Before making a significant decision – whether it relates to your finances, family, or health – you have to put the facts on the table and dispel myths, lies, and half-truths.
Myths and lies can take on a life of their own and prevent you from making informed choices, even if these choices are beneficial to you and your loved ones.
Take LASIK surgery, for example.
What is LASIK surgery?
LASIK or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis surgery is a type of corrective eye surgery that is used for the treatment of astigmatism, myopia or nearsightedness, and hyperopia or farsightedness.
The actual procedure takes roughly 15 minutes to complete and enables patients to correct their vision problems without relying on eyeglasses or contact lenses.
But why should you consider undergoing this procedure?
For starters, there is a high probability that you can achieve 20/20 vision.
It may be several months before a patient can achieve their desired results, but such effects are permanent. More often than not, a patient who has undergone the surgical procedure will come in for a follow-up procedure only after the decline of their vision due to aging.
The recovery period is fairly short. In as fast as 24 hours after the procedure, you may go back to your regular routine. Aftercare is simple, and you do not have to worry about stitches and bandages.
Finally, you can save a sizeable amount of money from forgoing the costs of using eyeglasses and/or contact lenses.
4 Popular LASIK Misconceptions
Despite the safety and reasonable success rate of the procedure, many patients deprive themselves of the opportunity to get the treatment they deserve because of the persistent misconceptions surrounding LASIK surgery.
Here’s a brief rundown of these misconceptions that should be dispelled.
- The procedure should only cost X amount of dollars
When you are shopping around for a specialist to perform the surgery for you, you may stumble upon people who say that you needn’t pay a sizeable amount of money, or that you’ll only be wasting your hard-earned cash when the surgery can be performed cheaper.
Indeed, there will be clinics that can provide the treatment for less. But as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.
The price of a LASIK procedure will depend on a few critical factors, including the size and skill of the team performing the surgery, the quality and specs of the equipment used, whether the surgeon will be using a blade or not, the level of testing used to determine the suitability of the procedure for the client, and accessibility of your surgeon after the procedure.
- You can’t fix astigmatism with LASIK
This used to be true when LASIK surgery was a relatively new treatment.
But with advances in the field and the upgrading of the equipment used for the procedure, particularly during the mid-2000s, eye surgeons now have great success in treating astigmatism.
- You’ll still need reading glasses
One concern that many patients have is that they will end up investing money in LASIK only to be told that they will still need their reading glasses.
This is another half-truth. For a long time, there was only one type of LASIK procedure available to patients. And that procedure required some patients to wear reading glasses.
But with the introduction of blended vision, patients can undergo LASIK surgery and forgo the need for reading glasses. What this means is that you can correct your distance vision without compromising your reading vision.
Similarly, some people believe that LASIK cannot fix reading vision problems. The straightforward answer is yes, reading vision can be fixed through this corrective surgery. However, your doctor needs to determine if you are an ideal candidate for the procedure.
- The LASIK flap won’t heal
Perhaps you have heard about this from a friend or relative or read it online – the LASIK flap won’t fully recover.
Eye injuries among patients who have undergone the procedure do happen. But these occur very rarely, and in most documented cases, it’s either because a blade was used in performing the surgery, or the person suffered a trauma that will require surgical intervention, whether he has undergone LASIK surgery or not.
The use of bladeless LASIK surgery practically ensures complete healing with almost zero complications.
Listen to the experts
People are entitled to their own opinions. But when it comes to your health, you should only listen to the experts who truly understand the facts.
Before deciding on getting the surgery, make sure to consult the most trusted LASIK surgeons first.
AUTHOR BIO Joel Hunter, MD is an Ophthalmologist, Refractive Surgeon, and the Founder of Hunter Vision in Orlando, Florida. A recognized and respected specialist in vision correction who has performed thousands of refractive surgeries, Joel gives lectures across the country and trains fellow doctors in the newest LASIK surgery techniques.
