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What should you know before having LASIK surgery?

LASIK eye surgery has gained increasing popularity as people seek to free themselves from the inconvenience of contact lenses and glasses. The outpatient procedure, which generally takes no more than a half hour for both eyes, is most commonly used to treat nearsightedness. With the LASIK procedure, the doctor changes the patient’s cornea shape to more clearly focus light rays and improve the way images are seen.

As with any type of surgery, particularly on such a delicate area as the eye, there are potential dangers. It’s always important to go to a doctor who has successfully performed the procedure numerous times.

LASIK surgery isn’t advisable for everyone. For some people, it can make their eyesight worse or cause other vision problems.

Further, certain medical conditions could even make it dangerous to have the surgery. Your doctor should conduct a thorough medical screening to ensure that you are a good candidate for the surgery. You also need to provide him or her with a complete and accurate medical history.

It’s also essential to ensure that your doctor is using equipment approved by the Food and Drug Administration for LASIK surgery. The FDA regulates medical devices, which include the lasers that are used for the surgery. However, the FDA has no control over how doctors perform the surgery, what information and precautions they give their patients and whom they choose to perform the surgery on.

By doing your homework ahead of time, you can minimize the risk of obtaining an unsatisfactory outcome or — worse — of suffering an injury or negative permanent effects from the surgery. It may be difficult to determine whether an injury or harm was due to faulty equipment or the negligence or error of the doctor. A medical malpractice attorney can work to determine that and advise you on what legal recourse you may have.

Source: FindLaw, “LASIK Eye Surgery,” accessed April 07, 2016