Are You A LASIK Candidate: Find Out If You Qualify For LASIK At Wolfe

There are many factors considered by an ophthalmologist when determining if you are an eligible LASIK candidate. At Wolfe Eye Clinic, our highly referred-to LASIK surgeons provide you with more LASIK experience in Iowa than any other provider in the state. We’ll help you determine if laser eye treatment is right for you. Discover the basic LASIK eye surgery candidate requirements and how our LASIK candidate quiz can help you get started. 

Am I A LASIK Candidate?

To know if you’re an eligible LASIK candidate, you must meet with a refractive disorder specialist for an evaluation. Your doctor will perform advanced testing and gather measurements to understand the condition of your eyes and whether or not you qualify for LASIK. 

Unlike other providers, Wolfe Eye Clinic LASIK surgeons take the time to personally review your test results with you, hear about your long-term vision goals and answer your questions so that you can make an informed decision. The consultation helps patients understand their options and what to reasonably expect from the laser eye treatment procedure.

To know if you qualify for LASIK, schedule a free, no-obligation LASIK consultation with one of Wolfe Eye Clinic’s LASIK surgeons in Iowa.

LASIK Eye Surgery Candidate Basic Requirements

If you're tired of wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses, you may wonder whether LASIK surgery is right for you. To be a good candidate for laser eye treatment, several basic requirements need to be met, including having healthy eyes, stable vision, reasonable expectations, and a good understanding of the benefits and risks of the procedure.

• Age: Typically, patients can get LASIK surgery at age eighteen or older.

• Stable Vision: Patients should have relatively stable vision. Stable vision is considered little to no change in prescription for a least one year prior to a LASIK consultation.

• Pregnancy and Nursing: Hormones associated with pregnancy and nursing can temporarily or permanently change vision. For this reason, we ask patients who are pregnant or nursing to wait at least three months after giving birth or post-nursing before coming in for a LASIK consultation.

• Cornea Composition: During your LASIK consultation, we perform a comprehensive corneal evaluation determining your cornea’s thickness and analyzing its shape i.e. topography and tomography. You may have never had a chance to think about your corneas being normal or not at a regular eye doctor appointment, but your topography and tomography must be normal and your cornea must be thick enough to perform laser eye treatment. Fortunately, patients with corneas which are too thin may qualify for another type of refractive surgery. All options will be discussed at your consultation with Wolfe Eye Clinic.

• Health: It’s important that you have a healthy eye before considering LASIK. Your LASIK doctor will need to know about conditions such as dry eye disease, glaucoma or retina disease. Serious eye infections or injuries should be cleared up and healed before being evaluated. Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus or diabetes, HIV, a history of herpes infecting in the eye, or excessive corneal scarring may disqualify you from being a LASIK candidate. Be sure to let your surgeon know if you suffer from any eye or general health problems.

Learn what it takes to be a LASIK candidate from the experts at Wolfe Eye Clinic!

Take Our LASIK Candidate Quiz

Our LASIK candidate quiz is a great place to start if you’re interested in laser eye treatment at Wolfe Eye Clinic. While a LASIK consultation is required for advanced testing and to ensure you are aware of your treatment options, including the LASIK procedure and expectations, the self-quiz can give you an immediate idea of whether or not you qualify for LASIK. It includes just five questions and takes less than five minutes to complete. Check it out to find out if you’re an eligible LASIK candidate today! 

Take Our Free LASIK Candidate Quiz

Laser Eye Treatment For Refractive Disorders Of The Eye In Iowa

In an eye without a refractive disorder, light entering the eye is refracted (bent) first by the eye’s cornea and then by the eye’s natural lens so that it focuses precisely on the retina. The retina is the sensitive tissue on the back of the eye that converts light images into electrical impulses and sends them through the optic nerve to the brain. If the light rays are not focused precisely on the retina, the result is refractive error, or poor vision in the form of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.

Wearing eyeglasses or contacts corrects the symptoms of refractive disorders of the eye allowing patients to continue their daily activities. Whereas LASIK permanently reshapes the cornea to correct the refractive error by enhancing the eye’s natural ability to refract light rays precisely onto the retina, benefiting those who are nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism. If you have any of the following refractive disorders of the eye, you may be a qualified LASIK candidate.

Nearsightedness (Myopia)

Farsightedness (Hyperopia)

Farsightedness is the reverse of nearsightedness. Instead of the eye being too long or having a cornea that is too steep, the farsighted eye is too short or has a cornea that is too flat. Light rays refracted through the cornea converge at a focal point behind the retina. Depending on the patient’s age, this may result in far and close objects being out of focus.

Astigmatism

 A cornea has no astigmatism if the curvature which defines it is the same all the way around, like a basketball cut in half does. A cornea with astigmatism has two curvatures, like a football cut in half. Each curve has to be corrected optically to achieve one point of focus. When laser eye treatment was first introduced in the mid-1990’s lasers and their software programs could not correct astigmatism at all. With time, progressively greater amounts of astigmatism have become treatable so that large amounts of astigmatism can now be treated very effectively. Thanks to ever improving modern technology, you can get LASIK with astigmatism if you are otherwise an excellent LASIK candidate with stable vision.