Is LASIK Right for You? | Candidate Requirements & Eligibility

Lasik surgery is vision correction surgery. It is an increasingly popular procedure for people who rely on contacts or glasses. While many people can successfully correct their vision problems with Lasik, there are some factors to consider to determine if they're a good candidate for it.

Age

• Anyone considering Lasik needs to be over 18 years old. The eyes of younger patients may still be changing, which would alter the outcome of the Lasik surgery.

Vision Prescription

• The prospective patient should also have a vision prescription for a minimum of two years. This is to ensure that the patient's eyes are not constantly changing and could potentially affect the surgery outcome.

Vision Requirements

• Potential patients also need to be either nearsighted or farsighted, or have an astigmatism (irregular shaped cornea) or a combination of these problems. There are also corneal thickness and pupil dilation requirements.

Health

• Lasik eye patients should not have any history of eye disease. Candidates cannot have an autoimmune disorder, such as Lupus, Hepatitis or Crohn's disease.

Considerations

• Lasik surgery may not completely free the patient of his dependency on glasses. Lasik surgery doesn't produce perfect vision for every patient. Healing and recovery also varies patient to patient.