New York City LASIK Blog
New York, Manhattan, Long Island LASIK
Archive for May, 2010
Preparing for Vision Correction Surgery
Monday, May 31st, 2010
If you are going to undergo LASIK or any other type of vision surgery, you should first understand that vision correction truly is surgery. Like any other type of surgery it requires preoperative preparation and postoperative care and checkups. Fortunately, LASIK requires only 1-3 days of recovery before you can return to many of your regular activities. But before you step into the office for your LASIK procedure, you should follow these steps:
Stop wearing contacts 1-4 weeks before your procedure. Allowing your eyes to breathe and your cornea to relax will help promote the best possible outcome to your surgery. Dr. Kelly will let you know the specific duration in your individual case.
Stop smoking. Smoking can inhibit or prevent your body from recovering completely after a surgery. No matter what kind of procedure you will be undergoing, stop smoking 4-8 weeks ahead of time.
Avoid wearing eye makeup. One key to complete recovery after LASIK is keeping the eye clean of any debris. Before the surgery and while your eyes are healing, avoid bringing your eyes into contact with any alien materials.
Eat well. Following a healthy diet and exercise promotes blood circulation and enables your body to heal more quickly. Dr. Kelly will recommend that you avoid strenuous exercise immediately before and after your procedure, but following a good diet will help you feel better after your procedure.
Arrange for a companion. You will not be able to drive or leave the office alone after your procedure, so make sure you have someone who is able to get you to and from your appointment.
Take time off work. You may require at least one day of recovery. Make sure that your office knows you will be away from work for a short time.
Prepare for your needs. Make sure that you have pain relievers, tissues, and plenty of water at your disposal after the procedure. Most patients experience little or no discomfort during or after the LASIK procedure, but you will want to be sure to stay off your feet for a day or two, which means having meals that are quick and easy to prepare.
To learn more about LASIK or preparing for LASIK, please contact Kelly Laser Center today, serving New York in Manhattan and Long Island.
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Halos, Faded Color
Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Most patients at Kelly Laser Center approach us because they have less-than-perfect vision and are tired of relying on contacts or eyeglasses day in and day out. These patients are fortunate because LASIK is a good option for most patients with imperfect vision. However, some patients find their vision changing as they grow older. For patients who simply find the need for reading glasses, the change in their vision is simply an inconvenience, but for others the change may indicate something much more serious.
If you are experiencing halos or starbursts, that is, the appearance of bright lines or haziness around the edges of your vision, or if you feel that the color is fading out of your vision, you may be experiencing the early symptoms of Cataracts. Cataracts are a milky covering over the lens of the eye that is the result of a progressive condition. Without treatment, eyes affected by cataracts will continue to worsen.
However, cataracts which are diagnosed early enough can be treated with IOLs, or intraocular lenses. Kelly Laser Center offers Crystalens IOLs and ReSTOR® lens replacement surgery for cataract patients.
To learn more about treating cataracts, please contact eye surgeon Dr. James Kelly today, serving New York patients throughout Manhattan, New York City, and Long Island.
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Night Vision
Saturday, May 29th, 2010
This blog is not actually about being able to see in the dark, but rather the effects of LASIK on your ability to see at night. If you have been researching LASIK, you may have come across pages listing the risks and side effects that LASIK surgery may create, and listed in many of these types of pages is the risk of halos or poor night vision.
The cause of halos after vision correction surgery is not a mystery. Halos can occur if the patient’s pupils are large, making the area affected by LASIK smaller than that of the patient’s perception. In other words, the center of the image is clear, but the edges are blurry. This does not change between daytime and nighttime vision, but only becomes more pronounced when, for example, you are driving and another car is approaching you with its headlights on.
Fortunately, an experienced LASIK surgeon can prevent halos or let you know if there is a potential for this side effect before the procedure is ever performed. Before any type of elective surgery you should meet with the surgeon, discuss potential risks and be examined to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for the procedure. LASIK is no different.
To learn more about LASIK, or to schedule your consultation to find out if you are a good candidate for LASIK, please contact experienced LASIK surgeon Dr. James Kelly today. Kelly Laser Center serves patients throughout Manhattan, Long Island, and New York City, New York.
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What Can LASIK Correct?
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Myopia – Nearsightedness, or myopia, can often be treated with LASIK surgery. Dependent on the severity of myopia, a candidate needs to have a certain level of nearsightedness to be considered a good candidate for LASIK. Typically, vision should be rated at less than -14.00 diopters of nearsightedness for the candidate to receive the maximum benefit from LASIK.
Hyperopia – Farsightedness, also called hyperopia, is the condition of being able to see distant objects with clarity or greater clarity than close objects. LASIK is often a good option for patients with hyperopia whose vision is below +6.00 diopters of farsightedness. Hyperopia, which may be present at any time of life, should not be confused with Presbyopia.
Presbyopia – As your eye age they may develop difficulty viewing objects or text at close range. This condition is called presbyopia, or aging eyes. In many patients presbyopia will develop and then become relatively stable, allowing for the use of over-the-counter or prescription reading glasses to compensate for the vision change. Depending on the candidate, presbyopia may be treated with LASIK.
Astigmatism – When the lens of the eye is more ovular than round the condition creates blurry vision and is referred to as astigmatism. For many patients astigmatism can be treated and permanently corrected with LASIK.
To learn more about how LASIK can help improve your vision, please contact LASIK surgeon Dr. James Kelly today, serving patients throughout New York state, including in New York City, Manhattan, and Long Island.
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Celebrities Who Have Had LASIK
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
While many celebrities try to keep their personal lives out of the public eye, some share information freely, including when they are happy with a procedure they have had performed. LASIK is one type of surgery that patients of any level of celebrity are enjoying and touting its benefits. Celebrities who used to require contacts or eyeglasses are telling their friends and their fans about the relief LASIK has given them.
Some well-known celebrities who have undergone LASIK surgery include:
Nicole Kidman
Jessica Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Tiki Barber
LeShon Johnson
Tiger Woods
Vijay Singh
Barry Manilow
Elton John
The new trend in refractive surgery for celebrities is only an accurate reflection of studies which have only recently become available showing LASIK to be a good option for long-term vision correction. If you are nearsighted, farsighted, have astigmatisms or are presbyopic, LASIK may also be a good option for you.
If you are interested in seeing the world like a celebrity, please contact experienced LASIK surgeon Dr. James Kelly today, helping patients see clearly without contacts and eyeglasses throughout New York City, Manhattan, Long Island, and the surrounding areas of New York.
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Dry Eye
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
If your eyes feel scratchy and dry, even when they have tears in them, you probably suffer from a condition called dry eye. Dry eye is caused by the tear quality, rather than the tear quantity, and even individuals with eyes that seem to frequently water can be the victims of dry eye.
Your eyes are not simply covered by a saline liquid, but by oils as well, much like the oils that protect your skin from heat and dryness. What your eyes do not produce enough oil to keep them protected, the moisture in your eyes evaporates more quickly, and your eyes may become easily irritated or uncomfortable.
Dry eye is not the same as allergies, which produce itchiness or irritation when exposed to a certain type of pollen or animal dander. Dry eye can affect you anywhere and at any time. Individuals who suffer from dry eye may find that eye drops are not effective in relieving their symptoms, and dry eye sufferers typically are not good candidates for LASIK surgery.
A recent publication has shown that one possibility is that IPL can treat dry eye, and information about the link between the cleansing affect of IPL on the tear ducts is still being investigated and studied.
If you have dry eye and would like to know more about your treatment options, please contact vision surgeon Dr. James Kelly at Kelly Laser Center, serving patients throughout New York City, Manhattan, and Long Island, New York.
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IPL Can Treat Dry Eye
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
If you experience dry eye and have been told that there is no known treatment, your information may be outdated. Recent studies have shown that there may in fact be a way to decrease dry eye, and improve the overall quality of your tears through intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment.
The new evidence showing that IPL can treat dry eye has been produced by Dr. Rolando Toyos and his team, and was published as a case report in Eye World. The skin treatment that IPL performs, that of cleaning out the pores and improving overall skin quality, seemed to have an effect on eyes when performed in the facial region. Over a period of several treatments, patient eyes showed fewer and less severe signs of dry eye than before IPL treatments began.
Individuals who suffer from dry eye are not good candidates for laser vision correction, but this new link may provide the opportunity for dry eye victims to become free from contacts and eyeglasses in the future.
To learn more about available vision treatments in the New York City area, please contact laser vision surgeon Dr. James Kelly today, serving patients in Manhattan and Long Island, New York.
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How Long Does LASIK Last?
Monday, May 24th, 2010
The question of how long LASIK and other vision correction surgeries will last is only now becoming answerable. LASIK is not a particularly new procedure, but the longevity of any procedure can only be addressed when those who first received it have had long enough to provide answers. In this case, laser assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), has only been truly available in its current form since the 1990′s. At the 20-year mark, we have seen varying results, but the overall trend is a very positive one.
Most individuals who receive laser vision correction surgery, primarily LASIK, never require a “touchup.” Our experience has been that the vast majority of patients who meet the good candidate for LASIK requirements continue experiencing perfect or better-than-perfect vision indefinitely.
Only about 5% of all LASIK patients experience trouble after their procedure, and the majority of those problems are caused by eye injuries or incorrectly performed procedures. Working with a highly trained and, maybe even more importantly, highly experienced LASIK surgeon can help insure that your LASIK treatment will last as long as possible.
If you are interested in LASIK or laser vision correction surgery and are in the New York area, please contact LASIK surgeon Dr. James Kelly today to learn more about your options. We welcome patients from Manhattan, Long Island, New York City, and the surrounding areas.
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EPI-LASIK and LASIK
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
You may have heard the terms LASIK and EPI-LASIK before, but may be uncertain if they are the same procedure or, if they are different, how they differ from one another. The technology for LASIK and EPI-LASIK are basically the same. An excimer laser is used to ablate the surface of the cornea, effectively reshaping it so that your vision becomes clear. However, the way that the cornea is accessed varies greatly between these two procedures.
In the LASIK procedure, the thin top layer of the cornea, the epithelium, receives an incision to create a flap. The flap is pulled back and the laser is used to reshape the eye’s lens. The flap is then replaced, using natural properties that allow the flap to adhere into place, and the procedure is complete. Vision improvement typically averages 90% completion in about one day, and patients may drive, return to work, or enjoy their usual pastimes in 1-3 days.
EPI-LASIK completely removes the epithelium using an epi-keratome, a mechanical instrument that removes the layer in a contiguous sheet. Because the epithelium is completely removed, this procedure requires a longer recovery time of about one week.
To learn whether LASIK or EPI-LASIK is right for you, please contact LASIK surgeon Dr. James Kelly today, serving patients throughout Long Island, New York City, and Manhattan, New York.
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LASIK and the Military
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
If you are considering entering the military, you may also be considering LASIK before enlisting. However, you should first make yourself aware of the policies that the US military holds toward LASIK and other types of vision correction surgery.
Many armed forces positions DO NOT allow vision correction surgery, including:
- Army aviators
- SOC schools
- Navy general accessions
- Navy special duties (SEALs, aviation, undersea, diving, etc.)
- Coast guard accessions (may be obtained with a waiver)
- Air Force aviation and special duty
However, recently the military has been working with vision correction providers to create the opportunity for vision correction surgery within certain restrictions. Many positions ALLOW PRK surgery and some ALLOW LASIK. (Most do not allow RK.)
If you are considering entering the military or if you are already in the military, you should refrain from undergoing vision correction surgery until you have checked with your commanding officer. He or she can inform you whether you are eligible for vision correction surgery within the military’s parameters and, if so, which procedures you may undergo.
Please contact laser vision surgeon Dr. James Kelly at Kelly Laser Center today to learn more about the types of laser vision correction available in New York City, Manhattan, and Long Island, New York.
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