LASIK Specialists Schaefferstown PA

Have you considered LASIK surgery? Are you looking for LASIK specialists near Schaefferstown PA? Come see us at the Lebanon office of Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania. Like most of our patients, you probably have questions about the procedure. We are definitely here to help.

Am I a candidate?

Hands down, the question we get asked most frequently is “am I a candidate?” We evaluate your eye health and your general health to provide that answer. We typically recommend LASIK for people with moderate refractive error. However, recent LASIK advances now allow us to correct much higher refractive error. We will ask detailed questions about your eye health and do a comprehensive eye evaluation to make sure you are a candidate and that you don’t have any underlying eye conditions that might lead to a poor surgical outcome.

Generally, we are looking for signs of progressive eye diseases and a condition called keratoconus that leads to a thinning of the cornea over time. We will want to know if you have had past eye injuries or history of certain eye infections. Sometimes people have very large pupils and that might mean that LASIK is not the right choice because it may mean post-surgical glare or halos. We will test for dry eye and if you have a severe case, we may rethink LASIK as the surgery does make the condition worse.

We will certainly also talk about your expectations. For example, if you see well enough to only need glasses part of the time, you may not really see much improvement from the surgery. On the other hand, we may not be able to correct your vision if you have very high levels of refractive error.

We also want to ensure that a patient has stable vision prior to LASIK surgery. Vision still continues to change in the teenage years, so we do not perform the procedure on anyone under age 18. Patients who are pregnant also have temporary vision fluctuations, so we wait until your vision is stable. Finally, certain steroid drugs can also create these temporary vision fluctuations as well.

Your overall health

In addition to your eye health, we also need to ask detailed questions about your overall health. LASIK has an increased risk if you have certain medical conditions. Many of our patients with diabetes require additional evaluation to determine whether LASIK is a good option.

We are also concerned about certain conditions of the immune system, such as rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune conditions, which may affect your ability to heal. Likewise, we express concern over any patient taking immunosuppressant medication. Finally, patients with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia may experience more postoperative pain than other patients without these conditions.

No matter the issues, we will fully evaluate your health. In fact, we quite often work with our patients’ general practitioner or other specialist such as a cardiologist or endocrinologist to evaluate the patient.

Just know that LASIK surgery is very safe, very effective and one of the most researched surgeries on the planet. Our patients are thrilled with their surgical outcomes. Not sure whether you are a candidate? No problem. Got questions? We’ve got answers. Come see us for an initial consultation. We want to be Schaefferstown PA’s LASIK specialists. Give our Blandon office a call today at 610-378-8500 or visit our Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania website to schedule an appointment. We look forward to seeing you.