Career impact - does your job prohibit
refractive surgery?
Cost - can you really afford this procedure? Medical conditions - e.g., do you have an
autoimmune disease or other major illness? Do you have a chronic illness that
might slow or alter healing? Eye conditions - do you have or have you ever had any problems
with your eyes other than needing glasses or contacts? Medications - do you take steroids or other
drugs that might prevent healing? Stable refraction - has your prescription changed in the last
year? High or Low
refractive error - do you use glasses/contacts only some of the time? Do you
need an unusually strong prescription? Pupil size - are your pupils extra large in
dim conditions? Corneal
thickness - do you have thin corneas? Tear production - do you have dry
eyes?
Know all the risks and procedure limitations
Overtreatment or undertreatment - are you
willing and able to have more than one surgery to get the desired
result? May still need
reading glasses - do you have presbyopia? Results may not be lasting - do you think
this is the last correction you will ever need? Do you realize that long-term
results are not known? May
permanently lose vision - do you know some patients may lose some vision or
experience blindness? Dry
eyes - do you know that if you have dry eyes they could become worse, or if
you don't have dry eyes before you could develop chronic dry eyes as a result of
surgery? Development of
visual symptoms - do you know about glare, halos, starbursts, etc. and that
night driving might be difficult? Contrast sensitivity - do you know your vision could be
significantly reduced in dim light conditions? Bilateral treatment - do you know the
additional risks of having both eyes treated at the same time? Patient information - have you
read the patient information booklet about the laser being used for your
procedure?
Know how to find the right doctor
Experienced - how many eyes has your doctor
performed LASIK surgery on with the same laser? Equipment - does your doctor use an
FDA-approved laser for the procedure you need? Informative - is your doctor willing to
spend the time to answer all your questions? Long-term Care - does your doctor encourage
follow-up and management of you as a patient? Your preop and postop care may be
provided by a doctor other than the surgeon. Be Comfortable - do you feel you know your
doctor and are comfortable with an equal exchange of
information?
Know preoperative, operative, and postoperative expectations
No contact lenses prior to evaluation and
surgery - can you go for an extended period of time without wearing contact
lenses? Have a thorough
exam - have you arranged not to drive or work after the exam? Read and understand the informed
consent - has your doctor given you an informed consent form to take home
and answered all your questions? No makeup before surgery - can you go 24-36 hours without makeup
prior to surgery? Arrange
for transportation - can someone drive you home after surgery? Plan to take a few days to
recover - can you take time off to take it easy for a couple of days if
necessary? Expect not to
see clearly for a few days - do you know you will not see clearly
immediately? Know sights,
smells, sounds of surgery - has your doctor made you feel comfortable with
the actual steps of the procedure? Be prepared to take drops/medications- are you willing and able to
put drops in your eyes at regular intervals? Be prepared to wear an eye shield - do you
know you need to protect the eye for a period of time after surgery to avoid
injury? Expect some
pain/discomfort - do you know how much pain to expect? Know when to seek help - do you understand
what problems could occur and when to seek medical intervention? Know when to expect your vision to
stop changing - are you aware that final results could take
months? Make sure your
refraction is stable before any further surgery - if you don't get the
desired result, do you know not to have an enhancement until the prescription
stops changing?
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