The doctor answered why glasses might be necessary even after laser vision correction

– What are eye surgeries? What can be “cut” in the eye?

– The eye only looks like a very small organ, but there is a lot to do in it. Starting with small, minimally invasive things, ending with large-scale operations. Clearly the most popular in the field of vision improvement is laser eye correction, where we can restore vision very quickly and accurately. For people for whom laser correction is not possible, there are alternative methods, such as implanting an additional lens in the eye or replacing the lens already in the eye. This is already a slightly more serious operation.

– So how do surgeons improve vision? Are you just putting an extra lens in your eye?

– We come across lasers every day, they are in cars, lasers are scanned in stores. Surgeries are done, of course, with medical lasers, but they are different. Some are intended to weld, others evaporate very little tissue without leaving marks and damaging the structure of the eye. Lasers are used to correct vision that does not cause any damage to the eye. By changing the thickness of the cornea, we can also change vision.

– There are many myths about lasers and other operations. For example, you will never need glasses after surgery.

– No, that’s not true. When we perform the operation, we adjust the distance vision. However, physiologically, a person can see well until about 45 years of age. After that, eternal farsightedness begins when vision begins to change. All the people who have seen far away still see well there, but they need glasses to read. Therefore, it is not true that you will no longer need glasses, because after 40 years, glasses are usually necessary for reading.

– If the cornea becomes thin during the operation, does that mean that the eye will no longer be so resistant and you will no longer be able to dive or take off with the plane because it will explode?

– This is a myth. Before the operation, the person is examined and there are accepted limits on how much and what we can do. We cannot thin the cornea to infinity, there are safety limits. There are people who cannot do more than minus 3 diopters due to the structure of the cornea, but there are people who have thick corneas and can do minus 12 diopters for them. We have safety limits. You can dive and fly, nothing will happen, you don’t have to be afraid.

– Another statement: but when your eye hurts, drugs are allowed to enter and it is even more harmful.

– Again, it’s a myth. 1-2 drops are enough for the operation, just like artificial tears. The person does not feel any discomfort during the operation. Everything feels better after the operation, but there is no discomfort during the operation itself.

– But the operation is new and most say they do not want to be experimental rabbits, it is better to wear glasses.

– Here, doctor, as new as young and young … (laughs). These operations have been carried out commercially for more than 30 years. Some fear that something will happen when they get older or have some kind of eye disease. All major risks are associated with the first hours or days after surgery. And below is the same as, say, what will happen in 30 years if we rub our skin now. Nothing, everything is a thread. The only nuance is that we change the shape of the cornea a bit. If we do not have data on what the eye looked like before the operation, we may get an error about which lens to put on when replacing the lens in old age or during cataract surgery. Any self-respecting clinic should give an extract with primary data of the eye and then there is nothing to fear.

– It is as if I heard the answer to another myth that if vision correction were performed, the lens would not be changed in old age.

– Let’s change, there are no major problems.

– But the laser burns everything, dries it up, so you can’t live without artificial tears.

– Dry eyes are one of the most common conditions after vision correction surgeries. However, these are usually temporary problems while the healing process is ongoing. Then everything improves and the problem no longer arises. Again, different surgeries can cause slightly different sensations. Another thing, some people who wear contact lenses also experience dry eyes. The contact lenses themselves irritate the eyes and we have a worse situation.

– Another statement: the surgeons themselves walk around with glasses and do not perform surgeries because they are afraid of something and do not tell the patients.

– One of the most ingrained myths. Actually in operation and even research conducted in the United States that about 90 percent. doctors who perform these surgeries and have corrected their vision themselves. And in its environment, people 60 percent. perform operations more frequently than others. I have operated on several of my colleagues. […] A detailed eye exam is performed before each operation and certainly not all of these operations can be performed. That is why it is important to determine if a person does not suffer from certain diseases.

– Thanks for the conversation.