Life After LASIK – Much Improved!

The vast majority of people who have their vision corrected using LASIK are very happy with their results. LASIK corrects nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The correction is instant and permanent.

When your procedure is finished and you are given the OK to go home (you will need a ride home), you can already see so clearly that most people are startled and astonished and full of wonder. They have never had this freedom of vision, where they can look from their watch to the child crossing the street to the mountains on the horizon and it is all equally clear.

LASIK Recovery
The first day or two your eyes will be a bit sensitive to light. In fact the first day you might just want to sleep. But you can return to normal activities in a day or two and typically leave your glasses at home. A day or two is the immediate recovery period and full recovery is thought to be three months. Over that period your vision will slowly improve even more. You will probably have dry eyes in this period and your eye surgeon will prescribe moisturizing eyedrops. The dryness will resolve itself in a few months.

When you are fully recovered, you will be delighted at the freedom you now have.
• You can perform better in sports without glasses
• There is no more bother with contact lenses falling out or getting lost
• You can add more spontaneity to your life, going out for a movie, a bike ride, a picnic, without any vision concerns
• You can pick up any printed material and see it clearly
• The computer monitor will be crystal clear

Each person has their particular joy according to their lifestyle and favorite activities.

Dr. Carter will want to check your eyes in follow-up visits. They will become less frequent and will end after about a year.

Please contact LASIK surgeon Dr. Harvey Carter today if you would like to learn more about LASIK and whether you are a good candidate for it. We hope to see you soon in our friendly Dallas, Texas vision correction office.

LASIK Age Requirements

To have a LASIK surgery, you need to be an adult -- over the age of 18. There is a good medical reason for this. Our eyes and vision continue to develop through the adolescent years and do not stabilize enough for laser vision correction until approximately 18 years of age.

For a LASIK vision correction to be effective and long-lasting, the eyes need to have the same prescription for at least a year. If LASIK were to be done on eyes that were still changing or developing, the reshaping would not hold and vision would again become blurry.

On the other end of the age continuum, an older person might be a good LASIK candidate, or might not, depending on other eye conditions. Dr. Carter would do a thorough eye exam and vision test. If the lens is beginning to develop early cataracts, that would need to be addressed first. There would be little purpose in correcting the corneal shape for better vision if the lens was becoming cloudy and impairing vision.

Similarly, if an older person is developing glaucoma, that would need treatment. There is no cure for glaucoma, but it can be managed with eyedrops that lower the pressure inside the eye. Dr. Carter would determine whether laser vision correction would be appropriate. Other eye conditions that tend to occur during or after mid-life would be assessed and may disqualify you for LASIK.

To learn more about your LASIK candidacy and have your questions answered, please contact our vision correction office today for a free personal consultation.

How do You Know if CK is the Right Procedure?

Dr. Carter uses CK (conductive keratoplasty) to reshape the cornea and improve vision. CK uses a very small instrument to apply radio waves to the outer parts of the cornea in a ring-like pattern. The radio waves change the corneal shape, allowing you to focus better on close range images. The in-office procedure is painless and takes less than five minutes to complete. Your central cornea remains completely untouched, so there are minimal risks
for the CK procedure.

CK Candidates

CK is most often used for patients over 40 who have presbyopia and need reading glasses or who are farsighted (unable to clearly see images up close). If you are in good health and have no previous history of vision problems, you could be a candidate for CK.

The CK procedure can also be performed if you have had prior LASIK surgery, but now require reading glasses. Dr. Carter will conduct additional tests to determine if you are a good candidate and how much corneal modification would be needed to improve your near vision.
The CK Procedure

CK does not require a surgical facility. Prior to your procedure, your eye will be completely numbed with eye drop anesthesia. You'll be asked to look at a microscope light and your eye will be marked with a sequence of dots. Dr. Carter will touch the dots with the probe, making a full circle around the border of your cornea. There may be eight to 32 points, depending upon the amount of correction you need.

Some people choose "blended vision" where Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) is used to modify one eye for near vision and the other is left untreated for far vision. If you are not sure which option is right for you, Dr. Carter can help you make the best choice for your lifestyle and needs.
Making the Choice

If you are farsighted or depend on reading glasses, CK could be a viable treatment option. If your vision falls within the range of correction for CK, Dr. Carter will conduct a comprehensive eye examination to determine the health of your eyes. From there, you can both discuss the benefits of CK to decide if it is right for you.

If you would like to ask more questions or schedule an eye exam, please contact our Dallas, Texas vision care office today.

If I have Lasik, Will I Ever Need Eyeglasses?

The majority of people who have LASIK to correct their vision do not need their glasses after treatment. But there is no way to guarantee that you will never need to wear glasses again. Depending on your age and the type of prescription you have, it is possible you may need to wear reading glasses after having LASIK.

Typically people under 40 or 45 read well without glasses following a LASIK treatment. However, most of us will need reading glasses at some point in our lives because the ability to focus on near objects decreases as we age. This condition is called presbyopia and typically occurs after 40 years of age. LASIK vision correction does not prevent or correct presbyopia.

There is a variety of strategies to address presbyopia and provide options for decreasing your dependence on reading glasses. One example is monovision. With this treatment, one eye is corrected to improve distance vision and one eye is corrected for better vision close up. Monovision may delay the need for corrective eyewear.

Another example is blended vision. This is a treatment of one eye with Near Vision CK (Conductive Keratoplasty). The other eye is left untreated for far vision. The CK procedure uses radio waves to change corneal curvature, making it steeper for near vision.

Dr. Carter will be able to address your individual vision needs and help you to determine which options are best for you.

If you would like to have a free consultation to ask more questions or if you are ready to schedule an eye exam, please call or email LASIK surgeon Dr. Carter today. We serve the entire Dallas, Texas area.

How to Choose an IntraLASIK Doctor

Your eyesight is one of the most precious gifts you have. When you need assistance to improve or correct your vision, it is important to choose your doctor carefully. He or she should be certified and well-trained in the procedure you are considering, be able to answer your questions knowledgably, and be as invested in maintaining your valuable sight as you are.

An increasingly popular form of vision correction surgery is IntraLASIK. IntraLASIK uses a second laser instead of a microkeratome (blade) to create the LASIK corneal flap. After you better understand the IntraLase method, you should learn as much as possible about the doctor and vision center you select for the procedure. Below are five questions you can ask to help you choose the right IntraLASIK surgeon.

1. Have you been trained and certified to perform IntraLASIK?
2. How long have you been performing the IntraLASIK?
3. How many IntraLASIK procedures have you performed?
4. Are you certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology?
5. Can you offer the names and contact information of some previous patients similar to me who had IntraLASIK done?

Dr. Carter is willing to answer your questions openly and even provides you with further guidelines for selecting an IntraLASIK surgeon. Using the above five questions, you may not be able to immediately obtain all the information you need, but an eye surgeon who sincerely intends to provide you with the best IntraLASIK procedure possible will make efforts to ensure you are well-informed and satisfied with your decision.

If you are in the Dallas, Texas area and would like to make the best choice possible for your vision needs, please contact IntraLASIK surgeon Dr. Carter to schedule a free consultation.

Wavefront Technology

Wavefront mapping is a vision diagnosis technology that makes it possible for Dr. Carter to customize your laser eye surgery more precisely than was previously possible. The Wavefront technology precisely measures and records the unique imperfections of your eyes and creates a 3D map for each eye. Dr. Carter use the recorded data and maps to plan your vision correction treatment. LASIK performed after a Wavefront diagnosis is known as custom LASIK.

How does Wavefront Mapping Work?

Wavefront mapping can detect and measure vision defects 25 times more precisely than other standard methods. To create a Wavefront map for each of your eyes, a safe and painless beam of light is passed through each eye. It travels through to the retina and then reflects back to the Wavefront system.

The Wavefront system captures and measures the changes that your eyes made to the light beam. A perfect eye would make no changes, but no person has a perfect eye. Each human eye has microscopic aberrations in its contours which create a curved formation to the front of the light beam.

These curved formations are known as Higher Order Aberrations and were not corrected by early LASIK procedures, done before Wavefront technology was developed. They mostly relate to night vision and so far about 60 have been discovered and recorded. There are just three Lower Order Aberrations: myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.

After a Wavefront LASIK sensor identifies, measures, and maps your eye’s aberrations (both lower and higher), computer software converts the data into a mathematic formula. This formula becomes the treatment instructions for the laser Dr. Carter uses to conduct your custom LASIK procedure.

To better understand the process or to schedule an appointment for Custom LASIK, please contact LASIK surgeon Dr. Carter today. Our office serves Dallas, Texas.

Can you Prevent Cataracts?

Cataracts are a change in the eye’s lens, where it becomes so cloudy that it impairs your vision. Cataracts happen as we age and there is no proven way to prevent them or to reverse the damage once it has begun.

Cataracts can also be caused by problems such as diabetes, eye trauma, certain drugs, or prolonged sunlight exposure. In these situations, some precautions can sometimes prevent cataracts from forming:

1. If you are diabetic, keep your blood sugar and diabetes under control.
2. Pay close attention to the side effects of drugs such as steroids and psoriasis medications. Prolonged use or high doses can cause cataracts over time.
3. Protect your eyes from ultraviolet light. It is as harmful to your eyes as it is to your skin.
4. Be sure to have antioxidants in your diet and/or as a supplement. Vitamins such as beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E have been shown to slow the development of cataracts.
5. Protect your eyes from any type of injury. Trauma to the eyes can cause a cataract almost immediately, so it is important to wear safety glasses when necessary.

Preliminary studies have also indicated that vigorous exercise or caffeine intake to prohibit free radicals (unstable and damaging molecules) may be helpful in preventing cataracts. Still, the best way to care for your eye health and prevent vision loss from cataracts is to educate yourself and to have regular eye exams.

Our team is available to answer any questions you may have about eye health and disease prevention. If you'd like to have a more in-depth discussion about your own case, please call or email eye surgeon Dr. Carter for a free personal consultation.