Modern medicine has made human life much easier. And one of the clearest ways we can see that is with all the different types of laser eye surgery out there. Instead of going through life with blurry vision, wearing glasses or contact lenses all the time, people now have the freedom to head over to the closest laser eye surgery clinic to them and choose from the different types of laser treatment....
There are laser eye surgery procedures for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and even cataracts. So, if you're dealing with vision issues, head over to any PersonalEyes in Canberra, Sydney, and all over NSW!
Types of Laser Eye Surgery
Laser eye surgery and laser vision correction come in many different forms. There are many different procedures available depending on a person's condition. Since these are medical and surgical procedures, we always recommend going to the trusted doctors and surgeons at PersonalEYES.
If you're struggling with your eye condition, here are the different vision correction services that you can go under to get your eyesight back on track;
LASIK
This is an acronym for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis. This is a procedure used for a wide variety of vision issues. Through LASIK laser eye surgery, you can treat myopia, hyperopia, and even astigmatism. A LASIK procedure involves a doctor making a small incision on your eye and using an excimer laser to create a thin flap, evening out the surface on your eye and allowing you to see better.
SMILE
SMILE is an acronym for small incision lenticule extraction and is another common type of laser eye surgery. During these procedures, a doctor reshapes your cornea through a small, self-sealing incision to correct vision problems.
Surface Laser Treatments
These include a wide variety of treatments such as Photorefractive Keratectomy, LASEK, and trans-PRK. During these laser procedures, a surgeon shaves off the skin covering the cornea to reshape it using a laser. After the procedure, the skin grows back naturally.
Cataract Surgery
For cataracts, a completely different type of surgery is required. A laser eye clinic such as PersonalEYES offers cataract treatment on top of laser and LASIK eye surgery. During cataract surgery, a doctor will create an incision using a laser, then treat the cataract using different methods. Some involve using an ultrasonic pulse to remove the cataract, or for severe cases, doctors remove the entire lens and replace it with an IOC implant or an intraocular lens.
How Much Does Laser Eye Surgery Cost?
When going into a clinic for laser eye surgery, there are many different factors that can affect the cost. Whether you're going in for refractive eye surgery or you plan to get a cataract removed, the type of treatment, your medical history, along with many other factors, determine how much you have to pay.
When checking out options for laser eye surgery in Sydney and other places in Australia, you can expect your doctor to interview you through a series of questions. During this process, you can also ask your own questions to ensure that you get an accurate estimate of the total costs. Prices vary from clinic to clinic, and different cases will require a different surgical procedure.
At PersonalEyes, we offer free consultations to anyone looking to correct a refractive error and other vision problems. Simply head on over to our laser eye surgery Syndey clinic or check out our other offices all over Australia to get a free assessment!
What Goes Into the Cost of Laser Eye Surgery?
When you're discussing laser eye surgery with your doctor, make sure to give them a full and detailed description of your condition. They need to know if you've ever worn glasses, other types of eye treatments you've had, and whether you wear contact lenses, among other things.
At PersonalEYES, we are dedicated to giving you accessible and honest treatment. With that in mind, our costs are all inclusive, so there will be no surprises when your bill arrives. When at the doctor's clinic, make sure to ask about the following to get a clear idea of the cost of your treatment;
Aftercare
After your surgery, whether you got a treatment to correct astigmatism or you got laser eye surgery to turn your short-sightedness or long-sightedness to give yourself completely normal vision, there are aftercare concerns to think about. PersonalEYES offers all inclusive packages, which means that you pay all the costs right away and don’t have to worry about getting blindsided by surprise after care prices.
Follow-up Appointments
Another major thing to ask your doctor about when discussing vision correction options is follow-up appointments. To check if the surgery worked and the state of your vision, doctors will usually require patients to visit again a day or two after the surgery and another visit about a week after that. At PersonalEYES, our treatment plans are all inclusive. Everything is covered from follow-up appointments, to additional eye drops and medication you might need during recovery .
Additional Procedures
It's a very rare occurrence, but occasionally, patients have to undergo additional procedures after their surgery. This usually happens if the doctor fails to catch something during the initial check-up or if the surgery over/undercorrected your refractive errors. Again, these are very rare, but it could be beneficial to ask about them beforehand.
What to Expect When Getting Laser Eye Surgery
A laser vision correction procedure can take on many different forms. However, many of them are outpatient procedures that will allow you to go home on the same day as the surgery. With that said, immediately after you undergo refractive surgery, you may experience blurry and impaired vision. For this reason, it's important to make sure that there's someone to drive you home after the surgery.
For treatments such as LASIK, the laser eye surgery procedure begins with the doctor applying anesthesia. Usually, doctors simply apply topical anesthesia on your eyes, which will turn them numb. However, some people might prefer to be fully sedated, which you can always request.
From there, a small incision on the corneal tissue is made. During laser refractive surgery, the incision is made using a precise laser for higher accuracy. Once the incision is made, doctors then use another laser to even out the corneal tissue by creating a corneal flap with an excimer laser.
After making an incision, the surgeon uses an excimer laser, which emits a cool ultraviolet light beam, to remove a thin layer of your corneal tissue. Removing the thin layer of tissue gives the cornea a new shape, which allows light to easily focus directly on the retina. After LASIK surgery, your cornea will be slightly thinner and have a completely different shape.
Are There Risks Involved?
Just like any medical procedure, there are some risks involved with laser eye surgery. Some of these risks include impairing your vision further, especially since this type of surgery is very delicate. Keep in mind that the risk is increased if you don't get a qualified and experienced doctor.
With PersonalEYES, you can rest assured that all our doctors are competent and qualified individuals who are well-versed in the different treatments for eye diseases such as poor distance vision, myopia, and others.
PersonalEYES offers some of the best laser eye surgery treatments all across Australia, and we can help you get on the right track to getting better eyesight and increasing your focusing power.
Recovering From Laser Eye Surgery
Immediately after your LASIK procedure or any other laser eye surgery procedure, you might experience blurred vision and dizziness. This is a common side effect that most of our patients go through after surgery. So, while you should feel fine right after, we highly recommend arranging for someone to drive you home or to a hotel to recover from the surgery.
On the day of your surgery, it's best to take a nap and rest right after to recover. Watching TV and staring at the screen might strain your eyes, so keep away from the internet and television for now. From there, your doctor will ask you to attend a follow-up appointment after a day or two to check on how your body reacted to the treatment. After the follow-up appointment, most patients will be cleared for work.
The day after your surgery, you'll start seeing the benefits of the treatment. If you wear glasses regularly, you might find that you don't need to wear them as much, if at all. If you underwent LASIK eye surgery to correct your long-sightedness or short-sightedness, the results would start to be felt after a couple of days, but it takes 3-6 months for your eyes to fully heal, and that's when you can really start saying goodbye to your glasses and contact lenses for good.
LASIK surgery treats longsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism by reshaping the surface of your eye. An irregular shape or abnormal curve on your eye’s surface stops light from hitting the retina. This is what causes blurred vision and eye surgeons conducting a LASIK procedure use laser technology to reshape and even out your cornea.
After any laser eye surgery, it's best to rest your body and stay away from heavy activities. So, you cannot swim, play contact sports, or do anything to stress out your body in the few weeks following the surgery. That way, the healing process will be much smoother.
Benefits of Laser Eye Surgery
Here are just a few of the benefits that come with going through a laser eye surgery procedure;
Quick & Simple Operations
One of the main advantages that laser surgery procedure has over other vision correction treatments is speed and simplicity. Typical LASIK surgery only lasts around 20 minutes and right after you can head home, provided you have someone to drive you.
Refractive surgery is used to cure and treat a bunch of conditions. Through laser surgery, you can treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and it can also be helpful in treating presbyopia much faster than you'd usually think! While these are delicate tasks, if performed by an experienced and trusted doctor, there's a very small chance of a refractive error, and you'll find your vision improving in no time at all!
Painless
Another advantage of laser surgery is that it's painless. While this is true for most other modern medical procedures, it's especially true with a laser eye surgery procedure. When you undergo LASIK surgery and other laser treatments, the anesthesia is applied through eye drops directly on your eye. This numbs it right away, so you don't have to feel anything during the operation.
On top of that, the femtosecond laser most doctors use cleanly makes an incision, reducing the risk of refractive error since the procedure doesn't rely too heavily on a surgeon's skill.
No More Glasses & Contact Lenses
If you're tired of constantly changing your glasses prescription because of your condition, then a laser eye surgery procedure would benefit you greatly. Glasses or contact lenses can improve your vision instantly, however, they can also be a hassle. For certain conditions, laser eye surgery works at improving their eye health and fixing short-sightedness and other conditions. In some cases, you'll be able to feel the results in just a few days!
While the surgery might not completely eliminate your need for glasses and contact lenses, it can lessen the need for them. After you go through keyhole surgery, the natural lens in your eye will start working much better, and you'll find that you need your reading glasses less and less.
Get on the Path to Correcting Your Vision With PersonalEYES
At PersonalEYES, our dedicated doctors can treat long-sightedness and eye injury and help you improve your vision with your particular circumstances in mind. If you've been living with a vision problem that's been bothering you, head on over to PersonalEYES for a free assessment to get the process started.
During our assessment, a doctor will assess your vision and even conduct a wavefront analysis to get a clear picture of your current situation. And from there, you can work with the doctor to find the right treatment that works for you!
FAQs
How Much Does Laser Eye Surgery Cost?
Depending on the surgery, laser eye treatments can cost you anywhere from $1500-$3700 per eye. SMILE is typically more expensive than LASIK, but there are many clinics such as PersonalEYES that offer payment plans so that the cost of the surgery isn't as heavy.
What Does Laser Surgery Do To The Eye?
Laser eye surgery is a procedure that shapes the surface of your eye. An uneven surface results in poor focus, which is why doctors create a corneal flap and treat the inside of the eye to fix certain problems such as long-sightedness, shortsightedness, and astigmatism. Doctors and surgeons use specialised lasers to reshape your eye’s surface to correct your vision.
How Long Does Eye Laser Surgery Last?
Typically, laser eye surgery effects last a lifetime. After laser eye surgery, you will never have to wear a contact lens or pair of glasses again. Laser eye surgery is a fairly short procedure, but it can reap a lifetime of positive experiences. A typical laser surgery lasts between 10-20 minutes, so patients can go home on the same day as the procedure.
We will match any publically advertising price or formal quotation; based on the same procedure and inclusions. In some cases, we may require verification of the procedure and/or inclusions.
For the cost of a cup of coffee a day you could bring your life into focus again.