Who is a Candidate for Lasik Eye Surgery

Anyone with poor eyesight is a candidate for lasik eye surgery. Patients are analyzed on a case-by-case situation to determine whether the procedure is right for them. The risks and the rewards are weighed specifically for each lasik eye surgery candidate. There are complication risks undertaken by the patient and there are also reputation and dissatisfaction risks undertaken by the lasik surgeon.

The degree of your refractive error is also taken into consideration when determining if you are a candidate for Lasik eye surgery. Nearsighted individuals with refractive errors between –1 and –14 are typically treated. If your error is greater than –14, Lasik eye surgery will improve your vision but your refractive error may be too great to completely correct. This would result in you still needing glasses for distance vision after the lasik eye surgery.

Farsighted individuals can be treated with lasik eye surgery with refractive errors up to +5 diopters. If your error is greater that +5 diopters or less than +1, you are probably not a good candidate for lasik eye surgery.

Candidates with an astigmatic error of up to 7diopters can currently be treated with lasik eye surgery. Typically, the greater the astigmatism the greater the patient will benefit from the lasik eye surgery.

If you are interested in lasik eye surgery it would benefit you to consult a lasik surgeon regardless of whether or not you fit into these criteria. Technology is constantly advancing making greater refractive errors correctable.