Is Laser Eye Surgery Worth It?

“I sustained an injury because a contact lens fell out after being tackled during a rugby match. As a result, I was out of action for 6 weeks!” Des

“I struggle to enjoy swimming lessons with my baby. I either can’t see very well without my contacts or I focus on avoiding being splashed to avoid an eye infection. I don’t want to stop bringing her because she has so much fun.” Samira

“I compete in gymnastics and my prescription makes it hard to get contact lenses. Glasses are not an option and it is becoming more and more difficult to perform.” Abbey

“I spend up to 12 hours a day either on my phone or computer to run my software development company. I suffer with headaches and eye strain as a result and my glasses are not helping!” Ben

“I don’t wear my glasses and have never bothered trying to put in contact lenses. I don’t like touching my eyes. But my vision is getting worse and I want to be able to clearly see on my upcoming holiday.” Gary

Here are some statements from people that people chose to have laser eye surgery and improve their life.  There are so many reasons why great vision, outside of glasses and contact lenses, is important. What are yours?

What does laser eye surgery involve?

Firstly, Dr Furness adds anaesthetic eye drops to the treatment eye which will numb the eyeball. You will be awake during the procedure but sedated. Dr Furness will already have entered all of the measurements from several scans and tests performed at your consultation. These measurements ensure that the exact amount of corneal tissue is removed. This is a miscroscopic amount of tissue. The removal of the corneal tissue is how the surface of the eye is reshaped.  And this is how your vision is corrected.

This process is relevant to all laser eye procedures, whether that be SMILE, LASIK or PRK.

What are the long-term effects of wearing contact lenses?

Laser Eye Surgery… Safer than Contact Lenses?

Contact lenses can cause lasting damage. Serious infections that can lead to blindness affect 1 out of every 500 contact lens users a year in Australia.

Statistics show that laser eye surgery is safer than continued contact lens wear. You can improve your life just by not having to worry about vision aids such as glasses and contact lenses throughout every day.

How long do the results from laser eye surgery last?

Technically speaking, laser eye surgery is permanent.  During your primary consultation, we will establish if your prescription is stable (less than 0.50 dioptres of change within 1 year + no more than 0.75 dioptres of change within 2 years). As long as your vision has remained stable, surgery can proceed.  As mentioned earlier, corneal tissue is permanently removed from the surface of the eye in order to reshape the cornea. The tissue cannot regrow. However; in some cases, people who spend extended amounts of time on computers/laptops/devices without regular breaks can force short-sight upon themselves again.

Vision can change for a number of factors such as pregnancy (temporary), medication, optic neuropathies, cataract development, macular issues and many more.

Once everyone reaches their early to mid 40’s, we develop something called ‘presbyopia‘.  This happens as a result of muscles within the eye that control its accommodation, begin to stiffen due to the aging process. The reduction in accommodation means that our near vision becomes less clear.  Laser eye surgery is most commonly performed in patients 18 – 45 years of age and cannot treat presbyopia.  Please be aware that vision reduction related to presbyopia is entirely unconnected to laser eye surgery for myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.

Is there anything I cannot do after having laser eye surgery?

There are very short periods of time (up to 2 weeks) that you are unable to do just a few things.  There isn’t anything that you are unable to do ever again.  At your consultation, we will ask you about your job, travel and lifestyle to ensure that the best laser procedure type is recommended to suit you.  All things taken into consideration, no matter how small.  We will provide you with pre and post-operative instructions about the things that are restricted.

What are some things that might be easier without glasses and contact lenses?

How long do you have?  We can pretty much guarantee that there isn’t a single thing in this world that is easier to do with glasses or contact lenses.  And if you’re here reading this blog, it’s probably because you wear glasses or contact lenses.  So you already know that!

Go ahead and convince yourself with a list of things that will be easier in your life… Give yourself the permission to gift yourself the greatest gift of all… sight!  You won’t regret it.

The most common statement we hear from our patients after they’ve had their laser eye surgery procedure is, “I wish I had done this sooner!”  You cannot regain the time you’ve been wearing glasses or contact lenses, but you can make the choice to find out if you are eligible for visual freedom.

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