Many an advance has come to the science of vision correction singe Benjamin Franklin first donned his granny glasses in the 18th century, with their innovative design which made them useful for both nearsighted and farsighted people.  The design for these original bi-focals has brought clear vision to countless millions of people since then, and it is innovative thinking like Benjamin Franklin’s which has been responsible for all the advances in vision correction which have since occurred.  The most recent, and perhaps the most dramatic, of these advances is the development, over the past two decades, of laser eye surgery.
While laser eye surgery has now become firmly established as a genuine alternative to corrective eyeglasses and contact lenses, many people suffering from visual defects are still uncertain about the wisdom of having laser eye surgery.  Because any surgery carries certain risks, their concerns are perfectly understandable

Unreasonable Fears

When those concerns approach an unreasonable level, however, it is usually because the person expressing them has a very limited idea of what laser eye surgery is and really needs to become more educated on the topic before expressing his or her opinion.

Although there is some seriously complex technology behind the equipment used to perform laser eye surgery, the surgical procedure itself is surprisingly simple.  Laser eye surgery simply removes excess tissue from the eye’s cornea, remodeling it so that it no longer produces the defective vision which has so long plagued the patient.

Laser eye surgery seldom lasts more than an hour, requires no hospitalization and only a mild sedative with numbing eye drops so that the patient remains awake throughout the procedure, and is followed by a recovery period of only a couple of days.  It rarely leads to the sorts of complications which can accompany plastic surgery and similar elective operations.

The Laser Eye Surgery Procedure

The actual laser eye surgery procedure employs a device called a microkeratome, which uses suction to secure the cornea, a plate to flatten it, and an oscillating blade to make a computer-determined incision on the cornea’s outer layer, which creates a flap.  The surgeon will then lift the flap, and using the intense light beams produced by an excimer laser, will remove tissue from the underlying stroma until the cornea is correctly shaped.

The surgeon will then replace the flap, and the only time the patient may have difficulty during the procedure itself is while the flap is lifted and the vision becomes very blurry.  The normal recovery period from laser eye surgery of this kind is between one and two days, and after that the patient will be free of the astigmatism, nearsightedness, or farsightedness for which he or she was suffering.

The Rewards Of Laser Eye Surgery

Those who have undergone laser eye surgery will be rewarded with a life free of the inconvenience of eyeglasses or the messy wetting and cleansing solutions associated with contact lenses.  The idea that laser eye surgery must involve an extended period of recovery which will require life to be put on hold is simply not realistic, and the laser eye surgery itself will take no more than an afternoon, if that long.

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