LASIK / FAQs

Your prescription is good for laser vision correction, but the other measurements of the eye must be within the proper bounds. People in their teenage years sometimes are still growing and their prescriptions can still sometimes be changing, so you should wait until you have two years with a total of less than a 0.5 diopter change (that would be in the first two numbers for each eye).

Andrew Caster, MD

I need more information than what you have provided. I would recommend that you see another doctor to get a second opinion.

Andrew Caster, MD

There is considerable controversy about the role of large pupils in causing glare and halos, with some studies showing no effect at all, while others feel that people with large pupils are more likely to get bothersome glare or halos after surgery. If pupils do have an effect, it is most likely the combination of large pupils and a very large correction. I would characterize your correction as medium. There are no hard and fast cutoffs.

Andrew Caster, MD

You must allow time for your eyes to revert back to their normal shape, which can be temporarily distorted by wearing RGP contacts. This can often take several months.

Andrew Caster, MD

Most likely, the vision will improve significantly over the next month or two. If not, a further enhancement may be needed.

Andrew Caster, MD FACS

Most people with your prescription are good candidates for laser vision correction. I suggest that you obtain a personal consultation.

Andrew Caster, MD

LASIK will not stop the eyes from changing. We would expect your near vision to change at this age, as you are developing the middle age “presbyopia”. That should not stop you from having the procedure. But if your distance vison is changing substantially every year, then you may want to wait. It would be very unusual for someone your age to have the distance vision changing substantially.

Andrew Caster, MD

LASIK is recommended for people who have bad enough vision to benefit from wearing glasses or contact lenses.

Andrew Caster, MD

Those are good prescriptions for LASIK. It does appear that you have a slightly lazy right eye, which needs to be investigated.

Andrew Caster, MD

I suggest that people stay out of the water for a week.

Andrew Caster, MD

After LASIK, the eye pressure measurements must be adjusted to take into account the fact that the corneal thickness has been changed. So you should tell your eye doctor that you have had LASIK so he/she can make that adjustment.

Andrew Caster, MD

In most situations, that is thick enough to perform LASIK.

Andrew Caster, MD

If your vision is getting worse, then you should wait until it has stopped changing. You are at the upper limit for laser vision correction, and should consider looking into the phakic intraocular lenses.

Andrew Caster, MD

For people with thin corneas, the LASIK without the flap, also known as PRK or Advanced Surface Treatment, is often an option. the other option, which is more invasive, is the phakic intraocular lenses, also known as the intraocular contact lens.

Andrew Caster, MD