Is LASIK surgery right for you?

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Millions of Americans have chosen vision-correction surgery as an alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses.

In his book, The Eye Laser Miracle: The Complete Guide to Better Vision (Ballantine), Dr. Andrew Caster says about 95 percent of patients see well enough after the surgery to pass a driver's license exam.

LASIK is a way of changing the curvature of the cornea. To correct nearsightedness, the cornea is flattened. For farsightedness, the curvature is increased. To correct astigmatism, it is equalized.

The 10-minute outpatient procedure uses pulses of ultraviolet laser light to remove microscopic layers of cells from different parts of the cornea. A computer determines the number of light pulses during the operation. Most patients are able to return to work the following day.

Dr. Caster, a professor of ophthalmology at UCLA, says people with cataracts or certain other eye conditions are poor candidates. LASIK is not recommended for people age 18 or younger because the cornea is still changing shape.

Beyond LASIK: For those whose vision is too poor to be corrected by LASIK, a new procedure implants a tiny plastic corrective lens called Verisyse (amo-inc.com) behind the cornea. The procedure is expected to be approved soon by the FDA.

Long Island Development Articles > Is LASIK surgery right for you?