Laser Vision correction (Lasik Surgery) – before or after marriage?

For many, many people, getting married is one of the most important things they will ever do in the pursuit of happiness.

Marianne Williamson

Wedding is a beautiful time and most often a turning point in everyone’s life. Marriage is also associated with a lot of planning. One wishes to look the best on their wedding, hence one of the things on people’s to-do list is to get permanent freedom from glasses before they say “I Do”.

For majority of people opting for Lasik before marriage, the desire to look good on the wedding day and to enter into the new phase of life bereft of all barriers is an enough motivating factor. Rarely there are also other cultural beliefs which force people to opt for laser vision correction before marriage. Sometimes in interiors of India (though not so much in cities), girls with glasses find it difficult to find a suitable alliance easily, the inlaws may ask for more dowry or even rarely there may be a misconception that if someone has glasses, they will pass it to the next generation as well!

Whatever is the reason for considering LASIK before marriage or after marriage, there is still no substitute for getting the procedure done at the right time with proper planning.

Let me tell you two real life examples from my Lasik Clinic at Centre for Lasik Surgery in Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute, Navi Mumbai, India.

Azhar, a 28 years old young man, was setting foot on the new chapter of his life. He was getting married! He is a smart young successful professional who works in Middle East. He had come to India to get married and to start his new life.  There was only one hitch in his grand scheme of things. He had a minus 6 power in his eyes and he wanted to quickly get rid of his glasses before his wedding day.  He thought the reception pictures may not look that good with his glasses. Azhar came for his pre-LASIK evaluation to the Center for LASIK surgery at the Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute (AEHI) in Navi Mumbai 3 days prior to his wedding.

His detailed pre-LASIK evaluation included tests like eye power checking with and without drops, corneal topography (corneal surface maps), corneal thickness, muscle balance, dry eye tests and retina check up. His tests and eye check-up revealed that he was suitable for all the different kinds of Laser vision correction procedures like LASIK, Femto LASIK and Relex Smile Lasik.  He wanted the best for his eyes and opted for the bladeless and Flapless, newest generation advanced Relex SMILE Lasik.

But the question to ponder over, was the right time for the procedure. He wanted it on the same day or at the most next day so that he can be glass free, 3 days later, on his wedding day. A go getter who wants everything done quickly! But I dissuaded him from getting the SMILE Lasik done 3 days prior to his wedding and he finally got SMILE Lasik done 10 days after his wedding. There are reasons why I recommended this and I will tell you shortly.

On the other side was Piya who came for pre-LASIK evaluation and was found to be suitable for Relex SMILE Lasik. Many would-be brides would put laser eye surgery on their to-do list a few months before their wedding. Her reason for considering the laser vision correction was similar; she did not want to spoil her look on the wedding day by wearing glasses and hence wanted to get the freedom from glasses.  She underwent Relex SMILE Lasik 42 days before her wedding day. Now when we are considering someone for LASIK, we are concerned not just with the pre-LASIK fitness but also the post-procedure care and how that may impact your life and the events associated.

Let’s try to understand the right time for the laser vision correction (LASIK) procedure prior or after your wedding-

1. After the LASIK surgery
   1. Interference with Makeup: Some amount of care is required for example eye makeup, facials etc should not be done for 2-4 weeks after Lasik surgery. This can have some bearing for the would-be-brides. Most would-be- brides want to get a detailed pre-bridal face therapy a week to ten days prior to their wedding. So they have to remember that face therapy cannot be done for atleast 2 weeks after Relex SMILE Lasik and for 4 weeks after Femto or Custom LASIK.
   2. Exposure to dirt: No dust or dirt or water should enter the eye for 2-3 weeks – All the running around that needs to be done prior to the wedding for invitations, shopping etc need to be considered while planning a LASIK before wedding.
   3. Eyecare: No eye rubbing for 2-3 weeks even if one wants to cry!
   4. Eyecare with medicines: Eye drops are to be instilled every few hours in first week and then 2-3 times a day for a few weeks.
   5. Honeymoon: If you are intending to go for an exotic honeymoon to a beach or a nice resort- you cannot swim for 2-3 weeks after Relex Smile Lasik or 4 weeks after Femto or Custom Lasik.

For a person who is getting married, there are way too many things to look after and take care of. In the middle of all that it is very easy to ignore your eye and not give it the required proper care. So it is better to space the procedure and plan it at least a month before the wedding day.  Additionally prior to the wedding many things like shopping, invitations, pre-bridal dress trials etc need to be taken care of. Hence it is my recommendation – It is better for your own sanity to plan the laser vision correction procedure a few months prior to the big day.

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About the author:

Dr Vandana Jain is a renowned Cornea and Lasik Surgeon heading the Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute, Navi Mumbai, India. She is one of the best Lasik surgeons in India and is an expert in Pre-Lasik tests, Corneal evaluation pre Lasik and has done more than 5000 Lasik surgeries in her career spanning more than 12 years. At her centre, which is the best Lasik surgery centre in western India, she offers counsel and advice for Custom Lasik,Femto Lasik, Relex Smile Lasik

Dr Vandana Jain- Lasik Surgeon expert

Watch Dr Vandana Jain perform Relex Smile lasik laser – 

Interview of Dr Vandana Jain about Smile lasik

Video of a Smile lasik journey for freedom from glasses

READ MORE RELATED BLOGS HERE:

http://www.advancedeyehospital.com/blog/A-doctors-journey-for-Freedom-from-glasses-Smile-lasik-surgery-makes-it-possible.aspx

http://www.advancedeyehospital.com/blog/Is-LASIK-Safe-For-Me.aspx

http://www.advancedeyehospital.com/blog/Conventional-Lasik-vs-Bladeless-Lasik.aspx

Dr Vandana Jain can be contacted at contactus@advancedeyehospital.com or her appointments are available at +91-22-67313636

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For more information on Relex SMILE Lasik, visit www.smilelasikmumbai.com

Choosing a lasik surgeon for Lasik surgery procedure – best practice guide for patients

It surprises me to no end when I see the way people including my friends and family, choose their doctors even in the present era. I have asked them many times what helps them make a decision how to choose the best doctor for particular problem? Is it the recommendation from a friend, from a doctor or from internet reviews? Have they done their research about the qualifications and the experience of the doctor in treating their problem?

These same questions apply to anyone who is thinking about LASIK treatment and wants to make a decision about where to get the surgery done and from which lasik Surgeon.

Hence, I decided to pen my thoughts as a LASIK surgeon about how one should choose a lasik surgeon for the surgery.

Choosing the BEST LASIK surgeon

1. Surgeon training and qualifications–

Whether your surgeon comes recommended by your general physician or a friend/colleague or you got to know about the doctor from your internet search, please do not take your surgeon’s qualifications for granted. It is very important to know about their post graduate eye surgery training, their fellowships and any other qualifications. If th lasik surgeon has received a formal training in managing cornea diseases, it helps as then the surgeon can diagnose early problems in cornea which will be a contra-indication for a lasik surgery.

Besides it is important to ensure that they are registered with the local medical body. It is also good to know if they have any scientific publications, do they speak at the national and international conferences. These are indirect indicators that their knowledge is up to date and their work is at par with other good surgeons.

Please also ensure that your surgeon is versatile and competent in all different kinds of eye power correction procedures. LASIK isn’t the only option, and it isn’t the best procedure for every person.

Now we have so many other great options like Epi-LASIK, PRK, FemtoLasik, SMILE Lasik, Refractive lens exchange, phakic IOLs’ etc. It is good to choose the best surgeon who is comfortable and experienced with all these procedures and the latest technology. That will also ensure that your surgeon will choose the procedure that will be best suited to your eyes.

2. Asking the right questions from the LASIK surgeon–

Come prepared with your list of questions on your first consultation with the LASIK surgeon. Write down all your relevant questions and concerns and ask them during your first consult.

In India we are sometimes afraid to ask too many questions lest the doctor gets annoyed or may not have the time to answer too many questions. It is a matter of your eyes and it is your right to get comfortable and get your queries answered prior to going ahead with LASIK surgery.

Some pertinent questions can be-

1. How many such procedures have they done and what are their complication rates compared to reported rates
2. How are their results and how they compare to reported outcomes
3. What kinds of checks they have in place to reduce the scope for errors
4. How many and what type of tests will be done to ensure safety of lasik surgery
5. What percentage of their patients need a repeat procedure
6. Do they charge for a repeat procedure and if not then for how long that applies

3. Trust –

The most important criteria for choosing your surgeon is your ability to trust the doctor. You need to feel comfortable with what your surgeon says, how he or she says it, and how relaxed and confident you feel with the level of care.

To sum up, the most important criteria of a quality surgeon include experience, great credentials, feeling of trust and willingness of the doctor and the staff to work with a patient to help him/ her achieve freedom from glasses.

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About the author:

Dr Vandana Jain is a renowned Cornea and Lasik Surgeon heading the Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute, Navi Mumbai, India. She is one of the best lasik surgeons in India and is an expert in Pre-Lasik tests, Corneal evaluation pre lasik and has done more than 5000 Lasik surgeries in her career spanning more than 12 years. At her centre, which is the best lasik surgery centre in western India, she offers counsel and advice for Custom lasik, femto lasik, Relex Smile lasik

Dr Vandana Jain- Lasik Surgeon expert

Watch Dr Vandana Jain perform Relex Smile lasik laser – 

Interview of Dr Vandana Jain about Smile lasik

Video of a Smile lasik journey for freedom from glasses

Dr Vandana Jain can be contacted at contactus@advancedeyehospital.com or her appointments are available at +91-22-67313636

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How to choose the best eye hospital for Lasik surgery procedure: A guide

When it comes to Medicine, it is all about information and communication. The whole paradigm of information seeking avenues and behaviour has changed. Hence, today’s patients ideally should be very well informed. Besides family and friends, now there is the Internet which can really help people get information and become more aware.

At the Center for LASIK surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute, we get a lot of young lasik hopefuls walking in for a second opinion for Lasik surgery treatment. And we often find that:

• A good percentage of these patients are not suitable for LASIK surgery but have been advised to go ahead with lasik procedure elsewhere. Some of these have early changes in their cornea which pose a later risk of loss of eye sight or other complications.
• Some of them had not even undergone a thorough pre-LASIK evaluation without which no lasik expert can decide whether LASIK surgery should be performed or not. Millions of people have undergone lasik safely but we must understand that a pre-lasik checklist is a must to ensure a safe outcome.

While this can happen when the lasik centre does not have full facility for a complete pre-lasik checkup before lasik surgery, it can also happen when the lasik surgeon is not well trained in cornea and lasik surgery. Some people can also argue about the basic fabric and the unethical behaviors. However, that is a deep philosophical question and probably a topic of future discussions.

Hence, I decided to put down my thoughts as a LASIK surgeon about how one should go about choosing a LASIK surgeon for the surgery.

Choosing a Hospital–

1. LASIK surgery center location- It is good to know whether the LASIK surgery center is a part of the eye hospital or the eye doctor is going to take you to some other centre for the surgery. Surgeons who have a LASIK center in their own eye hospital are more likely to have considerable experience because they perform enough lasik procedures to support a center of their own. If a surgeon needs to travel to an outside surgical center or share a laser, then this may be an evidence that he or she performs fewer refractive surgery procedures.

Secondly,if the LASIK surgery center is not a part of the hospital, it is difficult to ensurethe quality of lasik machines and the practices followed.

Lastly it is good to enquire if the surgical center that the surgeon uses had any serious infection outbreaks. With strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the increase, it’s essential that the surgical center personnel observe impeccable standards regarding sterilizing instruments and equipment.

2. Lasik centre equipments:

Ideal world class lasik centre would have all cornea diagnostic equipments for pre lasik checkup such as pachymetry, OCT, topography, trained cornea & lasik surgeon and other staff. Some of the best lasik centres in Mumbai also have Relex Smile lasik, Femto Lasik besides conventional custom lasik machines. The more well equipped the centre, better choice you can make about the type of lasik which will work the best for you.

2. Accreditations:

Accreditations such as ISO certification ensure better and safer processes for the patient. Hence, it may be a good idea to know if the hospital where the doctor is working and will be performing the surgery has any accreditations.This also ensures that the hospital follow the best practices.

2. Personal touch and the comfort with staff:

Most LASIK surgeons will give you enough time but at the end of the day their time is limited. Most good eye hospitals recognize the importance of having friendly, competent staff that is available to spend time and address any concerns or queries. Friendliness of the staff at “front desk” may be an important indicator of how comfortable you will feel as you go through the remaining steps of pre-LASIK evaluation, consultation and scheduling your lasik surgery.

It is good to assess beforehand if the staff at the hospital is friendly, are they competent or disorganized? Are they willing to take the time to answer your questions? Assessing the presence of that “personal touch” is very important to ensure that you will get the satisfaction, necessary time and attention and overall a good experience.

Be wary of the deals that many eye hospitals put up on the  deal sites offering really cheap lasik surgery. These kinds of deals should make you suspicious. In healthcare nothing of good standard and quality comes cheap. I am a strong proponent of not getting lured by these deals when it comes to your eye surgery. It is better to wait to save money if finances are a problem rather than taking chances with your eyes. Some hospitals may use a single lasik blade on many patients to cut the prices.

So in nutshell, good lasik machines and equipment are the most important indicators of a good hospital. This brings us to the next question: How does one select a Lasik Surgeon? More about this in the blog to follow…

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About the author:

Dr Vandana Jain is a renowned Cornea and Lasik Surgeon heading the Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute, Navi Mumbai, India. She is one of the best lasik surgeons in India and is an expert in Pre-Lasik tests, Corneal evaluation pre lasik and has done more than 5000 Lasik surgeries in her career spanning more than 12 years. At her centre, which is the best lasik surgery centre in western India, she offers counsel and advice for Custom lasik, femto lasik, Relex Smile lasik

Dr Vandana Jain- Lasik Surgeon expert

Watch Dr Vandana Jain perform Relex Smile lasik laser – 

Interview of Dr Vandana Jain about Smile lasik

Video of a Smile lasik journey for freedom from glasses

Dr Vandana Jain can be contacted at contactus@advancedeyehospital.com or her appointments are available at +91-22-67313636

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Can lasik surgery be done for very high number (high myopia)?

Myopia is a condition of short sightedness where vision is clear up close but blurry in the distance. It is a fairly common condition of the eyes and starts appearing at an early age, often in childhood. Last year a study done by our eye hospital in Navi Mumbai, India- Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute (AEHI) – showed that myopia affects almost 15-20 % of school kids.

Out of all people with common myopia, people with high myopia are a unique subset and have requirement of very high correction often more than 8 D. These are the people who are totally dependent on their glasses or contact lenses and the first thing which they seek the moment they get out of the bed is their glasses. They are literally blind as a bat without the glasses or contact lenses. This perception of day to day handicap motivates them to seek a freedom from glasses and their motivation for LASIK procedure is high. At Centre of Lasik Surgery at AEHI, one of best lasik surgery centres in India, we get to see people with high myopia very frequently. Besides visual handicap, patients with high myopia have a very high risk for other eye diseases like early cataract, glaucoma and more particularly retinal conditions such as retinal holes, retinal detachment, degeneration etc When a patient with high myopia considers getting freedom from glasses, we must check the eye thoroughly for these conditions as well and ensure a detailed pre LASIK evaluation. From an expert Lasik surgeon’s perspective, the additional challenge lies in deciding which is the best procedure for people with high myopia, whether Lasik or something else.

Dimple a young beautiful women almost stumbled into my room! I jumped out of my chair to help her thinking she must be not able to see well! She regained her balance and almost embarrassed, sat on the consulting chair. I saw her chart and realized that she indeed had a very poor vision. She had a vision of only finger counting at 2 meter. I saw that her glass power was -14D in both her eyes. On further discussion I recognized that she had never worn glasses or contact lenses in her life! My jaw almost dropped. She could sense my shock and quickly acknowledged that on her side of family it is a taboo for girls to wear glasses. Because of her poor vision she could not attend school and did not go out much. She got married while she was young and had a baby a year after her marriage. Now she was not able to manage an active child as she could not see what the child was doing.  So she convinced her husband to come for an eye check up and check if Lasik surgery is possible for her. She underwent a detailed pre LASIK evaluation at the Center for Lasik Surgery at the Advanced Eye hospital and Institute. The good news was that her pre LASIK evaluation was absolutely normal. But the big question mark in her case was how much number as a LASIK surgeon I could correct without endangering the safety of her eyes and if some other surgery was better to get her off glasses!

Let’s identify the options and the issues surrounding this topic-

An expert LASIK surgeon looks at multiple parameters before deciding how much number can be safely corrected. On one hand a patient with even a -6D may not be suitable for LASIK and on the other hand even -10D may get a green signal for Laser vision correction! There is really no prescribed magic number for correction by LASIK. Even if a patient’s corneal topography (corneal maps) and corneal thickness are absolutely normal and can support correction of very high powers, LASIK surgeons still try to restrict to an upper limit of -10 to -12 D. Correcting more than that even if everything is normal can result in post surgery regression (minus numbers coming back), dry eye, night vision issues besides the risk of post LASIK ectasia (where cornea becomes weak and bulges forward in an irregular fashion)! This is due to large amount of corneal tissue being lost during Excimer laser ablation.

So then what are the options for patients like Dimple who have eye power higher than what can be safely corrected by LASIK?

1. Part Lasik and part glasses: One of the options is that we correct what we can by LASIK keeping patients eyes safety in perspective and then for remaining eye power patient can either wear glasses or contact lenses.

2. Refractive lens exchange (RLE) with artificial lens implantation

Unlike LASIK which is an external procedure this is an internal eye procedure.  RLE is much like cataract surgery which is done when the natural lens inside the eye becomes cloudy, and needs removal and replacement with an artificial lens. In RLE a clear natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. The choice of artificial lens type and make is dependent on the patient’s age, requirements and the other factors. However RLE has a higher risk of retinal complications in high myopes, compared with other vision correction procedures. For these reasons, RLE typically is used only in cases of severe vision correction needs when none else seems to be the option and the need for power correction is dire!

3. Phakic Intraocular lens (Phakic IOL’s)

 Phakic IOL’s are surgically implanted inside the eye and the natural lens of the patient’s eye is left as it is. These lenses work by bending light rays onto the retina to form a clear image. Many lenses with different designs are available. Phakic IOL’s are suited for people who have moderate to high myopia but are unfit candidates for LASIK surgery. Personally I do not favour the ones which are present in front of the iris (coloured part of the eye). They have a higher potential to cause damage to cornea and cause a long term reaction inside the eye. I prefer the ones which rest behind the coloured iris and just in front of the natural lens. Being an intraocular procedure there are some risks involved which fortunately are rare. Additionally the procedure is reversible and lens can be removed from the eye safely if required.

For Dimple, we chose to do Implantable contact lenses (ICL) which are a type of phakic IOL’s. Dimple has done very well after surgery and now can see her daughter playing far away.

Surgical treatment of very high powers for people with high myopia remains a big challenge for even the best of LASIK & Cornea surgeons. Selecting the safest and most appropriate technique for each patient and personalizing solutions ranging from various types of Lasik surgeries to lenses, we treat higher levels of myopia more safely and predictably at the Center for LASIK surgery at the Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute, Mumbai, India. Availability of better screening instruments which are used for pre LASIK evaluation and advanced machines such as Femto Lasik and Relex Smile Lasik also help us in our endeavor. More advanced lenses, expert eye surgeons and technology have allowed us to maximize visual quality and provide optimal solution in highly myopic eyes when LASIK treatment may not be appropriate.

 

About the author:

Dr Vandana Jain- Cornea & Lasik Surgeon

Dr Vandana Jain is one of the best lasik surgeons in Mumbai, India. Having worked at eye hospitals of repute in India and abroad and with experience of over 5000 successful advanced lasik procedures under her belt, she has been a strong advocate of safety while reaching freedom from glasses.

Watch video of Dr Vandana Jain answer a few questions on Relex SMILE Lasik:

Watch video of Relex Smile Lasik laser surgery as performed by Dr Vandana Jain at the Centre for Lasik Surgery at AEHI:

Dr Vandana Jain is also one of the few Lasik surgeons in India who has experience in can be contacted at AEHI helpline: +91-22-67313636 or by sending an email at vandana.jain@advancedeyehospital.com or by filling up the form below.

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What is the right age for LASIK Surgery?

Disha, a 17 year old entered my room at Centre for Lasik Surgery within Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute Navi Mumbai and started complaining how she hates her glasses. Her friends tease her and she is not able to get the attention of the guy she likes because of her glasses. She came all alone for a consultation as she wanted me to convince her dad that she can undergo LASIK surgery and get rid of her glasses. Today’s youngsters demand and know more than we knew when we were their age.

On the other hand are the baby boomers who continue to redefine aging. As soon as Mr Sharma, a 60 year old gentleman, entered my room I was thinking he must have come for cataract opinion. But to my surprise he had come for a LASIK procedure opinion! He had craved for a glasses free life for years.

I thought to myself how even being an eye doctor I am getting into stereotypes!

So of course the broader question is what is the right age for LASIK surgery?

It is a question that needs an answer, and here we go!

Not before 18- Too young for LASIK!

Most Lasik surgeons tend to avoid LASIK surgery in children less than 18 years as eyes keep changing shape and size into early adulthood. A stable glass power for 1-2 years is also mandatory prior to LASIK laser surgery. We do make exceptions to this rule sometimes.  Younger people who are resistant to traditional treatment may benefit from LASIK. For example LASIK can be a viable alternative in children with a condition called anisometropic Amblyopia (where one eye has a very high power and poor vision compared to the other) who are intolerant to spectacle and contact lenses.

What about after 40 -Reading glasses?

The second fluctuation in a person’s eye happens around the age of 40. Soon thereafter, many people start to need reading glasses due to a condition known as presbyopia. LASIK surgery cannot correct two different numbers in the same eye (one for distance and one for reading) but can help with monovision. Monovision is a laser eye surgery that leaves one eye corrected for near vision and the other eye corrected for distance vision. Additionally one needs to remember that reading numbers continue to increase with age. Hence what has been corrected today will stand corrected but future gain in numbers will reflect.

50’s – Too Old for LASIK?

Its never too late for a lasik surgery but we must remember a few things about aging and the eye. At older age, the lens inside the eye may undergo changes and a cataract formation can start. However I have seen some adults who did not have cataract even at the age of 70 or 80 years. It’s possible that a 70-year-old without cataracts or other eye illnesses is actually a better candidate for a lasik surgery than a 30-year-old. The lens has to be clear and the patient must understand that LASIK procedure will not prevent a cataract from developing in the future

Special Considerations before Lasik surgery in older age groups

As with any other patient population, some issues need to be considered:

Pre-existing eye disease: Prior to moving forward with any LASIK surgery, it is imperative to rule out any pre-existing  retina and corneal conditions which can interfere with the outcomes. We also need to rule out a check out family for history of corneal disorders, diabetes and glaucoma.

Drug side effects: Some medications taken by older patients could pose a problem, for example Amiodarone is a drug taken for a heart condition. It can have some ocular side effects like photosensitivity, corneal microdeposits, hazy vision, and colored haloes around lights. Rare side effects include corneal ulceration, subcapsular lens opacities and nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy.

Person’s medical history and any prescription drugs need to be properly documented before even considering LASIK.

Cataract surgery: Those patients who have already started developing cataracts are better served with a cataract extraction followed by implantation of an IOL. These patients can always be evaluated for multifocal lens suitability. We all need to understand the real possibility of cataract formation months or years following the procedure. Previous LASIK surgery may make calculating a subsequent IOL power difficult. To address this problem, we often record a preoperative topography measurement prior to the LASIK procedure, and then keep this information on file. This baseline measurement taken before the surgery can be extremely helpful for the IOL calculation down the road when cataract surgery may be needed.
Finally a previous cataract surgery does not represent a contraindication for LASIK,

Age certainly influences one’s LASIK candidacy, but it by no means draws an absolute boundary.  Don’t let your age hold you back! If you are interested in freedom from glasses – do start investigating, it is never too late to improve the quality of your life. Only thing needed is a detailed medical and ocular evaluation to ensure you qualify for Lasik.

 

About the Author:

Dr Vandana Jain at Centre for Lasik Surgery, AEHI

Dr Vandana Jain is a renowned Cornea & Lasik Surgeon and owing to her experience in the field of Lasik Surgery is often an invited speaker at National and International eye surgery conferences. True to her vision of helping people with glasses, she has setup a state of the art “Centre for Lasik Surgery” at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute in Navi Mumbai. The centre spread over 11000 sq ft has a unique distinction of housing the latest german technology in form of lasik, bladeless femto lasik and flapless smile lasik under roof. Dr Vandana Jain shares her experiences from patients she treats to the friends she makes in the process of giving them freedom from glasses.

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Watch Dr Vandana Jain answer a few FAQs on SMILE Lasik:

 

Watch Dr Vandana Jain perform SMILE Lasik Surgery at AEHI:

 

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Ensuring safety while achieving Freedom from Glasses by Lasik Laser Surgery!

Glasses have become ubiquitous, affecting almost 20% of human noses, at least in the cities.

Though glasses look smart on a lot of people but still they may be a hassle if the number is so high that you are incapacitated without them or if you want to live an outdoors life or just would love to be free of those things on your nose!

Freedom from glasses is something each of us would want if it can be done without a surgery or at the most with a safe surgery. The fear of the unknown is there in everyone’s mind and no one wants to get into a surgery and land up with long term vision issues.

At Centre for Lasik Surgery at AEHI, patient’s safety is always paramount to us. Let me share with you a recent case: Ira came to me for an opinion about LASIK surgery. She is the daughter of one of my physician colleagues. She is a smart young lady and is currently doing her MBA. She was very motivated for Lasik and we took her for a full round of AEHI Pre-Lasik Checkup. Tests showed a rare corneal abnormality in her eye called Fuch’s corneal endothelial dystrophy. This is a progressive disease and over a period of time can lead to lot of vision issues. Any surgery on such Cornea can hasten the onset of complications and actually worsen the outcome. We gave her all the information about her problem. She being a smart educated girl decided to not go for LASIK and rightly so!

Even though as LASIK surgeons we want to help each and everyone who wants to get rid of glasses but we cannot compromise on the long term safety of patient’s eyes.  At Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute, out of every 100 motivated people looking at freedom from glasses- we advise against LASIK surgery to almost 20% people as it may just not be safe for them. And our thorough Pre Lasik test module allows us to really screen very rigorously.

There can be multiple reasons where Laser Vision Correction may be unsuitable for someone’s eyes. Let’s understand some of the common reasons coming from our experience at Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute at Navi Mumbai.

1. Unstable glass power– LASIK surgery is best done when eye power has been stable for atleast an year or two. What one needs to understand is that LASIK changes the curvature of the cornea in alignment with current eye power. If eye power is not stable and is bound to increase in future then some of the refractive error may come back in later years. To prevent that from happening we postpone the surgery to future years and plan upon power stabilization. In such cases when Lasik is done when power is unstable then people label that lasik has failed when actually the case selection was wrong. We cannot and should not blame a safe procedure like lasik if the case has not been selected properly.
2. Thin corneas– Lasik as a surgery entails making a flap on the cornea and then using the excimer laser to alter corneal curvature. This whole process makes cornea thinner by some amount which is dependent on patients’ eye power. So if a patient already has a thin cornea then the procedure may not be safe. The corneal thickness is measured by a test called pachymetry. If a lasik surgery is done on a thin cornea, it may become weak and bulge out later. This can even lead to complete loss of vision.
3. Abnormal corneal maps– Corneal topography gives us the surface and curvature maps of the cornea. It ensures that there is no underlying sub-clinical corneal abnormality such as Keratoconus or suspect Keratoconus which can become a full blown disease after Lasik surgery. So if topography maps show any abnormality, it is better to decline the procedure.
4. Advanced Glaucoma– For a patient who is a known case of glaucoma controlled on two to three medications and has advanced visual field defects or gets detected during Pre-LASIK evaluation, the lasik surgery should not be offered.
5. Squint or gross eye muscle abnormality– Anybody who has or is at risk of developing squint based on pre-operative evaluation may be advised to defer the LASIK surgery. In some selected cases we go ahead with LASIK knowing that patient may require a squint correction after LASIK surgery.
6. Severe Dry eye– People who are already suffering from severe dry eyes and produce lesser  or poor quality of tears are also advised to defer LASIK surgery. If the condition improves and we rule out any permanent reason for severe dryness then LASIK can be done in future.
7. Uncontrolled Diabetes or autoimmune diseases– These diseases can interfere with proper healing after LASIK and in fact increase the risk of corneal meting and infections. In these conditions we usually defer any form of non-urgent eye surgery.

Finale: So, from  a LASIK surgeon’s perspective, “long term safety of vision is the Mantra” driving us towards making sure that Lasik offers you freedom from glasses safely and thus becomes a source of joy for the rest of your lives. And now with SMILE lasik available at Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital and Insititute (AEHI), we are the best lasik hospital in western India.

This is a brief capsule, there is so much more to share and tell. Do visit us if you want to discuss more or else watch out for our next blog.

Author:

Dr Vandana Jain is a renowned expert Lasik Surgeon trained from LV Prasad Eye Institute and then from Harvard, USA. She is counted as one of best Cornea & Lasik Surgeons in the country. Coming through an intensive training in Corneal diseases at LV Prasad Eye hospital and Harvard, she values the safety of cornea the most. Resultantly, she has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates of enhancing safety before anyone undergoes lasik surgery. She can be reached at Advanced Eye hospital and Institute, Navi Mumbai. AEHI has the best lasik surgery machine called Smile Lasik available at Centre for lasik surgery.

Watch dr Vandana Jain perform Smile lasik Surgery – the best Lasik surgery at Centre for lasik surgery, AEHI, Navi Mumbai, India

Watch video of Dr Vandana Jain answering questions about Smile Lasik surgery- safest lasik surgery

Email: Contactus@advancedeyehospital.com

Call: +91-22-67313636

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Physician, Heal Thyself: A lasik surgeon’s own LASIK surgery experience!

Physician, heal thyself is a proverb found in The Bible (Luke 4:23)

“	23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’

Meaning

The phrase alludes to the readiness and ability of physicians to heal sickness in others while sometimes not being able or willing to heal themselves. This suggests something of ‘the cobbler always wears the worst shoes’, that is, cobblers are too poor and busy to attend to their own footwear. It also suggests that physicians, while often being able to help the sick, cannot always do so and, when sick themselves, are no better placed than anyone else.

I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old and the number kept on increasing till I was 18 years and finally stabilized at a whopping -6.5D. By the time I was in medical school, I was totally incapacitated without my spectacles and would need to find them the moment I got up. Sometimes my younger brother would hide them for just troubling me and at other times, I would lose them and then search for them all over the house. Further, I could not go for swimming and felt limited in lot of other outdoor activities. The other option was to wear contact lenses which brought in their own procedural hassles.

Being a trained Cornea and Refractive surgeon for over a decade now, Lasik Surgery forms one of the most common surgeries in my practice. It has always been a source of joy and satisfaction for me on a very deep personal level to hear how this quick and painless laser vision correction surgery has changed the quality of lives of so many patients. While for some it has meant better marriage prospects, for others it has meant higher self-esteem and confidence and for still others the freedom to participate in activities which spectacles and contact lenses always inhibited them from. Surely LASIK surgery has the power to impact people lives.

Attesting to the above proverb, Physician Heal Thyself, I decided to get the lasik surgery for myself. Though, the thought of putting my eyes under the laser machine was scary to me also just like for anybody else, but being a cornea surgeon I knew exactly what lasik surgery procedure entails.

The biggest fear the ‘What if’ scenario – what if something goes wrong and I am left with a residual hazy or a little blurry vision after lasik. Being an eye surgeon, my practice involves eye microsurgeries where thin hair like threads & stitches are used under magnification. Even a bit of blur would have endangered my ophthalmology career. But it just seemed so right to get Lasik done myself and then be convinced one way or the other.

Circa 2009, I decided to undergo the latest type of Laser vision correction – called Femto Lasik which uses a special Laser machine called Femtosecond laser to create a corneal flap before the excimer laser is shot to correct the corneal curvature. In a traditional lasik surgery, a blade called microkeratome is used for making flap and Femtosecond laser is indeed more accurate than Microkeratome. When it came to my eyes, I was certainly not taking any chances and wanted the best lasik in town.

As a Cornea Surgeon, I knew Pre-lasik evaluation would be needed to ensure long term safety of my eyes after lasik surgery. I passed the tests with flying colours – jokes apart my corneal thickness, topography, eye pressures and retina all were in order and I was judged suitable for lasik surgery. With my husband in toe, we went to the centre. Both of us were very apprehensive but once we reached the eye hospital, the time passed very fast and everything became a blur. The lasik procedure was very quick and I didn’t feel any discomfort during the surgery itself – and now I knew that local anesthetic drops actually work very well. Ten minutes later, I was back to the ward and asked to rest for the rest of the day.

Truth be told, immediately after the lasik procedure I had some irritation and heaviness in both my eyes. I decided to sleep through my afternoon and evening which surely helped. My dear husband who accompanied me for the procedure kept putting the drops in my eyes at the recommended times which is usually 4-5 times a day. By evening, my vision was still a little blurry as if I was seeing through a dirty glass. But I was still happy that I could see the expressions on my husband’s face from a distance without glasses.

My eyes developed some redness due to surgically induced sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. This is a known post lasik side effect and anyways I was mentally prepared about it. I had two very important meetings with some top executives the next day and I was worried how this may impact my interaction with them! By the night I was feeling better and I got a very nice restful sleep throughout the night.

As soon as I woke up next morning, by the force of habit I stretched my hand to grab my glasses. I could not find them by the bedside. I asked my husband and he burst into a loud laughter. And then I saw him standing over my head smiling wearing my frame minus the glasses in them. And actually that frame looked great on him! And suddenly I realized that I could see everything very clearly! That feeling was priceless, to be able to see everything clearly without my glasses! After 20 years of wearing glasses finally I didn’t need them, I was free of them!

My post lasik surgery check-up on day one morning was great and I was informed that everything was normal and fine. And on the side note, my meetings day one post lasik went great and I didn’t care in the least about the red spots on my eye. My happiness and renewed confidence was so palpable. I walked with energy and a spring in my step all the day and the following week through.

It has been almost 5 years since my laser vision correction and I continue to enjoy a crystal clear vision. I have enjoyed every moment of this freedom and used it in every possible way. I tried my hand at learning to swim, sky diving and now I run on a regular basis. I do not have any difficulty or haziness when I am doing complicated eye surgeries like corneal transplants, cataracts, deep lamellar keratoplasty or limbal stem cell transplants.

To be honest I have forgotten how it was to wear glasses. Having taken this step myself, I am convinced that for suitable and motivated individuals, laser vision correction surgery is the way to go. It is safe, precise and has a long term excellent safety profile. It is even better with the availability of new bladeless lasik- Smile lasik surgery at Centre for Lasik surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute, Navi Mumbai, India.

 

Watch dr Vandana Jain perform Smile lasik Surgery – the best Lasik surgery at Centre for lasik surgery, AEHI, Navi Mumbai, India

Watch video of Dr Vandana Jain answering questions about Smile Lasik surgery- safest lasik surgery

For any other questions, please do feel free to come and meet us.

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Can Lasik surgery be done during pregnancy or early motherhood (breastfeeding)

Pregnancy is a wonderful period and particularly so as a woman becomes even more beautiful when she is pregnant. Often it is also the time when we slow down on our day to day activities. Some women take a break from work and concentrate on their and the growing child’s health. The free time makes some women want to utilize it better. Some of them who have been planning to get LASIK to get rid of the glasses and contact lenses think this is the perfect time. Their busy schedules never allowed them to get it done earlier and now their free time gives them ideas. “Let me get it done before baby is out and I get even busier” These situations are common especially for me as cornea and lasik surgeon and I have to deal with these from time to time. I feel and understand the issues of these women who due to their hectic and busy lives have not been able to spare time for lasik surgery. But pregnancy is certainly not the time for any form of eye surgery unless it is an absolute emergency! During pregnancy due to hormonal alterations a lot of changes can happen in the eye for example glass power can change, corneal curvature undergoes changes and to add to that we cannot prescribe some medicines after lasik eye surgery due to their potential harmful effect on the growing baby. Hmmm.. Let me explain more:

1. Cornea curvature and eye power changes An increase in corneal curvature and mild steepening can occur during pregnancy. These changes can also develop post pregnancy when mothers are breast feeding. But the good news is that corneal curvature is reversible upon cessation of breastfeeding.
2. Contact lens issues: Women who wear contact lenses should also be careful. Contact lens intolerance may occur during pregnancy as a result of a change in corneal curvature, increased corneal thickness or an altered tear film.
3. Changing glass numbers Due to all these changes, the glass number may fluctuate during pregnancy or breastfeeding. In any case, it is recommended that one should wait several weeks after stopping breast feeding before taking a new glass number. Additionally, decreased or transient loss of accommodation may occur during pregnancy or within the postpartum period. What that means is that pregnant women or breast feeding mothers may experience a difficulty in reading. Eye power stability as well as corneal curvature stability is important before planning LASIK surgery. Laser vision correction involves reshaping the corneal curvature but that is exactly what is not stable during pregnancy or breastfeeding. That is why planning a LASIK surgery during pregnancy or breast feeding period is not a good idea.

Now what is a good time for lasik

Good time to get assessed for suitability for LASIK is few weeks after stopping breast feeding. Good thing is that after LASIK surgery you can be back to your routines and work in 2-3 days.

Newer techniques- flapless and bladeless lasik?

Yes, newer techniques of laser vision correction such as Femto Lasik (bladeless lasik) and Smile Lasik (Flapless lasik) have enhanced the safety, applicability, accuracy of lasik surgery procedure and also shortened the recovery time considerably.

Last words: Pregnancy and early infancy are precious times for the baby and the mother, just sit back, relax and enjoy this time with the baby We are not going anywhere. Once you are well settled into the motherhood and ready for spectacle removal surgery  – do visit us at our Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital & Institute in Navi Mumbai. We will make sure that you experience not only the best in lasik but the best in class service. All the best.

About the author: Dr Vandana Jain is a Cornea & Lasik Surgeon and has trained from prestigious Harvard University and LV Prasad Eye Institute. She is one of the best Lasik Surgeons in the country and heads the Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute in Navi Mumbai. Having performed thousands of Lasik surgeries over last decade, her writings reflect her deep domain expertise and thought process in giving people a spectacle free life. Her patients travel from all over India and abroad to seek her counsel before planning a lasik surgery specifically as she is  a big proponent of a through Pre-Lasik evaluation (tests) to ensure long term safety of vision and eyes. Dr Vandana Jain is also one of the few SMILE Lasik Surgeons in India who has trained at Harvard, USA

Her appointments are available at +91-22-67313636 or contactus@advancedeyehospital.com or by filling up the contact form here

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Have questions about SMILE Lasik Surgery? Dr Jain answers a few common questions on SMILE Lasik:

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Laser vision correction with LASIK- Safety first, everything else later

Getting tired of wearing glasses and contact lenses?

Don’t we all wish if something could be done to get rid of these hassles. At the same time, the idea of getting a lasik surgery on the eye is scary to say the least; especially so when glasses and contacts are allowing us a clear vision. There is always that nagging fear – what if something goes wrong during laser vision correction surgery and there is a loss of vision.  This is what we often hear from patients and their very concerned families. And I can totally relate to that fear. I had the same feelings before I underwent lasik myself.

I think it is extremely important to be realistic about LASIK just like everything else in this world.  Just like we take all the precautions while driving a car to ensure that we don’t get into an accident similarly we need to understand all the safety aspects related to LASIK surgery. Whenever we get a patient who is desirous of getting rid of glasses, he or she is made to go through a battery of tests also called pre-LASIK evaluation to determine suitability for laser vision correction. At the heart of these tests is to determine safety of LASIK for a person’s eye.  LASIK is not for everyone or in other words performing Lasik on everyone is not safe. There can be number of reasons why LASIK may not be a safe option such as thin corneas, abnormal corneal curvature, glaucoma, uncontrolled systemic diseases etc.

• Comprehensive vision and power analysis are done first which includes rechecking the numbers to ensure that the numbers are stable. If eye power is not stable for atleast an year then it is better to postpone the surgery to a future year. Powers are also re-checked after putting the dilating drops to ensure we get the correct powers. Especially in younger eyes excessive muscle action inside the eyes can give false powers when tested only without the drops.
• Corneal topography where the surface of cornea is mapped. This test report is in the form of beautiful colorful maps. These maps inform us about the shape of cornea and if there is any hidden corneal disease. Again the aim is to ensure that we rule out any corneal disease which may make LASIK unsafe
• Corneal thickness measurements ( Pachymetry) where we ensure that the thickness of cornea is within normal range. Again there is no magic number that we look for but we look at thickness in conjunction with the eye power that needs correction and the map of the cornea. Sometimes a 520 micron may be thin and sometimes a 480 may be normal.
• Pupil size measurements especially in dim light conditions to ensure that we know how much bigger it becomes in dim light. We decide the zone of correction from this reading
• Wave front analysis is done to study aberrations due to the optical system some of which warrants consideration and correlation with other tests.
• Contrast sensitivity analysis which is done to understand the optical system and quality of one’s vision especially under conditions of low  contrast such as dim light conditions
• Muscle balance tests are done to ensure and find out any hidden muscle weaknesses. If significant we may have to treat them first with exercises etc prior to planning a Lasik surgery
• Tear film tests are done to assess the state of surface of eyes. Current lifestyles due to excessive use of computer and excess exposure to air conditioned atmosphere affect our eye surface and cause dryness. We need to treat that and often modify our work habits to ensure a healthy well lubricated eye surface prior to LASIK
• Length of two eyes. This is checked by using a machine called IOL Master and is important in patients where the eye power in two eyes is different to understand the reasons for the difference in the eye power. One eye larger than the other warrants some considerations and often modifications in surgical plan.
• Retina and Optic nerve assessment to ensure that these other parts of the eye are also normal. Some patients who are detected to have holes in the peripheral parts of retina are advised retinal lasers to seal these holes prior to LASIK surgery
• A detailed history is always taken to rule out any body related disease which may cause problems in healing post surgery

I am sure you must be thinking these tests must be taking a hell lot of time. Well not exactly, the advanced machines and the trained professionals make our job very easy and all we need is 1-2 hours to determine safety and suitability.

So despite the fact that LASIK surgery has been shown to improve the vision and daily life of millions across the world, please ensure it will do the same for you by undergoing these tests. These tests are required for all lasik surgeries whether it is conventional lasik surgery, Femto lasik or smile lasik. Enjoy a glass free world!

About the author:

Dr Vandana Jain is a Cornea & Lasik Surgeon and has trained from prestigious Harvard University (USA) and LV Prasad Eye Institute. She heads the one of the best eye hospital and lasik centres in India, Centre for Lasik Surgery at Advanced Eye Hospital and Institute in Navi Mumbai, India. Having performed thousands of Lasik surgeries over last decade, her writings reflect her deep domain expertise and thought process in giving people a spectacle free life. At AEHI, Dr Jain is one of the first lasik eye surgeons in India to start offering the best lasik surgery – Smile lasik procedure to patients looking for freedom from glasses. You can read more about Smile lasik here: SMILE LASIK AT AEHI, NAVI MUMBAI, INDIA

Watch dr Vandana Jain perform Smile lasik Surgery – the best Lasik surgery at Centre for lasik surgery, AEHI, Navi Mumbai, India

Watch video of Dr Vandana Jain answering questions about Smile Lasik surgery- safest lasik surgery

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