LASIK surgery is a safe and effective way of correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. Our doctors at Brookside Optometric Group provide LASIK consultation, candidacy evaluation, as well as all pre- and post-operative care.
What is LASIK?
Focusing errors in your eye are caused by an irregularly shaped cornea, which is the front surface of the eye. As light passes through the cornea, the light is focused and passed to the retina through a process called refraction. In patients with myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, the irregularly shaped cornea distorts the light as it passes through, creating a blurry image.
LASIK surgery involves carefully sculpting the cornea with a micro-precision laser, correcting the imperfections and changing the eye’s focusing power. This process is safe, effective, and can forever remove the need for glasses or contact lenses!
Brookside Optometric Group tests all LASIK candidates with our OCULUS Pentacam scanner. This quick and painless test provides the doctor with a 360° image of the corneal structure in your eye, which is the only way to determine that the LASIK procedure is safe for you. With other providers, this test is done at the surgical center just prior to surgery. By performing the test ahead of time we can eliminate last-minute surprises for our patients. Brookside Optometric Group is the only optometric practice in Northern California with this testing equipment in-house.
Preoperative Consultation
In addition to determining whether the procedure is safe for you, our doctors will discuss whether the procedure is right for you. Will the surgery achieve the level of correction you’re looking for? Will you be happy with the results? Is it worth the financial investment? With years of experience to draw from, your doctor will help you decide if this is the right option for you, without pressure or a sales pitch.
The Surgical Procedure
The LASIK procedure is performed at an outpatient laser surgery center, which will be chosen in consultation with your doctor. All preoperative care will be completed at Brookside Optometric Group prior to your surgery date. The procedure typically takes about 30 minutes. Your Brookside Optometric Group doctor will discuss further details with you prior to your surgery date.
Postoperative Care
All postoperative followup visits will be at Brookside Optometric Group, on a schedule determined by your surgeon. Typically, post-op visits begin the day after surgery, and continue for 6 to 12 months. During these visits we’ll evaluate the surgical outcome and answer any questions you may have about your vision and recovery.
Costs vary based on which surgical center you choose, the amount of correction required, and other factors. Most surgeries end up being in the $4,000-$5,000 range for both eyes.
There has never been a recorded case of a patient going blind due to LASIK using modern surgical equipment and techniques. 95% of patients will experience 20/20 to 20/25 vision after LASIK. Several of our doctors at Brookside Optometric Group have had LASIK surgery after undergoing all of the same tests that you will experience. If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t have done it!
Distance vision regression is very rare, and never regresses to the point of the original prescription. People who get LASIK in their 20s may need reading glasses by the time they reach their mid 40s. LASIK does not prevent the formation of cataracts in later years which can impact vision, but those conditions can be alleviated with cataract surgery at that time.
To qualify for LASIK, you need to have a stable prescription, an appropriately curved cornea, a thick enough cornea, and no structural weaknesses within the cornea. Your Brookside doctor will evaluate each of these requirements to determine if LASIK is safe for you. There is no way to justify taking a risk with your vision if it is not 100% safe for you.
In around 80% of cases, yes, but there are limitations. This is something you should discuss with the doctor. As we evaluate your specific visual anatomy to determine what level of outcomes you can expect. We can often simulate the results of LASIK surgery using contact lenses for a short-term trial. This allows you to wear contact lenses for a period of time to ensure that the expected outcomes are acceptable to you.
Patients should expect their eyes to be dryer than normal for 1-6 months. Patients who do not experience significant dry eye prior to surgery (with or without contacts) should not have long-term issues. Your Brookside Optometric Group doctor will screen for this during your evaluation process.
Modern LASIK technology has corrected the issues that many patients experienced during the early years of this procedure. Today’s LASIK technology may even improve night vision, making it easier to drive, read street signs, and reducing flare from oncoming headlights.
Schedule an Appointment
To make setting up your next eye exam even easier, we’ve added online appointment requests! Once you submit your information our staff will confirm your appointment within 24 hours.
LASIK surgery has provided permanent vision correction for millions of Americans since it was first approved in 1999, and Dr. Bob Melrose has provided pre- and post-surgery consultation for thousands of patients during his career. In this episode of ...
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Patients always want to know, “Am I nearsighted or farsighted?” but the more they think about it, the more confused they get. It’s really very simple: your prescription is named after what is easier for you to see without glasses. Without glasses, pe...
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Brookside Optometric Group recently acquired a new scanning device to increase the effectiveness of our care for our patients. The Oculus Pentacam is an amazing device that can measure the parameters of every anatomical structure in the eye up to the...
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Refractive surgery to help rid people of the need for glasses is one of eye care’s most rapidly changing specialties. It has evolved from the early days of incision RK surgery to the advent of laser procedures and corneal implantation surgeries....
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Not a day goes by where a patient of mine does not ask me about LASIK eye surgery. This life changing surgery has been available in the United States since 1999 and it is estimated that over 600,000 people have this procedure performed every year. Sa...
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Thank You to Our Patients!
Thank you to our patients for voting us the "Best of San Joaquin" every year since 2010!
