People considering laser eye surgery are often keen to know how long it will be before they can play sport again following the procedure. This will depend on a few factors, including the type of laser eye surgery you are having and also the sport that you are involved in. The time period you can play sport following Lasik eye surgery is different to when you can play sport after Lasek surgery. Furthermore, you will need to wait a longer amount of time before playing contact sports compared with non contact sports. The following explains these factors in more detail:

Lasik and Lasek: Which is the best if I play sport?

 When you can play sport following laser eye surgery will be different depending on which procedure you have had done:

• Lasik eye surgery involves the creation of a flap which weakens the surface of the eye, meaning you are at a higher risk of dislodging or tearing the flap if you get hit/poked in the eye. Having said this, the eye heals extremely quickly following Lasik and the flap adheres firmly and safely to the eye after just a few hours of surgery. If you are not involved in contact sports then Lasik is normally the procedure of choice, as the healing is quicker and more comfortable than Lasek. Most people can return to work and normal activities within 24-48 hours of the procedure.
• Lasek eye surgery:There is no flap created with this procedure and consequently the procedure does not weaken the eye at all. It is for this reason that anyone involved in contact sports will be recommended Lasek surgery. Those people thinking of joining the army, navy or RAF are also likely to be recommended to have Lasek.

Laser eye surgery and the different sports:

Contact sports and Lasek:These include rugby, football, basket ball, boxing, Kick boxing, Karate, Judo, Wrestling and all martial arts. It is normally recommended that you wait 1 month following Lasek surgery before you can participate in any of these sports.

Contact Sports and Lasik: Most surgeons will insist that you have Lasek instead of Lasik if you are involved in any martial arts. Those playing sports such as rugby or football will have to wait at least 3 months following Lasik and this will be at the surgeons discretion. If you play these sports seriously/professionally you would be better advised to have Lasek. 

Non contact sports and Lasek:These sports include jogging, tennis, athletics, going to the gym, weight lifting, table tennis, badminton etc. These sports can be played 1 week after Lasek surgery providing your surgeon/optician has given you permission.

Non contact sports and Lasik:These sports include jogging, tennis, athletics, going to the gym, weight lifting, table tennis, badminton etc. Like Lasek, these sports can be played 1 week after surgery if your surgeon/optician has agreed.

Summary:

For those who do not play contact sports, then Lasik is likely to be your first choice for laser eye surgery, as you can return to work/ drive etc sooner than you can following Lasek. If however you play contact sports or are wanting to join the armed forces (army, RAF, or navy) then your surgeon is likely to advise that you have Lasek, as your cornea will not be weakened following the treatment. You should always check with your surgeon/optician when you are allowed to play any sports/activities following surgery as peoples  eyes heal at different speeds.

To read more about laser eye surgery including laser eye surgery reviews then visit Treatmentsaver.com

There are a lot of misconceptions about cataracts and laser eye surgery (Lasik and Lasek) and this blog will try and explain how the two are related. The first thing to mention is that laser eye surgery is carried out on the cornea which is at the very front of the eye, whereas cataracts are formed in the lens, which is deeper inside the eye. There are lots of questions that are asked about cataracts and laser eye surgery and below are the most commons ones:

Can laser eye surgery (lasik or lasek) treat cataracts? No laser eye surgery cannot fix cataracts, as laser eye surgery treats the surface of your eye, whereas cataracts are inside your eye.

Can I have laser eye surgery if  if I have cataracts?: The answer to this is a definite no. The reason for this is that cataracts blur your vision and this gets worse the longer you have them. As well as this, they can change the prescription in your glasses or contact lenses. Therefore if you have laser eye surgery when you have cataracts, then your vision could still be blurred and your prescription could change, meaning the vision correction by your laser treatment would no longer be effective.

Can the surgery cause cataracts? The answer to this is almost certainly no. You can read more about this in a previous blog post that I wrote. The blog is Does laser eye surgery cause cataracts.

Can I have laser eye surgery if I have had cataracts removed? The simple answer to this is yes. If you have had cataracts removed but you still need to wear glasses for distance vision, then you could still be a candidate for Lasik or Lasek eye surgery.

I hope this has helped dispel a few of the myths about cataracts and laser eye surgery. If you are interested in having laser eye surgery then visit www.treatmentsaver.com

Intralase is a recent development in laser eye treatment and describes the way in which the flap is created during the Lasik procedure. With standard Lasik, the flap is created using a surgical blade (microkeratome) whereas with Intralase, the flap is made using a laser. Intralase is therefore a bladeless procedure and many people find this reassuring when they are deciding whether or not to have laser eye surgery.

There are many advantages of Intralase and one of them is the fact that the procedure is generally considered to be safer than standard Lasik. This is because the flap created is generally more precise meaning there are fewer complications. The vast majority of Lasik complications are related to the creation of the flap. The flap created using standard Lasik is often not as accurate which can result in slightly more complications. This may not be the case if the surgeon performing the standard lasik is highly skilled. Such a surgeon may achieve similar results with both standard and Intralase Lasik. Having Intralase will feel no different to having standard Lasik and  most people can return to work and normal activities within 48 hours of having the procedure.  Intralase is not painful which is reassuring to people considering having it done.

If you want the very safest and best laser eye surgery it is generally agreed that Intralase is the number one choice. Intralase is extremely safe and this is especially true if it is being carried out by an experienced laser eye surgeon. If you are interested in Intralase or laser eye surgery of any type you should visit www.treatmentsaver.com.

Thanks for reading

Tim

Laser eye surgery which includes both Lasik and Lasek is an expensive procedure and people are right to question whether or not it is worth the money. This is obviously an extremely difficult question as it depends on all kinds of different factors. I think the first thing to mention is that laser vision correction is rarely as cheap as what you sometimes see advertised on the TV, as this typically relates only to a very limited prescription range. For example the typical range may be from -0.50 to -1.25 Dioptres (this is what prescriptions are measured in). Most people who are considering having laser eye surgery fall out of this range and so their treatment will be more expensive. Taking all things into account, I would estimate that the average cost of laser eye surgery (total for both eyes) is about £2200.

When considering whether laser eye surgery is worth it or not I think you can look at it from 2 different perspectives. The first is whether it is worth it from a financial standpoint and the other is taking into account how much it will improve the quality of the person’s life:

Financial: Some people may literally want to do a calculation to work out how many years of paying for glasses and contact lenses will it be, before It would have covered the cost of the laser eye surgery. If for example your laser eye surgery is going to cost you £1000 and you pay £200 per year on contact lenses and buy a pair of glasses for £200 every 4 years, then you will have paid for your laser eye surgery in 4 years. The calculation is broken down as follows:

4 x £200 (for contact lenses each year) plus 1 x £200 (for glasses every 4 years). Total spend over the 4 years is £1000. If your laser eye surgery cost £2000, then it would take 8 years to cover the cost.

Quality of life: This is probably the most likely reason people choose to have laser eye surgery and it is difficult to attribute how much something like this is worth. The following lists a few examples where laser eye surgery would greatly increase the quality of your life:

• If you really dislike wearing glasses and are unsuitable for contact lenses.
• You have a high prescription and your glasses have thick lenses.
• If you find contact lenses uncomfortable.
• You are very sporty and don’t like wearing contact lenses.
• You spend a lot of time on holiday and hate having to take contact lenses with you.
• You are a keen swimmer and hate having to worry about whether you can wear contact lenses or not.

As you can appreciate from this blog post it is difficult to give a definite answer as to whether or not laser eye surgery is worth it. However, I think is fair to say that for those people who have had laser eye surgery, regardless of how much it cost them, the vast majority will tell you that it was worth every penny.

If you want to read more about laser eye surgery cost or laser eye surgery in general, you can visit www.treatmentsaver.com

Thanks for reading

Tim

The question of whether or not cataracts cause laser eye surgery is something that people commonly ask. In order to understand this, it is best to first consider where exactly on the eye, laser vision correction is carried out. The procedure is carried out on the cornea which is the clear outer most part of your eye, whereas a cataract involves the lens inside your eye, which is behind your pupil (deeper inside the eye than the cornea). During laser eye surgery, which includes both Lasik and Lasek, your surgeon will not come in to contact with the lens in your eye, meaning it can in no way cause a cataract to develop.

What is worth mentioning however, is the fact that following your surgery your surgeon will most likely prescribe you steroid eye drops for a short period of time. These eye drops can theoretically cause the onset of cataracts but this is only after prolonged use of them, over a period of months or years. 99% of people having laser eye surgery will only put the steroid eye drops in for a total of about 1 month, with many putting them in for a lesser period of time. For this reason there is no chance they could cause the start of cataracts.

Other points to mention about cataracts and laser eye surgery are as follows:

• Laser eye surgery can not treat cataracts.
• If you have cataracts then you should not have laser eye surgery. This will be assessed during a laser eye surgery consultation. Cataracts can blur your vision and they can also cause your prescription to change. This could mean that following laser eye surgery your prescription could change, meaning all the good work done by the laser would be undone.
• You can have laser eye surgery if you have already had a cataract removed. Imagine the scenario where your cataracts are causing you blurred vision, so you decide to have them removed. If following the cataract surgery you still need to wear glasses to make you see clearly, then you are a candidate to have laser eye surgery.

I hope this has helped explain the relationship between laser eye surgery and cataracts, but if you still have any doubts you should ask for advice during a laser eye surgery consultation.

If you want to read more about laser eye surgery or book a consultation then you should visit  www.treatmentsaver.com

If you are considering having laser vision correction then you will almost certainly be asked whether or not you want wavefront. Wavefront is a premium add-on to laser eye surgery and can be used in conjunction with both Lasik and Lasek eye surgery. Whether or not it is worth the extra money is something people like to question before they agree to pay the extra £300 to £400 per eye. In order to decide whether it is worth the additional cost, it is helpful considering the main advantages of wavefront which are as follows:

• Less night vision problems.
• Better visual results: You are more likely to achieve 20:20 vision following wavefront laser eye surgery.
• Lower chance of needing a re-treatment.

There are certain instances where your surgeon will insist that you have wavefront and you will have no choice but to pay the additional money. Examples of situations where this is likely to be the case are as follows:

• If you already have night vision problems even before you have had laser eye surgery. Your night vision aberrations will be measured using a wavescan during your laser eye surgery consultation. If they are high you will be advised to have wavefront laser eye surgery.
• If you have a high prescription. Wavefront is generally recommended if you have a high prescription as it produces a more accurate result.
• If you have large pupils wavefront is recommended. This is because people with large pupils are more likely to have night vision problems following laser eye surgery. You can read more about night vision and laser eye surgery in our detailed guide.
• If you have high astigmatism (over +/-3.00) then your surgeon will insist you have wavefront eye surgery.

So I think you can see that Wavefront certainly has its advantages and if you are not on a tight budget then it is certainly worth the extra cost. If you have small pupils and only a mild prescription then standard laser eye surgery is likely to give you pretty much the same results as wavefront would. I suggest listening to what your surgeon advises and make your decision based on that. If money is not an issue then few people could deny that it is worth having it done.

If you want to read more on wavefront laser eye surgery or laser eye surgery in general you should visit www.treatmentsaver.com.

Thanks for reading

Tim

Intralase is growing in popularity and it is quite simply a type of Lasik eye surgery. Intralase relates to the way in which the flap is created during the Lasik procedure, using a laser instead of a surgical blade (microkeratome). Intralase is therefore considered a bladeless procedure and many people choose to have it as they don’t like the thought of having a blade anywhere near their eye. It is worth mentioning here however, that even if you have standard Lasik eye surgery you will not be remotely aware of any blade being used, as it is all built into the machine.

Whether Intralase is worth the extra money or not is a tough question to answer as some surgeons will have pretty much equal results and complication rates with both standard and Intralase Lasik. Intralase will typically cost around £300 extra per eye and for some people this may be too expensive to justify. The following lists the main advantages of Intralase:

Results: Intralase gives a slightly higher risk of achieving 20:20 vision following surgery when compared with standard Lasik. This may not be the case if the surgeon is highly experienced and competent with the standard procedure.

Recovery: Recovery is generally quicker following Intralase, meaning you can sometimes return to work and normal activities sooner.

Complications: There are slightly less Lasik complications with Intralase, as most of the problems that occur during Lasik are related to the creation of the flap. The flap created with Intralase is generally cleaner, thinner and more precise, resulting in fewer complications.

Corneal thickness: Intralase can be carried out on people with thinner corneas when compared with standard Lasik as the flap created is thinner.

There are other advantages of Intralase but these are the main ones to consider. I think you can probably see why Intralase is generally considered the gold standard in Lasik eye surgery as it generally results in a slightly more accurate and safer procedure. These advantages however are not as pronounced if you compare Intralase Lasik with a highly skilled surgeon carrying out standard Lasik. It is sometimes said that standard Lasik requires more skill and experience from the surgeon, whereas Intralase Lasik is a slightly more automated procedure.

When deciding whether to have Intralase Lasik or standard Lasik, I suggest asking to see the surgeon’s statistics for both types of surgery. If there is very little difference in the complication rates and the visual results, then you may decide it is not worth the extra money. If however money is no object, very few people would argue that Intralase is the method of choice.

If you are interested in finding out more about Intralase or laser vision correction then you should visit www.treatmentsaver.com

This is one of the most commonly asked questions about laser eye surgery along with ‘Is laser eye surgery dangerous’? Both these questions pretty much mean the same thing and I will do my best to answer them during this blog post.

Like with all surgical procedures, there is always a degree of risk and this is something you need to weigh up before deciding to have the treatment. It is important that you fully understand all the risks of laser eye surgery before you can make an informed decision. The chances of their being any complications during the procedure are greatly reduced if your surgeon is highly experienced and competent. It is estimated that assuming your surgeon is highly skilled, the chances of something going wrong during laser vision correction is about 1 in 1000 procedures, which is far less than 1%. Of these complications, only about 1 in 30,000 will result in a problem that cannot be rectified by a highly competent surgeon. It is estimated that the chance of going blind following laser eye surgery is only about 1 in 5 million which is extremely low.

In 2006, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the official body that produces guidance for UK doctors on the effectiveness of medical treatments completed a two-year study of laser eye surgery. The conclusion from the study was that laser eye surgery “is safe and efficacious for use in appropriately selected patients”.

The most important thing when it comes to ensuring you have the highest chance of achieving a safe and successful laser eye surgery treatment, is in choosing the right surgeon and clinic for you. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommends that anyone considering undergoing laser eye treatment should ask their surgeon for details of their qualifications, training, length of practice and results. Ideally, the they should be a fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists or the Royal College of Surgeons as this signifies they have achieved the very best in training and assessment.

Following your laser eye surgery it is vitally important that you precisely follow the instructions given to you by your laser eye surgeon. Ensure you take all medications that are prescribed (eye drops) and attend all your after cares. Providing you do all this, then the chances are you are unlikely to have any complications following surgery. In summary, both Lasik and Lasek eye surgery are extremely safe procedures providing you are seen by a competent surgeon.

If you interested in finding out more about laser eye surgery you can visit www.treatmentsaver.com

Hope this has been helpful and thanks for reading

Tim