Best LASIK Surgeons in Reading PA

LASIK surgery is quick, easy and painless, particularly when you see the best LASIK surgeons. In Reading PA, the best surgeons are at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania, just a quick drive away in our Blandon office.

What is the procedure like?

LASIK is an acronym for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis. There are several LASIK procedures, but our surgeons prefer the bladeless LASIK technique, which uses two different lasers. The surgeon uses an excimer laser to create a corneal flap about the size of a contact lens. Next, the surgeon uses a pulsed femtosecond laser. After gently folding the flap back to expose the cornea, the surgeon uses this second laser to reshape the corneal area to correct vision. The surgeon then puts the corneal flap back in place. It will heal and reattach to the corneal surface without the need for stitches.

Eye surgeries that correct vision are called refractive surgeries. There are other procedures, but our surgeons prefer bladeless LASIK over these other procedures because patients have less pain and a faster recovery. They also have less hazy vision immediately post-surgery as the eyes heal, and vision stabilizes much more quickly after surgery. Bladeless LASIK is preferred by our surgeons when they are correcting high refractive error for myopia.

Sometimes, a patient has cataracts, so the lens is damaged by the protein buildup that causes a cataract. In these cases, LASIK may not be the best option. Instead, the surgeon may want to remove the lens and implant an artificial intraocular lens that contains the appropriate vision correction. When you come in for your initial appointment, we will do a thorough eye exam to determine your best vision correction options and then we will discuss these at length with you.

Am I a candidate?

Most patients are candidates for LASIK. Our expert team wants to make sure that each patient has a realistic expectation regarding what the surgeon can achieve with LASIK vision correction. During the initial consultation, we will spend a good deal of time discussing your expectations to see what quality of vision you are trying to achieve. For example, patients who wear rigid gas permeable contact lenses often have crisp, clear near-perfect vision. After LASIK, patients have amazing vision correction but it may not be perfect, so expectations are important. Your dependence on glasses and contact lenses will be greatly reduced. Some of our patients need reading glasses, particularly when reading during low-light conditions. As we age, people experience presbyopia, a natural condition that occurs over age 40 that reduces clarity of near vision.

The overwhelming majority of our patients are elated with their LASIK results. Our surgeons perform LASIK on patients over age 18. Eyesight does continue to change through adolescence, so we want vision to be stable without a change in prescription for at least a year before we perform LASIK. We also recommend that pregnant or breastfeeding women wait until their hormones stabilize to have LASIK, and people with certain chronic conditions like diabetes may not be good candidates. Patients with dry eye syndrome before surgery may experience more dryness after LASIK. Furthermore, we can correct very high refractive errors with LASIK, but these patients may have more post-operative symptoms. Generally, a patient is a good LASIK candidate with myopia no worse than -12 diopters (-12D), hyperopia no worse than +6D, and astigmatism no worse than 5D.

Pleased patients

Our patients are thrilled with their LASIK results and most tell us they wish they hadn’t waited so long to have the procedure. They are so pleased that they often refer family and friends who have been considering LASIK. If you are in Reading PA, come see our surgeons at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania in Blandon. We can’t wait for you to be our next LASIK success story.