Laser eye surgery - educate yourself to get rid of your fear

Published on 13th September 2010

LASIK eye surgery is more popular than ever

Since it first came into prominence, LASIK eye surgery has become more and more popular. Even when it was first introduced, it was a very safe procedure provided that it was done by qualified professionals on the right people. With modern technology and better training, it is safer than ever and if you worry about the possible side effects, then read on to find out a little bit more about it.

A properly focused laser is very accurate

One of the biggest things that will strike people when they are talking about laser vision correction is that a laser will be applied to their eye. Lasers have gotten a bad rap because of movies, cartoons and comic books but this is not that kind of laser. This is a properly focused laser that sends very short pulses and is incredibly accurate. It is so precise that it can shape the cornea and allow your eyes to focus light perfectly.

Laser eye surgery is not painful

Something else that people are often worried about when they are considering getting laser eye treatments is that they imagine it will be painful. You might think of a time when you got something in your eye and it was extremely irritating. This surgery is not like that, and most people will describe it as completely painless. Some might feel a little bit of discomfort but that is generally the extent of it.

No one has ever lost their vision from laser eye surgery

Many people are worried that they might lose their vision completely if something goes wrong during a laser eye surgery procedure. You may be comforted by the fact that this has never happened. Even if it does not go perfectly according to plan, in almost every single case your vision will be improved. If there is a problem, a follow-up procedure can be done to correct it although this is extremely rare.

One of the best things that you can do if you're concerned about any of these things is to sit down with a qualified professional and have them describe the procedure to you in detail. Once you know how they do it, you will be very confident in their ability and once you have laser eye treatment done, you won't believe how good the results are.

If you want to read more, please visit our Laser Eye Surgery FAQs.

All eye surgical procedures carry a level of risk including not obtaining the desired outcome, through to varying levels of visual loss. Your eye surgeon will discuss the risks and benefits, including ones specific to your circumstances, at the time of your pre-operative consultation.