I was recently
asked if the new and popular laser eye surgery procedures were
safe for senior citizens and how old could you be and still qualify
to be a candidate for these new types of eye operations using
the latest laser technologies.
To find out for myself, and to get information to share with you,
I started by calling eye doctors' offices in the most populated
states for retirement living for senior citizens. As a senior
citizen myself, my findings were certainly encouraging.
One of latest and currently
the most popular procedures has the acronym LASIK (Laser-Assisted
in Situ Keratomileusis). It has been around for nearly five
years and has been approved by the FDA. LASIK has been continually
improved to the point that it is has less then a two percent complication
rate.
The LASIK surgical operation
takes less then five minutes per eye and both eyes' vision problems
can be corrected to near perfect 20/20 sight. With this excimer
laser process, the procedure is essentially painless and without
discomfort.
It is important to get a preliminary
examination from your primary medical physician and the Ophthalmology
surgeon to determine if you are a good candidate for LASIK eye
corrective procedure. Basically a candidate should be in good
overall health and have stable vision.
Other considerations for candidates
for the LASIK corrective eye surgery are that they don't have
a family history of corneal disorders, diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts,
autoimmune disease, and ocular herpes infection. The candidate
should not have previous problems with eye dryness.
The LASIK procedure can correct
for moderate far, near and distorted (hyperopia, myopia, and
astigmatism) vision problems. This excimer laser procedure will
not correct the problem of focusing (presbyopia) from far to
near vision. This is a problem that comes as we get older. After
the eye surgery, it may be necessary to use reading
glasses.
Besides contacting many ophthalmology
offices in my preliminary inquiries, I checked to see
what the Federal Government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
and the American Association for Retired People (AARP) had to
say about LASIK corrective eye surgery. They both agreed that
this is the best and most reliable procedure available.
To conclude, a person in good health
can still get the LASIK eye corrective well into their 60s and 70s
It is important that a candidate be examined prior
to the procedure by a qualified, board certified Ophthalmologist approved by
the Association of Ophthalmology.
