Who Should Not Have Laser Eye Surgery – Things You Need to Know

Laser eye surgery is not appropriate for everyone. A variety of factors are considered in order to determine a patient’s suitability for laser eye surgery. The laser eye surgeon will determine your suitability based on your general health, your eye health, your prescription, and the shape and thickness of your cornea. Around 20% of people who want to have laser eye surgery are not suitable. A person may not be a candidate for laser eye surgery due to a number of medical conditions and specific eye conditions.

What is Laser Eye Surgery?

Ophthalmologists use lasers in many surgical procedures today. For instance, laser eye surgery, refractive lens exchange, and laser cataract surgery can all be used to restore vision.

Laser eye surgery is used to describe procedures such as LASIK, ASLA (PRK) and SMILE^®, which are used to correct short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.

There are some people, though, for whom laser eye surgery may not be appropriate, despite the fact that many people are candidates.

Who Should Not Have Laser Eye Surgery

The right person for laser eye surgery may not be everyone. There are several reasons why laser eye surgery may not be a good choice of vision correction for some patients. Below is some information about who is not suitable for laser eye surgery:

people who are under the age of 18. The effects of laser eye surgery are thought to be permanent. A person’s eye, however, can alter over time. Because vision can change dramatically during the adolescent years, laser eye surgery is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18.

those who are nursing or pregnant. Changes in a woman’s vision and corrective prescription can result from hormonal changes during pregnancy and nursing. In order for the prescription to stabilize, mothers who are thinking about laser eye surgery should hold off for three to six months or longer after weaning.

those who are using specific prescription medications. Some prescription drugs can interfere with laser eye surgery results. Steroids, for instance, can hinder healing and reduce the effectiveness of treatments. The risk of corneal scarring following laser eye surgery can be increased by the significant dry eye caused by acne medications.

those with unstable vision. If your prescription is fluctuating, you will not be considered a good candidate for laser eye surgery. Most medical professionals prefer for your prescription to remain stable for 1-2 years. Different factors can cause prescriptions to change. Contact lens wear, diabetic blood sugar changes and normal aging changes can cause your prescription to change over time.

Those who are not in good general health. Certain medical conditions can affect the way your body heals after surgery. Patients with autoimmune diseases are not good candidates for laser eye surgery. Dry eye syndrome is a common symptom of autoimmune diseases. A dry eye may not recover well from surgery and is more likely to develop an infection afterward. Results are frequently impacted by additional conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, lupus, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and others.

those who suffer from dry eye disease. An individual with dry eyes is more likely to experience severe post-operative discomfort as well as a possible deterioration of their dry eye symptoms. Inappropriate healing can also be delayed by dry eyes. Different treatments may be able to provide relief for some people with symptoms of dry eyes. Before laser eye surgery, patients are occasionally started on specific dry eye medications. To treat dry eye disease and lessen bothersome symptoms, specific procedures like punctal occlusion may be carried out.

those with excessive expectations. Laser eye surgery might not be for you if you demand perfection. Following surgery, each patient recovers differently. There is always a chance that you might need to use reading glasses or corrective lenses for at least some activities after having laser eye surgery.

Which Conditions Make You Unsuitable for Laser Eye Surgery?

Although we can’t give absolute confirmation regarding your suitability without checking your eyes in person, you are unlikely to be suitable for laser eye surgery if you have any of the following conditions:

• Corneal dystrophy
• Eye herpes
• Glaucoma
• Blindness in one eye
• Partial sightedness in one eye
• Macular degeneration
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Lupus
• Iritis
• Keratoconus
• Crohn’s or collagen disease
• Strabismus or amblyopia not corrected by glasses or contact lenses

Please get in touch with us at 0800 093 1110 or [email protected] if you have any questions about your suitability in relation to any of the aforementioned conditions or diseases. In the end, all we want is for you to have a good visual outcome, so we will tell you not to have laser eye surgery if we believe you won’t benefit from it. In the same way, if your prescription is unstable, we might advise you to visit us again in a year or two once it has stabilized.

Conclusion

The majority of people with otherwise healthy eyes can correct their vision, though it may not always require laser eye surgery. Schedule a consultation with a skilled refractive eye surgeon to learn more about your options if vision correction is something you’re interested in.