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Who is a Candidate for
Refractive Surgery?
Candidates include patients
over 21 with a stable refraction. LASIK can be performed on a
variety of refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia and
astigmatism. The magnitude of the refractive error is important
in determining if you are a candidate.
Certain medical conditions
are relative contraindications to surgery and include dry eye,
active eye infection, previous herpes infection of the eye, pregnancy
and lactation (hormones influence refractive errors).
Patients with a pacemaker
or implantable heart defribrillator should not be operated on
since the laser can generate magnetic fields, which can interfere
with these devices. (Occasionally, it may be acceptable to operate
on patients with these devices if cleared by their cardiologist).
Patients who are immunosuppressed or have HIV may be more prone
to infection following laser vision correction. Other contraindications
exist and it is important to give your doctor a complete medical
history. Finally, realistic expectations are very important in
terms of what refractive surgery can and can't accomplish. It
won't give you X-ray vision!! |
