Laser Eye Surgery Articles

Contact lenses have a lower initial out lay however, over a 10 year period they could cost you more.

Contact lenses are better when correcting high powers or complex prescriptions and while refractive surgery using a multi-focal implant can correct reading prescriptions there are many different multi-focal contact lenses on the market.

Contact lenses rather than laser eye surgery should be the preferred optical correction for people under 21 years of age or even older if the prescription has not stabilised. Laser eye surgery reduces the risk of infections associated with contact lenses and eliminates the need to to throw your solution away when boarding a plane.

So which is best and what should I consider? Answer: your age, costs and prescription.

No, the colour of our eyes is due to the pigmentation of the iris and is not affected by lasering the cornea or any other form of refractive surgery. As a general rule dark haired people have brown eyes, blonds blue and red heads green however, like everything in life there are exceptions.

All countries outside Europe have a predominance of black hair and brown eyes while Europeans have the full range of hair and iris colours. This variation in iris colour is probably due to a mutation gene many thousands of years ago as all our ancestors would have left Africa with brown eyes. Many South Waleian celts have black hair and green eyes as do their descendants now living in other parts of the world.

No, a local anesthetic ensures a total lack of feeling during the procedure although there may be some post-operative discomfort. The cornea is the most pain sensitive part of the body and is designed as such for its own protection.

The cornea consists of five layers with the top layer being constantly worn away by the action of the lids and usually regenerates within 24 hours however, should a foreign body scrape the cornea and break the second layer then scarring can occur resulting in a reduction of the eye’s visual acuity.

The heightened corneal sensitivity causes an increase in the level of tear fluid which acts as a protective buffer between the cornea and the foreign body while at the same time swilling it away before any damage can occur.

Yes, while it may seem a logical solution for the correction of visual defects in babies and young children one has to wait until the eye has stopped growing and the prescription stabilised.

No one should contemplate any form of refractive surgery under the age of 21 and only then if there has been at least 2 years of stability. The thickness of the cornea is measured prior to surgery to assess if there is sufficient substance needed for an individual’s prescription. Once the cornea has been cut by the laser the cornea will remain at its new thickness thus restricting the amount of future corneal surgery.