Q: How can I determine if I am nearsighted (myopic), farsighted (hyperopic), astigmatic or if I have age-related farsightedness (presbyopia) or a combination of these?
A: If you are UNDER age 40, choose the sentence below that best describes your vision:
Chances are your vision is too good to warrant laser vision correction and occasional glasses or contacts are satisfactory.
You are probably nearsighted (myopic) and laser vision correction may be an appropriate alternative to glasses or contacts.
You are likely suffering from significant hyperopia or are "farsighted." If you find that your near visual requirements are difficult or impossible without your glasses or contacts, laser vision correction may be appropriate for you.
Chances are you are either severely nearsighted (myopia) or farsighted (hyperopia) or suffer with significant astigmatism or a combination of these. If you are incapacitated without your glasses or contacts in this manner, then laser vision correction may be appropriate for you.
If you are OVER age 40, choose the sentence below that best describes your vision:
You have exceptionally good visual function to be able to see near and far after the age of 40. Occasional use of glasses and contacts should be satisfactory until you have to wear reading glasses consistently. At that point, you may consider CK® to get you out of your readers.
You are "nearsighted" (myopia) and may be able to read well without your glasses or contacts. Chances are that reading with your glasses or contacts on may be tough unless you wear bifocals or readers. Laser vision correction may be appropriate for you.
You are where most people with good distance vision are after forty years of age. Your near vision may have ‘faded’ or become worse over the past few years. Chances are you have normal vision (emmetropia) but have developed a condition called "presbyopia," which develops in everyone's eyes over time. You may be a candidate for CK® (Conductive Keratoplasty) or monovision LASIK.
Chances are you are either severely nearsighted (myopia), moderately to severely farsighted (hyperopia), presbyopic (age-related farsightedness) or suffer with significant astigmatism or a combination of these. Laser vision correction may be appropriate for you.
If you are in good general health and your general eye health is good, chances are that laser vision correction may be appropriate for you. About 10 percent of people are not candidates for laser vision correction for one reason or another. Thickness of the cornea and indications of other eye disease may affect your candidacy. Also, certain illnesses that affect autoimmune function may preclude you from being a candidate for laser vision correction, but not necessarily. Those illnesses include: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hepatitis C, HIV, and AIDS. You cannot have laser vision correction if you are currently pregnant or nursing. You will need to wait at least three months after your pregnancy or after you stop nursing. A thorough pre-examination can determine your candidacy for laser vision correction with certainty.
After conventional LASIK or CustomVueTM LASIK, we recommend that you have at least two days to recover without straining your eyes. If you have a procedure on a Friday, you should be able to return to work Monday. After a PRK procedure you may need more time to heal before returning to work. After the CK® procedure, you probably will need only one day to recover. Please be aware that after any of these procedures, certain activities may be restricted for a period of time.
You need to be over 18 years of age, and your glasses or contact lens prescription should not have changed in the last year. If your eye is still changing from year to year, you should not have the procedure until the cornea is stable.
Yes. Contact lenses change the shape of your eye, so contact lenses have to be out prior to laser vision correction. Soft contacts need to be out for one or two weeks prior to your procedure. Soft toric lenses may need to be out longer. If you are wearing hard or gas permeable contacts, it's important that you remove them at least three weeks prior to your exam. Your doctor will advise you how long you need to be out of your contacts prior to your exam and prior to your surgery.
There is no pain during any of the laser vision correction procedures since anesthetic eye drops numb your eyes. You will be given a mild sedative on the day of the procedure, as well. After the numbing drops wear off, you will experience mild irritation. Over-the-counter pain medications usually are sufficient to ease this discomfort. After LASIK, you might experience mild irritation for a few days after your procedure. An over-the-counter pain reliever or use of artificial tears will generally take care of this discomfort. PRK and LASEK patients experience more post-operative discomfort for three to five days while the epithelium heals.
There are possible risks with any surgical procedure. Serious complications with LASIK, PRK or CK are rare. The chance of having a vision-reducing complication from LASIK has been documented in clinical studies to be less than one percent. Many of the risks and complications associated with this procedure can be reduced or eliminated through careful patient selection and thorough pre-operative testing using the latest diagnostic technology.
The goal of any refractive surgical procedure is to reduce your dependence on corrective lenses. However, we cannot guarantee you will have 20/20 vision as a result. Our commitment to you is that we will not perform laser vision correction on you or anyone we feel does not have a good possibility of achieving independence from glasses and contacts. The vast majority of our patients are extremely happy with their results and can do most activities without dependence on corrective lenses after laser vision correction.
For most procedures, both eyes can be corrected on the same day. In some cases either the surgeon or patient may decide to delay surgery on the second eye. Also, some patients with small corrections may only need surgery on one eye. This will be discussed at your pre-op examination.
Since both eyes are usually treated during the same appointment, you will be in the surgery room for approximately 30 minutes. Once in the laser room your eyes will be cleaned and prepared for surgery. The surgery itself usually only takes five minutes or so per eye. Your will have tests performed both before and after surgery so the total time at our clinic will be approximately three hours.
Laser vision correction is considered to be permanent. However, your eyes can still change as you age which may cause a need for glasses or contacts or additional vision correction procedures in the future. As people reach their early forties, they develop presbyopia and begin to need reading glasses. If you're over 40, you may want to consider monovision.
Not necessarily. The effects of presbyopia continue to worsen as you get older, whether or not you have monovision. At some point in time, reading glasses or another vision correction procedure may become necessary. The benefit to having monovision is that there won’t be a complete dependence on glasses for close vision. Many who have monovision are able to see well enough both at distance and near to do things at any age without corrective lenses. Another option may be CK®.
Yes, CK® has been proven to be safe and effective for most patients that have already had a LASIK procedure. Those patients must wait approximately one year after their LASIK procedure to proceed with CK®. To determine candidacy with a certainty, you will still need a comprehensive exam with an ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.).
Dr. Coulter is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. Board Certification is especially desired in a refractive surgeon because it shows a deep commitment to providing the best medical care and continual effort to be aware of advances in the specialty field. Board certification is completely voluntary and extremely rigorous.
The American Board of Medical Specialties oversees the 24 approved medical specialty boards in the United States, one of which is the American Board of Ophthalmology. The goal of each of these specialty boards is to raise the level of health care by ensuring doctors are exceptionally well-trained and prepared in their specialty. For Board Certification by the American Board of Ophthalmology, doctors have to pass a series of comprehensive examinations, show they have been trained in approved residency training programs and satisfy other board requirements. Doctors who achieve certification are then called diplomates of the specialty board. Dr. Coulter is a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. Recertification is offered for qualified diplomates every seven to ten years, confirming that the doctor can still be considered exceptional in their specialty.
It is important for the surgeon to be involved before, during and after a procedure to ensure the quality of care you will receive. Here at Alaska Lasik Center, Dr. Coulter sees you for every exam. This way you also have the convenience of all of your appointments taking place in the same location.
No. Many of the discount LASIK centers want you to believe that LASIK should be purchased like a commodity and that surgeon experience, lasers, diagnostic technology and follow-up care don’t matter. Laser vision correction will affect the way you see for the rest of your life. You should make your decision to have laser vision carefully, not quickly. Our web site has a lot of information about our surgeon, our laser technology, our advanced diagnostic technology and what you should expect for the money you spend. We provide you with all of this information because we feel the more you know about us, the more confident you will feel about choosing us as your laser vision correction provider. We also encourage you to attend one of our free educational seminars to learn more about our practice and why you should choose us.