Have you imagined what it might be like to be less dependent upon glasses or contact lenses to go about your daily life?
Perhaps you have seen or heard advertisements for laser eye surgery, or you know someone who had it performed on them. There is a lot of media attention on this new procedure, and we get inquiries from people who would like to explore other options than eyeglasses and conventional contact lenses.
We are a member of the Custom Laser Eye network, and are
proud to work with Dr. Jonathan Woolfson, who has been recognized
as one of the nation's leading LASIK surgeons. Dr. Woolfson
has performed over 40,000 LASIK procedures, and is sought
out by many area doctors for their most difficult cases. Dr.
Jeruss had Dr. Woolfson perform monovision LASIK on him in
April 2002, and is very happy with the result. For our patients
who have decided to have laser eye surgery, we require a comprehensive
vision/eye health exam (with cycloplegic dilating drops that
totally relax the focusing muscles to expose possible prescription
overcorrection), corneal topography mapping, pupil size measurement,
and corneal thickness measurements. We perform all of the
pre-op and post-op care, and Dr. Woolfson performs the actual
surgery.
For those who are curious, let us begin by emphasizing that,
despite all the advertising hype, you will NOT be able to
"throw away your eyeglasses or contacts forever".
The laser procedure is not perfect, and you will most likely
still need a low prescription to get "perfect" distance
vision. If you decide to have both of your eyes corrected
for distant vision, you will ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT need
to wear a reading prescription when you are over 40 years
old…just like every human being will need, unless they
happen to be just nearsighted enough to do without one. It
is possible, instead, to perform "monovision LASIK",
with one eye for far and the other eye for near. This will
minimize your dependence on glasses, and is Dr. Jeruss' recommendation
for those over 40 years old.
The risks of the laser procedures are well documented, and
we cannot overemphasize the importance of the thoroughness
of the doctor performing the pre-op examination, the experience
and skill of the surgeon, and the post-operative management.
Technological advances come along all the time, improving
the outcomes for more and more people. Two of the newest advances
are wave-front technology and the autonomous laser. While
most people will not require these, there are a number who
may have been unsuitable LASIK candidates in the past, who
may now be considered good candidates with these new developments.
For those who have decided against LASIK, there is a non-surgical
alternative called Ortho-K (Orthokeratology), that has been
performed for 42 years with considerably less risk. In this
procedure, the eye is gently re-shaped with specially designed
semi-rigid oxygen permeable contact lenses worn while you
sleep. In the morning, the contacts are removed and you see
clearly for the rest of the day without any lenses. "Retainer
wear" contacts must be worn periodically (usually every
1-2 nights) in order to maintain the effect.
This procedure is far less expensive than laser surgery, and has a long, safe, proven track record. One of the advantages of Ortho-K is its temporary effect. When you become 40 years old and need to see better up close, all you need to do is wear one of the contacts less often, so that you remain a little nearsighted in that eye.
And stay tuned! Currently undergoing FDA trials in California is an enzyme that softens the cornea temporarily while the Ortho-K lens re-shapes it. When the enzyme wears off, the curvature effect and the vision improvement remain permanently. This could possibly be the best procedure ever, and we at Eye To Eye will be able to apply our many years of Ortho-K experience as soon as it is approved for marketing.
