When you talk about senses you can’t say that one is more important than the other but when it comes to eyes, we all know that sight is probably the most important. People that lack one sense or the other have a lot of issues in life and have to adjust almost constantly.
This is where modern technology coupled with modern medicine comes in and where we don’t have to suffer from certain things anymore. There are procedures, and operations that can be done safely and successfully now, that can be life changers for most of us. Although we have gone far and we improved a lot of things over the years, sadly there are still things we cannot do and cannot fix, but there is hope.
One of the things that were very risky and sometimes avoided was eye surgery. Today LASIK eye surgery is considered to be an easy and safe procedure and it can be done anywhere. One of the places that do that more than successfully is Lasik surgeon Austin you can check out at sharpe-vision.com.
Now when you talk about any sort of surgery you have to do a lot of checks and a lot of tests to see if you are eligible. One of the checks for LASIK eye surgery is the age requirement for it and as you can see, we are going to talk a bit about that.
Before we talk about age, we are going to briefly explain what LASIK eye surgery is, for those of you that heard about this but never bother to see what it is.
As you figure. This is a surgical procedure that is intended to reduce your dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The term LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and with this procedure you permanently change the shape of the cornea (the clear covering over the front of the eye). This is an outpatient surgical procedure that usually takes 15 minutes per eye, it is that fast and that effective.
Before the procedure itself, you will be placed on a surgical table, laying down and be still. You will get topical eye drops that are going to numb your eye while the area around the eye will be washed and cleansed. Those of you that are a bit scared and squirm may also be given a sedative to keep you calm.
After the prep comes to the operation and it starts with a doctor holding your eyelids with an instrument called a lid speculum. After that, they will place a ring on your eye that will create suction on your cornea. When this is done most people feel a bit of pressure and usually a dimming effect on their vision. After this, your doctor will use a special instrument to create a corneal flap by cutting around 20% of the outer cornea. Then they will lift it to one side, and use computer-controlled pulses from a laser to reshape your cornea by vaporising tiny portions of its interior. After this is done, the conceal flap is returned to its original position and waits for the cornea to bond with the eye. This is fast and it ensures rapid healing without any stitches.
After all, is done you will get some antibiotic drops and a shield over the treated eye. This means you need someone to drive you back home because you will not be capable of this on your own. You will not be detained in the hospital for long so have someone come with you or get there as soon as you are done because help for the first few days is what you will need.
OK, now that we have this sorted and somewhat explained, let’s talk about the upper and lower age for the LASIK eye surgery. Through some medical guides, we managed to find out their guidelines for surgeons, the lower age limit for this type of surgery is 21. Like in anything, occasional exceptions may occur and we found doctors that have treated one or two patients lower than that age, but under exceptional circumstances.
What will be very good for most of you, since most have issues with their eyes after this lower age, is that there is no upper limit to when you can do this surgery. In theory, you can be in your 60s and 70s and easily have your LASIK eye surgery performed. There is no difference in treating the cornea and there is no way that the surgery will not work if you are older. The reality behind getting this surgery after a certain age, like the 70s for instance, is that the patients will have a little bit of cataract developing or already developed. The better option for that particular situation and for that age group would be straight-on cataract surgery or RLE or refractive lens exchange. The RLE would eliminate the cataract at the same time or at least it would eliminate any chance of getting a cataract at a later date.
In a conclusion, this lower age limit does exist but it can be broken in certain circumstances while the upper does not exist it’s just that if you are getting into the 60s and 70s it may be more advisable to do a different type of surgery. This all of course depends on your state and what your doctor advises you to do. Nothing of this sort will be suggested without extensive check-ups and a lot of tests being performed.
In terms of the technical side of the laser, there is nothing specific that will exclude elderly patients from having this done. All we do suggest is that you find a professional place that has a licenced surgeon that has performed a significant number of these surgeries and you should be in the clear. Having your eyesight restored or having less dependence on glasses and/or contact lenses is something everyone should aim for. Although some people do wear glasses and contacts easily and without much hassle, sometimes they do present an obstacle and it can be tedious when you have to think about them constantly.
