Laser eye surgery or LASIK is the kind of surgery that corrects a person's visual problems such as short sightedness, long sightedness and astigmatism. LASIK is a procedure that has been done since the 1960s and is a perfectly safe procedure. In fact, there is not much downtime for a patient because everything is done in an average of 30 minutes for both eyes.

LASIK procedure 101

The laser eye surgery procedure is a simple process in the hands of the experts. When you have your initial consultation with your eye doctor and you are considered a good candidate for the LASIK operation, then the process begins. Once you arrive for your scheduled operation, you will be given a mild sedative that you need to take orally to calm you down then local anaesthetic eye drops will be used so that you won't feel anything once the session begins.

The operation begins with the doctor opening a thin flap from your corneal tissue to let the laser precisely target your cornea. For people who are short sighted, the laser will remove tissues at the centre of the cornea so that it becomes a little bit flat while it is the opposite for long sighted people. For long sighted patients peripheral tissues at the cornea are removed so that the cornea becomes deeper and steeper while the patient who is suffering from astigmatism needs to have his cornea spherical instead of the usual elongated planes.

Once the laser is done correcting the corneal problem of the patient, the thin flap that was opened earlier will now be closed without stitches because the cornea can easily bond and go back to its proper place. When the procedure is done, the patient does not need to worry because by then his visibility would have improved. It is best for the patient to have somebody with him to drive him home because he won't be allowed to drive on his own.

Cost considerations

The most common question that is being asked when it comes to having a LASIK surgery is how much does the eye surgery cost. Talk to doctors who are upfront in their professional fees. Reliable and trustworthy doctors even publicize their fees online. The operation cost itself varies depending on the need of the patient but generally per eye will cost you $1,550 up. You should also be prepared to shell out $220 for initial assessment which can be charged to Medicare.

The doctors who will do the LASIK are experienced and trained and they can assure you good results. Just be sure to follow their after operation care advice and you will be back to your 20/20 vision in no time.