Fear Factors of LASIK
04 September 2019
#1 Will I go blind from LASIK?
It is extremely rare for it to happen. In fact, there has never been a blindness case where LASIK is the primary cause. However, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), serious eye infection that can lead to blindness affects up to 1 in 500 contact lens wearers per year.
#2 Pain during the procedure
It is normal for any person to question this when it comes to surgery including LVC. The refractive surgeon will instill numbing drop or topical anesthetic eye drop prior to the surgery so you will hardly feel any discomfort. However, some patients may report that they feel slight pressure during the procedure which is tolerable which only lasts for few seconds. For the least discomfort procedure, please check out ReLEx Smile!
#3 Fear of the unknown or Xenophobia
Not knowing what you are afraid of can be frightening. To overcome this, a proper pre-surgery counseling is important to set an expectation in a patient’s mind. Going through the procedure flow step-by-step and possible feelings or sensation during the procedure would be really helpful.
#4 Complications and side effects
The side effects of LVC are usually short-term. Symptoms such as dry eye, night time glare and haloes, minor vision fluctuation generally take few months to recover. Dry eye is quite common (~16.4 million people in the US are diagnosed to have dry eye) and is an easily treatable condition. OTC preservative-free artificial tears are very helpful in treating dry eye. Complications are extraordinarily rare, especially with the cutting-edge technology that is available in the current market. Statistics showed that less than 1% of patients experienced these surgical complications.
#5 Waste of Money
It is understood that we expect a good return when we make such investment. We might not realize that we actually spend more on contact lenses, cleaning solution and eyeglasses than a LVC procedure. And yet, contact lens wear can only give us clear vision for certain time frame (10-12hrs per day). If you started to wear contact lenses since 15 years old, you would have spent approximately RM33,000 when you reach 30 years old. This is way more than LVC procedure which is able to offer you clear vision until the age of 50 (some may still be enjoying clear vision when they are 65 year-old) or before reading problem/presbyopia and cataract set in. So, LVC is cost-saving procedure.
References:
- https://americanrefractivesurgerycouncil.org/contact-lenses-six-myths-versus-facts/
- https://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/fast-facts.html
- Prevalence of Diagnosed Dry Eye Disease in the United States Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older. Farrand KF1, Fridman M2, Stillman IÖ3, Schaumberg DA4 [Am J Ophthalmol. 2017 Oct;182:90-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2017.06.033. Epub 2017 Jul 10]
- https://americanrefractivesurgerycouncil.org/lasik-complication-rate-latest-facts/
Tags: eye centre,lasik
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