Many optometrists have special training in LASIK. Your eye doctor can play an important role in helping you understand if laser eye surgery is right for you. Here are just three ways a your eye doctor can help.
1. Finding a LASIK provider
Many eye doctors partner with reputable LASIK centers. Through this partnership, they can recommend LASIK surgeons they trust to their interested patients. Often your eye doctor will not just hand you off to this surgeon; rather, they will stay involved in your eye care to make sure you’re getting a safe, effective treatment.
If safety and quality matter to you, ask your eye doctor for the name of a LASIK surgeon she trusts.
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2. Assessing your basic LASIK candidacy
Before recommending you to a surgeon, your eye doctor can give you some preliminary information about your LASIK candidacy. Your eye doctor can tell you, for instance, whether or not your prescription has remained stable for at least one year (the minimum for LASIK). They can also point out if you have conditions that might put into question your candidacy, such as dry eyes or the beginning stages of cataracts.
3. Fielding eye-anatomy questions
There’s another benefit to talking to an eye doctor knowledgeable about LASIK: Eye doctors can tell you about the anatomy of the human cornea, give you a sense for how your eye works and explain exactly how LASIK works.
Not all eye doctors are LASIK surgeons and can’t give you as many specifics as a LASIK specialist, but they are doctors of the eye who have studied ocular anatomy and conditions. Your eye doctor will have your family medical history, knows what types of eye conditions you have, and how that affects your candidacy for laser refractive surgery. This gives you more foundation than most when you go in for your LASIK consultation.
At the end of the day, LASIK is a procedure that reshapes the cornea to better focus light rays—LASIK can correct astigmatism, nearsightedness or farsightedness. By asking your eye doctor questions at your next eye exam, you can open the door to LASIK discussion in a safe environment and get professional advice on where to go and whether LASIK may be right for you.
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