LASIK Requirements

Certain conditions need to be met in order to have a LASIK Eye Surgery. The following are a list of conditions that should be met before you can have LASIK Eye Surgery:

  • You are at least 18 years of age, this is to ensure that the eye has developed properly and matured
  • No cornea scarring
  • Your eye prescription cannot have changed in the past 12 months (sometimes pregnancy and breastfeeding can temporarily change your prescription)
  • You should not have a chronic autoimmune disease (such as lupus, rheumatoid arthiritis), uncontrolled diabetes, or an illness that could affect the healing process
  • No eye infection or injury to the eye within the past 12 months
  • No history of herpes infection in the eye, LASIK Eye Surgery has the potential to bring on a recurrence of the infection

The most important thing to remember with any type of surgery is that their are risks and possible complications involved, A patient and their family should never go into a surgery with the wrong expectations and no knowledge of risks. Click here to read about the possible complications that could arise from the surgery.


When Is LASIK Not An Option?

There are many cases when LASIK Eye Surgery cannot be performed on a patient. The following lists cases where LASIK is not an available option.

  • You are under the age of 18
  • Your career will be affected – some employers and professional societies do not approve of LASIK Eye Surgery
  • You have a thin cornea
  • You have an eye disorder where the middle of the cornea thins and bulges outward
  • You have a chronic autoimmune disease or uncontrolled diabetes
  • You are taking medication that affects vision or affects the healing process – examples of these medications are retinoic acid, steroids, and drugs that suppress the immune system
  • You are active in sports in which eye impacts are common – this includes martial arts, wrestling, and boxing
  • You have had a serious eye inflammation
  • You have had a herpes eye infection
  • You have glaucoma or a condition that changes the pressure inside your eye
  • Your cornea has been damaged by trauma or altered by previous eye surgery
  • You have severely dry eyes