Lasik is still one of the best options for permanently correcting ones vision, but when is it the best time to have it done? Generally we like to wait until patients are 21 years old with stable eyeglass prescriptions.
The overall health of the eyes and the stability of ones refractive state are the most important factors to determine when Lasik should be done. Patients from their early 20’s to late 40’s tend to have the most predictable results.
There are some patients that may benefit from waiting to have refractive eye surgery. Those with thinner corneas, irregular astigmatism, larger pupils or extremely high eyeglass prescriptions will benefit from waiting for new innovations in refractive procedures.
LASIK Risks
There are always some risks involved with Lasik. A patient may end up mildly under-corrected, over-corrected, or have some residual astigmatism. Sometimes a patient can have halos around lights at night and have some dry eye symptoms as well. There could also be complications with the corneal flap such as epthelial ingrowth.
Due to all these possibilities proper screening before surgery is critical. At Fort Lauderdale Eye Institute, we screen each patient thoroughly with a consultation which includes a refraction (dilated and undilated), pupil size evaluation, corneal thickness measurement, dilated fundus exam and corneal topography. These measurements will tell the doctor if it’s the right time for the patient to have Lasik or if the patient should wait for new innovations in the future.
