Short sight and long sight where people cannot see items clearly either up close or far away affects many
. The reason for this defect is a cornea that is misshapen. Laser eye surgery corrects this defect so the patient doesn't need to use corrective lenses. LASIK is the most popular laser used today and was discovered in the early 90's.
Done under a local anaesthetic the surgeon will cut a flap above where the cornea is whilst the eye is held open. The flap is lifted to reveal the cornea which is then shaped by the laser so the vision is corrected. There is no need for stitches and healing is usually simple and quick.
There are so many benefits from having this surgery. Those who wear glasses often imagine how nice it would be to wake in the morning and be able to see as soon as they open their eyes, without having to find glasses or put in their contact lenses. There won't be any ongoing costs for sight examinations, frames and lenses.
For those people who are very active and like to play sports, this form of corrective surgery is perfect. Having to wear glasses can make some heavy contact sports almost impossible and sometimes even dangerous. For those who try contacts lenses they might find that they get dry and irritable eyes a lot of the time, having their sight corrected will often eliminate this.
Not everyone can have this type of surgery however. Patients need to be over a certain age, usually 21 and have to have had the same level of prescription for the past 1 or 2 years. If there is any damage to the eye or if the correction needed is severe then the patient may not be suitable for laser.
Things to take into consideration are that laser eye surgery is not permanent. It isn't risk free with infection, reaction to anaesthetic and under or over correction being a possible factor. Also this procedure cannot treat presbyopia which is long sightedness caused by old age.