BLOG POSTS

I’m Not a Candidate for LASIK, Now What?

If you’re not a candidate for LASIK, you’ve come to the right place. Durrie Vision specializes in refractive surgery, a specialty encompassing a range of vision correction procedures in addition to LASIK. What does that mean for you? If there’s an option for you to live a life free of glasses or contacts, we have it!

But…first things first. We need to determine if you really can’t have LASIK.

At Durrie Vision, we see a lot of patients who incorrectly assume they can’t have LASIK and you might be one of them. Well-intentioned friends or family members may have passed along wrong information. Unfortunately, some patients are even told by optometrists or general eye care doctors that they don’t qualify for LASIK, without undergoing proper testing.

Only ophthalmologists who are specialists in refractive surgery should determine whether a patient is eligible for laser vision correction. The board-certified ophthalmologists at Durrie Vision have extensive training and experience in refractive surgery. Through our signature, state-of-the-art Advanced Ocular Analysis (AOA), each patient undergoes extensive diagnostic testing that goes above and beyond a routine eye exam. Using our knowledge, the test results, and discussions about your lifestyle, we determine your candidacy for a procedure.

While factors such as age, corneal thickness, and degree of refractive error can affect your candidacy for SBK Advanced LASIK (the most modern form of LASIK), there are a number of alternatives that may be better suited to your individual situation. Durrie Vision specializes in many different vision correction procedures to accommodate a wide range of vision needs. If SBK isn’t appropriate for you, there are several other alternatives we’ll explore with you, including:

  • ASA (Advanced Surface Ablation) – Like SBK Advanced LASIK, ASA corrects vision by reshaping the cornea, but without first creating a corneal flap. It is an effective alternative for those who may not be an SBK candidate due to conditions such as corneal thickness, corneal scarring from contact lenses, or previous eye surgery. Although ASA patients can expect to experience a longer healing and visual recovery timeline than with SBK, the procedure delivers the same exceptional visual outcomes

 

  • Phakic IOL (Intraocular Lenses) – If you’ve been told you are not a LASIK candidate due to extreme myopia (nearsightedness), Phakic IOLs may be a suitable alternative. Rather than using a laser to reshape the cornea, this procedure places a thin, soft, custom lens behind your iris. The natural crystalline lens remains in your eye, assisting with near focus. Like SBK Advanced LASIK, Phakic IOLs deliver sharp, clear vision and a high rate of patient satisfaction.

 

  • Refractive Lens Exchange/Refractive Cataract Surgery – After age 50, patients experiencing near vision changes due to presbyopia or a decrease in vision quality due to cataracts will most likely be recommended one of these lens procedures in place of LASIK. At this stage in life, this progressive loss of near vision is due to Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome, a universal age-related condition in which the lens inside the eye loses its natural flexibility. Left untreated, vision will continue to deteriorate before ultimately developing into a cataract. The only way to address these changes is through a lens replacement procedure.

Bottom line? Before assuming laser vision correction is not an option for you, consider the following:

  1. Have you been evaluated by an ophthalmologist specializing in refractive surgery?
  2. Have you been to a facility offering a full range of vision correction procedures?

If not, you owe it to yourself to find out for sure. Schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our experienced surgeons to see what procedure is best for you.