Morgan Hill Eyecare Optometry is your LASIK partner
LASIK can be life-changing
While in optometry school as a student, Dr. Son Nguyen (without the doctor part yet), was chosen as one of a few students out of a class of 100 to be chosen as a rotation intern at the The Laser Center on-campus facility. It was an honor and privilege to be chosen. While there, he assessed prospective LASIK and PRK patients and determined how suitable each patient was to undergo the life-changing procedure.
During his rotation, Dr. Son Nguyen, learned so much about what goes on before the surgery, during the surgery, and the management after the surgery and it continues to influence how he treats his patients in regard to laser corrective surgeries.
Oftentimes, many optometrists shun laser corrective surgeries such as LASIK and PRK for their patients because they fear it will mean patients will no longer seek optometric care and the purchase of glasses. Dr. Nguyen’s philosophy has always been to put patient’s needs first and foremost. With this in mind, Dr. Nguyen is a proponent for LASIK and PRK for the right patient.
Because of Dr. Nguyen’s experience with The Laser Center (TLC) while a student, he has chosen to partner with Dr. Furlong and TLC to provide laser corrective surgery for his patients. If you live in the Morgan Hill/San Martin/Gilroy area, you may choose to be co-managed locally by Dr. Nguyen after your surgery.
Who IS the right patient?
In order to be a good candidate, patients must meet certain criteria. Patients are expected to have a stable refractive error (aka, your glasses prescription). As a result of this criteria, it is recommended that patients who wish to undergo laser corrective surgery receive two comprehensive eye exams one year apart. The sphere and astigmatism component of your glasses prescription should not deviate by more than +/- 0.25 diopters from one exam to the next exam.
Although there is no outright age requirement for LASIK or PRK, visual stability often means the best time for laser corrective surgery best occurs around the early to mid 20s in men and mid to late 20s in women, at their earliest. Generally speaking, visual stability occurs later in women due to natural biological differences such as fluctuating hormones and the early 20s are commonly the ages of child bearing. Childbirth can cause swelling in the tissues of the cornea and it is important to keep this in mind as having children after LASIK or PRK can often mean a change in vision post-surgery.
There is no upper limit in age to receive laser corrective surgery as long as the tissues of the eyes are healthy and the patient’s visual expectations are reasonable. Due to aging processes such as cataracts and presbyopia, it is often still required to wear corrective lenses for near visual duties such as reading and computer work and/or driving at night to reduce glare. If corrective lenses are still required after laser corrective surgery for older patients, the visual correction is usually much less, resulting in corrective lenses that are thinner, lighter, and more aesthetically appealing.
Before surgery is approved, a dilation must be performed to rule out other eye diseases in the back of the eye such as retinal or optical nerve problems. This can be done by Dr. Son Nguyen at Morgan Hill Eyecare Optometry if you live in the Morgan Hill/San Martin/Gilroy area.
What to do before surgery?
If you have been approved to undergo LASIK or PRK by your optometrist and ophthalmologist, there are a few steps we recommend so that your surgery goes as smoothly as possible. First, it is important you keep your eyes moist and in their best condition. If you are a contact lens wearer, please stop wearing contact lenses 1 month before surgery if you are a soft contact lens wearer and 2 months if you wear rigid gas permeable lenses (the hard contact lenses). We recommend you begin using artificial tears to keep the eyes moist for a week leading up to surgery day. Your ophthalmologist will also prescribe you certain drops to prevent infection and reduce inflammation with instructions regarding when to use them so that you may arrive to the surgical center with your eyes ready for surgery.
During surgery, what’s actually going on?
LASIK and PRK uses a laser to ablate (or carve down) an overly curved cornea. Upon arrival, patients are usually given oral anti-anxiety medications if needed. The laser corrective procedure usually takes about 10-15 minutes per eye. Patients are given transparent eye shields to wear for the rest of the day and instructions for drops to take.
LASIK involves the creation of a bandage flap and is therefore usually much more comfortable and the healing time is usually just 24 hours whereupon a patient can return to work the next day. PRK is a bit more intensive and involves the removal of the epithelial layer of cornea (it will grow back, don’t worry) using alcohol. After the top corneal layer is removed, the laser ablates the stroma of the cornea. A bandage contact lens is inserted over the cornea to allow the epithelial layer of the cornea to grow back in the next 3-4 days, after which the bandage contact lens is removed by the ophthalmologist.
After surgery, what to expect:
For LASIK, moments after surgery a patient can often see much more clear fairly immediately. Patients are often told to sleep off the rest of the day but it can be difficult given the excitement of how clear things look beyond the semi-transparent eye shields (keep them on, they’re for your safety!). One day after surgery, patients will have the protective shields removed and be examined by the surgical center to assess how well the surgery went, the placement of the corneal flap, and if the eyes are responding with too much inflammation.
For PRK, the patient is examined by the surgical center one day as well. If all looks good, the patient is told to return several days later to have the bandage contact lens removed.
One week after LASIK or the removal of the bandage lens in the case of PRK, the patient can be monitored by an optometrist. If you live close to Morgan Hill Eyecare Optometry, you may choose to be co-managed by Dr. Son Nguyen. Follow up examinations are scheduled at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after the surgery date. After the third month, if everything appears to be healing just fine, the patient will then be examined yearly for eye health as well as to qualify for the TLC warranty regarding any future “touch-up” surgeries that may be recommended.