With the active lifestyles we lead today, people want to rid themselves of their glasses and contact lenses so many are turning to lasik surgery. Lasik is considered a surgical procedure with the objective of reducing your need for those glasses or contacts. Lasik actually stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure using an excimer laser to change the shape of your eye's cornea, which is the clear covering in front. Basically, the surgery consists of cutting a flap in the cornea making sure to leave one end connected. With the use of a computer controlled, highly precise laser, a portion of the stroma is vaporized. The flap is put back in place for quick and relatively painless healing to occur.

So why is changing the shape of the cornea so important? The cornea is the part of the eye that helps create an image on the retina by focusing light. It basically works the same way as a camera lens. When vision is blurred or distorted, it often means that the shape of your cornea and your eye are not perfect and therefore when the light is refracted onto the retina, images come across as blurry. Lasik surgery is also referred to as refractive surgery with the goal of reshaping the cornea so that its focusing ability is improved to a point where glasses and contact lenses may no longer be required. Lasik results may not get rid of glasses or contacts completely, but there is a strong likelihood that your prescription will be significantly reduced moving you closer to 20/20 vision.

Surprisingly enough, not everyone is an ideal candidate for lasik or other refractive eye surgery. Because there is no long term data recorded regarding the long term affects of this surgery, if you are not fully confident in the procedure, this is likely not for you. You need to trust your surgeon and the techniques they use at all times. Although the cost of lasik surgery continues to go down, it is still not cheap and not covered by most health plans. You may have to do some budgeting before you go ahead with it. If you have had a new prescription is the past year, it is an indication that your eyes are unstable and therefore should wait before going ahead with any form of refractive surgery. If you suffer from autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, have diabetes or are on certain mediations, proper healing from the surgery may not be possible. Before you proceed, please consult with your family doctor and eye surgeon.