By Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute

04/03/2013

“Say Good Bye to your Glasses Forever!”
These advertisements scream out at us from hoardings, newspapers and magazines. Encouraged by these claims, one decides to go in for a Lasik. One searches for options, settles in on the cheapest one and asks a few friends’ experiences. That is when one gets drowned in a cloudburst of warnings! “My friend got hit on his eye and his vision went bad again!” “My father required glasses after a few years, what’s the use!” And this leaves one thoroughly confused and worried. One just wishes one had somebody trustworthy that they could turn to for the truth.
If you have sailed this boat, worry not; for help is at hand. Dr Vandana Jain, (MBA: Stanford USA, MS, DNB, MNAMS, FLVPEI, FICO: Harvard USA, MBBS) Cornea, Lasik and Refractive Surgeon, lays down the bare truth about Lasik and its rumours…
Is Lasik Safe? Thousands of people undergo Lasik safely every year. Just like every other surgery, Lasik too has the risk of complications. Most of the risk is reduced if it is verified that one’s eyes are suited for Lasik.
You may not be a candidate for Lasik if:
•Are below 18 years old
•Your spectacle numbers are fluctuating or eyesight is progressively getting worse.
•Suffer from persistent Dry Eyes (especially for Conventional Lasik)
•Have severe near sightedness
•Have systemic diseases like diabetes, or arthritis or other eye problems, like glaucoma or cataract
•Are on medications that affect healing of the cornea
ReLEx Femto Lasik brings hope to people who earlier could not undergo conventional Lasik because of:
•Too thin corneas, extremely irregular corneal surface
•Active Participation in contact sports
Complete Freedom from Glasses? Lasik definitely reduces one’s dependency on glasses, and most people enjoy 20/20 vision after Lasik. One cannot guarantee that glasses can be thrown away altogether especially in those with higher spectacle numbers. However, even if mild numbers remain, a follow up procedure called enhancement surgery can always be performed. Also, as one ages, one might require glasses for presbyopia or far-sightedness that develops in middle or old age.
What about Side effects? Laser eye surgery ,Mumbai that involve the creation of a flap on one’s cornea before the application of Laser have a potential for side effects like displacement of the flap due to trauma, dryness of eyes, scratchiness etc. Most of these side effects are temporary and disappear once the cornea has healed. Techniques like the flapless and least invasive Relex Femto Lasik drastically reduce these side effects.

Dr Jain sums up, “Lasik is definitely the miraculous technology that it is famous as. Nevertheless, it is a surgery that involves one of the most delicate organs of our body. It is of utmost importance that a well-trained Lasik Surgeon perform this surgery and that one be evaluated thoroughly to know if one is the right candidate.”
The Lasik Centre at Advanced Eye Hospital Mumbai is one of the most modern Lasik centres in the country. It boasts of three Lasik technologies: a rare blend of the new and traditional:
· Excimer laser: The conventional Lasik.
· Relex Femto Lasik: The Bladeless Flapless Lasik.
· Lasik Xtra: Lasik with Collagen Cross Linking technology to prevent weakening of the cornea after Lasik.