QUESTION:
Does your vision have to be 20/20 to be a surgeon and will LASIK be a good option for bad eyesight?
ANSWER:
Being a surgeon requires excellent vision. Some types of surgeons require more excellent vision than others. Microsurgeons such as ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons and vascular surgeons need particularly sharp vision. Know that people who have 20/25 or even 20/30 see very well, and in my opinion can function quite well as surgeons, again, depending on the visual demands. Orthopedic surgeons, for example, tend to work with larger instruments, and heavier sutures, which may allow for less than 20/20 vision. And, as time goes on, we are seeing more “robotic” surgery (ie DaVinci) in various fields, which will extend a mortal surgeons’ limited dexterity (and possibly vision) to superhuman levels.
QUESTION:
Is it possible to go through LASIK surgery before 22 years of age?
ANSWER:
Yes, most lasers are FDA approved to treat patients 21 and older (some lasers are approved for 18 and over). More importantly, you and your surgeon should evaluate whether your vision is stable, or if your myopia has been steadily increasing over the last year or two. If your prescription is not stable, you may become slightly nearsighted again following your LASIK. And finally, at -11D your prescription is severe. It is vital that your corneas be thick enough to allow for a full correction.
If you are between 21 and 45 and nearsighted, you may be a candidate for the Visian ICL. Unlike traditional contact lenses that go on the eye’s surface, the Visian ICL is positioned inside the eye between the iris (the colored part of the eye) and the natural lens, which stays indefinitely. In an emergency, it can also easily be removed from the eye.
QUESTION:
Which is best, iLASIK or zLASIK?
ANSWER:
iLASIK and zLASIK are simply terms coined by various equipment manufacturers to “brand” their version of custom, blade-free LASIK. If you’re really asking, “what is the best brand of equipment to have for my LASIK?” the answer is all of the major excimer laser (Visx, Allegretto, Bausch & Lomb, Nidek) and femtosecond laser (IntraLase, Ziemer) manufacturers offer excellent products which when used in skilled surgeons’ hands, deliver outstanding results. Much like a race car and driver, you need to have great equipment AND a great surgeon. Technical specs on a laser can often be less important than who is behind the laser operating it. Corneas should be of normal shape, without signs of keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration, or other structural abnormalities. Corneal thickness should be sufficient to allow a 275 to 300 micron residual bed minimum after ablation. Pentacam is currently the gold standard when it comes to measuring and analyzing the shape of the cornea preoperatively.
