According to the Vision Council of America, approximately 75% of adults in the United States wear some sort of vision correction. More than half of those (about 64%) wear glasses. If you’re one of the millions of Americans wearing glasses or contacts and are tired of them, you might have an opportunity to change that with LASIK.

LASIK (an abbreviation for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis) is refractive eye surgery. Refractive eye surgery is a type of surgery that corrects common vision issues like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, and it typically allows the patient to achieve 20/20 vision or better. That means no more dependence on glasses or contacts (though some patients still eventually have to wear glasses to drive at night or read when they get older).

First approved by the FDA in 1998, LASIK typically includes the doctor using a laser to reshape the cornea beneath the surface. Typically, the surgeon manufacturers a superficial cornea flap, and the flap is folded back and the laser is applied to the underlying layers of the cornea. Variations of LASIK are also done in which no flap is used at all. The flapless method of LASIK requires no cut to be made to the cornea, and instead a layer of the cornea (called the epithelial layer) is removed. The type of LASIK needed can be dependent on the specific type of eye problem being experienced by the patient, and that’s something an eye surgeon can talk through with you during a consultation.

LASIK is an outpatient surgery, and the entire process can typically be done in less than 10 minutes. Not only is the surgery quick and painless (most patients only feel slight pressure, but no pain), but patients typically heal quickly as well. Functional vision usually returns within hours after surgery—no stitches or eye patches required—so most patients are right back to work and their usual activities by the very next day. And most (95%) post-LASIK patients report visual acuity of at least 20/40 with nearly as many achieving 20/20 or better. In addition, LASIK can help improve peripheral vision and nighttime vision as well.

With such a reduced risk of complication and a quick recovery time, why not look into LASIK? Don’t continue to wear glasses or contacts (and spend hundreds of dollars on them a year) if you don’t have to. Say goodbye to your dependence on glasses. Give us a call today to schedule a consultation with a member of our experienced team of doctors and find out if LASIK surgery is the right answer for you.