Who are the Best Candidates for a Lasik Procedure?

When you’ve lived most of your life with corrective lenses, it’s tempting to want to ditch the lenses. Usually, people start out with contact lenses and that may not have worked for them. Common challenges that arise for many Utah County contact lens wearers are that between the arid climate and the infamous inversion season that they can’t wear contact lenses comfortably.

Others have entered the time of life that includes multi-focal lenses, and face the challenges that come with these lenses. Or, they might have a demanding job and want to live without lenses.

If you’re in any of these categories, you have probably heard about Lasik, but wonder if it really works, and if you are a good candidate. There are several surgeons in Utah County, including Utah Valley Eye. We are happy to help you determine if you would benefit from Lasik.

Age and stability of vision

While age is not typically the first disqualifier for your Lasik surgery in Provo, the effectiveness of the procedure is higher for those who are 60 or under. Individuals under 18 should not have the procedure because their eyesight is still changing.

One of the bigger indicators of the success of surgery is stable vision for at least one year prior to the procedure, when folks enter into middle age, their eyes can change more rapidly than they did before, disqualifying them for the procedure.

To help the doctor determine the stability of your vision, please bring copies of your eyeglass or contact lens prescription to your consultation so we can examine your prescriptions to detect significant changes in your vision. These can easily be requested from your optometrist.

Post-menopausal women and older men often report dry eyes. This can be a factor to disqualify you from the surgery, but only your doctor can consider all options for you and give you the information that you need to make an informed decision.

As a general rule, the ideal age for Lasik is during your 20s.

Physical heath

At the consultation for your Provo Lasik surgery, the surgeon will ask about your general physical health and if you have any chronic health conditions, such as either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes. These conditions have, in the past, automatically disqualified candidates for vision correction surgery. Over the last few years, more data has become available and the current practice for surgeons is that patients with Diabetes should be considered on a case-by-case basis. The healing time for Diabetics will be longer and your doctor will determine your post-op monitoring regimen.

While these few initial qualifying questions can help you determine if you may be a good candidate for Lasik, we work with our patients on a case-by-case basis. By so doing, we are able to provide an individualized treatment plan to give you the best possible care