can make a final decision on the procedure and elect to have or negate the procedure. If you decide on Lasik eye surgery and the procedure is a great success, you have the process to thank for the safety of yourself throughout the procedure and the success of the procedure as a whole.

LASIK eye surgery is SURGERY. There will be after effects for you to deal with, and your doctor will have instructions following surgery. He or she will also want you in the office for follow-up visits. Be gentle with yourself. You deserve the best recovery possible.

Right after the LASIK procedure, your eye may feel like you have something in it. Whatever you do, do not rub your eye. Rubbing your eye could cause you to dislodge the corneal flap that the doctor cut causing you to need further treatments to reverse that damage. You may have to take a mild pain reliever, but do so only with your doctor’s permission. It is important, especially right after lasik eye surgery, not to self-medicate.

Both of your eyes may water, which will make your nose run. Your eyes may look bloodshot, and you may be sensitive to light. You may see even haloes or starbursts around lights. Your vision may not be clear for a couple of days. These symptoms should improve drastically after a few days after your LASIK. Plan on taking off from work until these effects diminish.

Contact your surgeons immediately if you have severe pain, or if your symptoms get worse. Don’t wait for your scheduled visit. If you don’t catch it soon enough, it might cause permanent damage. You should see your LASIK surgeons within two days of the surgery and regularly for the next six months.

The first post-operative visit includes removing of the eye shield, an eye exam and a vision test. The doctor might dispense eye drops to prevent infection and inflammation. You might be instructed to use an over-the-counter eye lubricant. Don’t use anything that your LASIK doctor does not tell you to use.

Don’t resume wearing your contacts, even if you have blurry vision. Don’t resume any non-contact sports for at least three days. Above all, follow your LASIK doctor’s instructions.

Don’t use beauty products or lotions around your eyes for two weeks after your LASIK eye surgery, or longer, if your doctor instructs. You may need to continue scrubbing your eyelashes for a few weeks.

Don’t go swimming or use the hot tub for several months. Don’t participate in contact sports or strenuous physical activity for at least a month after the surgery. Protect your eyes from being bumped. And don’t sleep with your forearm over your eyes.

The quality of your vision may fluctuate for six months. Don’t worry unless your vision continues to worsen. Do tell your Lasik doctor your symptoms in each follow-up visit. You may have poor night vision, haloes, glare, starburst or other visual problems until your eyes stabilize. If your doctor determines you need additional LASIK eye surgery, wait until your vision is consistent for two consecutive visits at an interval of three months.

LASIK eye surgery may be the remedy for your vision problems. Take care to give yourself every chance to heal by follow directions to achieve the best possible results. Don’t take shortcuts with your vision. If the surgery didn’t go well, there may be ways to correct the problem.

OK. You have done all your homework. You have educated yourself on lasik and other vision correction surgeries. You have interviewed and chosen the right doctor to do your surgery. You went without your contact lenses for the required six weeks. You took a leap of faith and had the surgery. Now what? What happens next? Recuperation is the next step.
Although everyone is different, most people who have had a successful lasik procedure have a quick and relatively painless recovery. Most go to sleep and wake up the next morning seeing the world through new eyes. Be sure to follow your doctor’s post surgery instructions. This could mean the difference between a successful recovery and a recovery full of drastic complications.
Immediately after surgery most doctors will require you to rest in the office for a while and then send you home to sleep for several hours. This is why it is a good idea to have someone go with you the day of surgery. Sometimes the doctor will cover your eyes to protect them from the sun and other things that will cause problems with healing. Do not take these patches off until your doctor tells you too. If he says to keep them on until the next day, follow his instructions. This could mean the difference between a successful recovery and a recovery full of drastic complications.
Most people experience several hours of discomfort after surgery. A mild pain reliever such as acetaminophen or naproxen sodium is good at relieving the pain and discomfort. You never want to take aspirin after surgery unless your doctor says otherwise. Aspirin thins the blood and can cause bleeding from your wound. There are lots of blood vessels in the eye that will be affected if aspirin is taken. Your eyes will also feel itchy and you may have the impulse to scratch or rub your eyes. DON’T! There is a small chance that you could dislodge the corneal flap made by the doctor during surgery. This can cause blindness. So DO NOT RUB OR SCRATCH YOUR EYES! You may also notice sensitivity to light, but that goes away after a couple days.
While many people return to work the next day, it is best if you schedule a few days off of work to recover from surgery. You don’t want to over exert yourself. You need to avoid exercising and any strenuous activities. If you have a job that requires you to lift anything heavy or where you do a lot of moving around or if you work in a place with lots of dust, it is highly recommended that you take a couple days off to allow your eyes to heal.
Contact sports should also be avoided for several weeks. This is to ensure that nothing gets in the eye that can potentially damage the eye while healing. You also want to avoid doing anything that can cause the eye to be bumped or hit. This can undo everything that the surgery fixed.
During the first six months be prepared to visit your doctor on a regular basis for checkups to make sure you are healing fine. During the first six months your vision will fluctuate before finally stabilizing. Some dry eye may occur and your doctor can give you eye drops to counteract the dry eye. This is because your tear ducts may not be able to compensate for the new shape of your eye, so it does not produce enough moisture to keep the eye comfortable. You should contact your doctor at the first sign of irritation or blurred vision. Timing is important when dealing with the negative side effects of lasik. The best advice is to follow everything your doctor says. If you can make it through the first six months with no problems, chances are your eyes will do fine from then on.
Lasik is permanent, but your eyes naturally change over time. You may need to get glasses or reading glasses again in the future. There is no surgery to date that can fix your eyes forever. Until then lasik is the way to go. It is the wave of the future…for now.