LASIK / FAQs

PRK has a much slower healing process than LASIK. When you make a flap, regardless of how you make it, the healing process is significantly slower. In some cases, however, PRK (LASIK without a flap) is the safer approach.

Andrew Caster, MD

What you have are known as “floaters”. These are very common in the population as a whole, but more so in nearsighted people, whether or not they have had laser vision correction. These are tiny peices of tissue that have come loose and are flaoting around inside your eye. Sometimes they float right into your field of view, which as you know is very disturbing. Typically they go away after a few months, but sometimes not for a few years. Although these can be treated with a laser, the treatment is too risky for the benefit, so there is no treatment that I would recommend.

Andrew Caster, MD

The pressure from scuba diving is not an issue after LASIK. I recommend that people wait 1 week before they swim and 3-4 weeks before surfing or scuba diving.

Andrew Caster, MD

:If you can have your procedure at least 1 month before you go, then you would have plenty of time to heal, and you might enjoy your trip more than with glasses or contacts. Otherwise, have the treatment when you return.
Andrew Caster, MD

It is hard to correct lazy eye after the age of 8 or so, though some recent studies have shown some improvement in adults. You should see a pediatric/strabismus specialist — they are the ones who most commonly treat amblyopia.

Andrew Caster, MD

I wish that your doctor had taken more time to explain things to you. It is very common for the two eyes to differ from one another during the healing phase. You vision is quite normal for this stage of the healing from PRK.

Andrew Caster, MD

You should need about the same power reading glasses as the difference between the top and bottom of your current glasses (what we call the reading “add”). This is because LASIK does not affect presbyopia. Some people with hyperopic LASIK get a slight “multifocal effect” which helps a small amount with near vision limited by presbyopia.

Andrew Caster, MD
Beverly Hills, California

The allergies should have little or no effect upon your LASIK. You will need reading glasses unless you get monovision because of your age. We don’t currently have a cure for presbyopia, which affects everyone over 45 whether or not they have LASIK.

Andrew Caster, MD

No, I would never recommend such a doctor, because the laser is very delicate and such a laser will not be in the finest condition.

Andrew Caster, MD

The eye drops are very effective. They eliminate the sense of pain, but do not eliminate the sense of touch. The eye speculum would be very uncomfortable if it were used without the numbing eyedrops, but with the drops it does not hurt. The procedure is really very quick and easy on the patient.

Andrew Caster, MD FACS

No, we do need you to look at the fixation light, which you would not be able to do when asleep. You can be medicated, however, which greatly lessens the anxiety.

Andrew Caster, MD

TFirst of all, I would recommend that you see a doctor and get a prescription for a more effective allergy drop. In fact, many allergy drops can be used daily, even when you are not having an attack, to decrease the risk of severe attacks.

I think if you could go a week before and a week afterward without an attack, that should be sufficient. You can take these prescription drops during this time, but I always recommend that you start with a new bottle after your LASIK.

Andrew Caster, MD

We can only improve the lazy eye to the level of vision that can be achieved with the perfect pair of glasses. So if your lazy eye is coreectable to 20/80 with the perfect glasses prescription, that is the best that could be achieved with LASIK.

Andrew Caster, MD

Sometimes, wavefront LASIK can improve the night vision. However, I would never promise that to a patient.
Andrew Caster, MD