1. How do I know if I am a good candidate for treatment with Dr Fink?
You are a good candidate if:
• You would love to stop being dependent on glasses and contact lenses and enjoy the freedom that brings.
• Your prescription is between -1 to -10 (near sight), or up to +4 (far sight), with or without cylinder up to 6 (astigmatism)
• Your are between the ages of 18-65
• You are dependent on glasses or contact lenses for distance vision.
• You have a stable glasses prescription
• You don’t suffer from any eye disease and have good vision in both eyes with your glasses on
• You are in good general health.
NOTE: Laser Vision Correction can also help patients who require glasses for reading and distance vision, but is not designed for those who have good distance vision and only require glasses for reading.
2. What are the different types of laser treatments?
There are basically two types of laser treatment. Firstly ASA is a gentle treatment to the surface of the eye, without any incision. Healing can be uncomfortable for some patients during the first 2-3 days, and functional vision is achieved usually in 3-5 days. The second technique Lasik is more invasive and complicated requiring the cutting of a superficial flap, but the advantage is more rapid healing and usually functional vision the next day.
3. How do I choose a surgeon?
This is arguably the most important decision you will make along the road to a successful laser treatment. Your doctor will firstly make the skilled decision as to whether you are suitable for laser treatment. He needs to be approachable and patient so that you can ask all the questions you need to be satisfied that laser treatment is for you. He will then decide on the type of treatment, carry it out and monitor your progress afterwards to achieve the best result possible. He needs to be available to answer questions at the end of a telephone.
Ask your doctor how many treatments he performs each month, where he has trained, and his success rate.
4. How safe is laser vision correction?
The US army continues to encourage and sponsor its combat troops to undergo laser vision correction treatments which is a good indication of just how safe and successful the procedure is today. This even includes its air force and navy fighter pilots who take millions of dollars to train.
The specific risks for each different procedure will be discussed with you at your laser consultation.
The risks are far less than in past due to better technology. Choosing an experienced doctor contributes significantly to reducing the risk even further.
In a recent report the risk of significant visual damage due to infection from wearing contact lenses long term was shown to be 5 times that of laser vision correction.
Other problems seen in the past such as night vision difficulties (halos and glare) are also very unusual today because of better laser technology including “wavefront” treatments.
5. Is laser vision correction permanent, or does the laser effect wear off after a few years?
Amongst Dr Fink's patients, the chance of requiring an extra treatment because of residual prescription, or because some of the effect wears off with time, is between 2% and 5% depending on the initial prescription, which is well within FDA standards. For very high prescriptions and long sighted patients, the figures may be slightly higher.
Reading glasses will be required in the future as for anyone else with great distance vision, although there are solutions for this also.
6. Laser is a new procedure. Is it safe long term?
ASA (PRK) has been around since the 1980's, more than 25 years. Lasik was first performed in 1989, more than 20 years ago. There have been no surprise new complications discovered in recent years that we weren't previously aware of.
7. Is the treatment painful?
Local anaesthetic eye drops are used to numb your eyes, and the procedure is not painful. There may be a feeling of pressure whilst preparing the eye to receive the laser, such as when creating the flap in Lasik, but patients don’t usually describe the procedure as painful when asked afterwards.
8. What if I move my eye or blink during my treatment?
Your eye lids are kept open by a small spring called a retractor, so you cannot blink, and as your eyes are anaesthetised you don’t usually feel the need to. Some patients blink a lot and have difficulty opening their eyes as the retractor is being inserted but Dr Fink is used to this, and it isn’t usually a problem.
The laser machines we use have a tracker which follows your eye movements very accurately should your eyes move slightly during the treatment.
If your eyes move too much or outside the field of treatment, the laser machine stops automatically. Dr Fink is checking your eye position all the time and can stop the laser manually also.
9. Will both eyes be treated on the same day?
99% of patients choose to have laser to both eyes on the same day. There is no evidence that results are better or safer by having treatment on different days. However Dr Fink will respect your wishes if you choose to have each eye treated separately and you can discuss it your pre-operative assessment. In addition some patients with low prescriptions only need one eye treating.
10. Can I go blind after laser vision correction?
I have never had a patient go blind. Indeed there has never been a reported case of complete loss of vision in any FDA trial since the early 1990’s, and no case reported in the literature anywhere in the world over the last 20 years.
11. Will I see 6/6 (20/20) after my treatment?
Most people after laser see the same as they saw before treatment, although of course without glasses/contacts, so your best potential vision will depend on how good it was beforehand. That said with very high prescriptions, and cylinder, vision can be improved quite often.
12. What is astigmatism (cylinder) and can laser treat astigmatism (cylinder)?
Astigmatism means your cornea is curved unevenly and is “egg” shaped rather than uniformly curved like a football. Our laser machine, the Allegretto, treats up to 6 dioptres of astigmatism.
13. When can I get back to work after treatment?
Lasik has the advantage of rapid healing. Most patients reach functional vision within hours, and can often work the next day. After ASA, most patients can return to work within 3-5 days.
14. What will be the restrictions after my laser treatment?
For the first week especially it is important not to rub your eyes and to prevent the entrance of water when washing/showering. It is advised not to put on makeup for the first week only, and to take care during the first month, removing it gently. Swimming in a pool or the sea should be avoided for about 3 weeks. Other activities such as reading, computer work and sport are not restricted in any way.
15. Can I have laser treatment if I am pregnant?
Laser is not dangerous to your baby, but often your glasses prescription is unstable during pregnancy which can affect the result of your treatment. Therefore in most cases it is best to delay your treatment until after the baby is born.
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