5 LASIK Surgery Myths to Ignorein Boston, MA

LASIK has become an increasingly popular procedure in recent years. With constant advances in technology, it’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

LASIK has given countless patients a reliable alternative to traditional glasses and contacts and allowed them to finally experience visual freedom. Still, misinformation about LASIK runs rampant, both online and offline.

If you’ve been on the fence about undergoing a vision correction procedure, you should probably know what’s fact and fiction when it comes to LASIK, starting with these prevalent myths. Keep reading for 5 LASIK surgery myths to ignore!

Myth 1: It’s Dangerous

Any surgical procedure, no matter how minor it may seem, carries some degree of risk. Even with something like LASIK, this is still true.

But the truth of the matter is, LASIK is not dangerous. It’s incredibly safe and has a patient satisfaction of over 96%!

That means for the patients that had LASIK, 96% of patients report being satisfied with their results. That’s a lot of happy LASIK patients!

More than that, though, it also has a very low rate of serious complications. A lot of people mistakenly believe that getting LASIK will cause them to go blind.

The truth? Nobody who has ever had LASIK has ever gone blind due to the procedure, so that’s another myth you can forget about.

Yes, there are risks. But these risks can be minimized by going to a reputable LASIK surgeon and having a thorough LASIK consultation.

You have to have a LASIK consultation before you can have the vision correction procedure. A LASIK consultation determines whether or not LASIK surgery is safe for you.

If you choose a good surgeon who says you’re a good candidate for LASIK, your chances for success are high, reducing your risks.

You may have also heard that LASIK is a new procedure, and due to this, the long-term effects aren’t fully understood. This isn’t entirely true, either.

LASIK isn’t new since it’s been FDA-approved for over 25 years. Even the first LASIK patients are still happy with their long-term results. As a procedure, LASIK only continues to evolve and get better over time. For patients, that means that it’s become safer as well.

Myth 2: It’s Painful

Because LASIK is a procedure that takes place on your eyes, people automatically assume it has to be painful. But again, this myth is false.

LASIK is not painful! You will be awake during LASIK, so you don’t have to worry about being put under or needing general anesthesia. If the fact that you’ll be awake during LASIK makes you nervous, it shouldn’t.

The reason that LASIK is not painful is that there are numbing eye drops that you receive. They’re administered before LASIK begins, giving them enough time to cover the entire surface of your eye.

It’s only the cornea that’s reshaped during LASIK, so you don’t have to worry about the rest of your eye somehow being involved. Most people don’t feel much of anything during LASIK, which is short, anyway. The whole procedure takes 10-15 seconds per eye. At most, you may feel some slight pressure that only lasts a few seconds at most.

If you’ve heard anything about your eyes burning, that’s untrue too. The laser used during LASIK is cold, meaning it won’t burn your eye. It will only cut through your eye. There’s no way to smell your eyes burning during the procedure, so you can cross that off your list of worries!

Myth 3: Recovery Takes a Long Time

Recovery from any surgery can be a pain. During LASIK surgery, your surgeon creates a small flap in your cornea.

This small flap takes several months to fully heal. But this doesn’t mean you’ll be in recovery for months. In fact, initial discomfort for most patients lasts a few days at most.

Eye doctors recommend avoiding strenuous exercise, eye makeup, pools, hot tubs, and a few other specific activities for a few weeks. But you’ll be able to resume most normal activities pretty quickly after having LASIK.

The best part, of course, is that your vision will also improve immediately after LASIK and only continue to improve in the days and weeks following the procedure. Once your corneas are fully healed, you’ll have achieved your best vision.

But before then, you’ll still be able to live your life as usual. You won’t have to worry about taking off a lot of time from work, and you’ll have the clear vision you’ve always wanted. What’s not to love about that?

Myth 4: Your Prescription is Too High For LASIK

LASIK can correct vision up to -11 diopters for nearsightedness. Patients with nearsightedness of -5 diopters or more are considered severely nearsighted, so LASIK can genuinely correct your sight a great deal.

Even if you’re farsighted or have astigmatism, LASIK can still correct your vision up to +5 diopters and 5 diopters, which still covers anyone with moderate farsightedness or astigmatism. If your prescription is within these limits, it means LASIK can fully correct your vision.

The whole range covers most patients who otherwise have to rely on glasses or contacts. LASIK may not be a miracle, but it’s pretty close when you consider that you can achieve visual freedom from glasses and contacts!

Myth 5: It’s Prohibitively Expensive

LASIK is more affordable than you might think. Not only can you pay for it through zero-interest payment plans, FSA funds, and HSA funds, but it can even save you a lot of money down the road.

Think about how much you spend on glasses or contact lenses right now. Since LASIK eliminates the need for visual aids, it means you don’t have to spend any of that money for years to come on them.

Essentially, LASIK will eventually pay for itself! It’s an investment in your future vision as well as your future finances. What would you buy if you no longer had to worry about purchasing glasses, contacts, and all the various accessories that go with them? The options are endless!

Now that you know what’s true about LASIK, it’s time to find out if it’s the right vision correction procedure for you. Schedule your free LASIK consultation at Nielsen Eye Center in Boston, MA now!

Our dedicated Patient Advocates are by the phone waiting for your call. They’ll answer any questions you may have about LASIK, how the procedure works and even financing options! Give them a call at 617-471-5665 and see for yourself why LASIK is a life-changing procedure!

Clear vision could be yours, so are you ready for it?