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1. What is the goal of the LASIK procedure?
The goal is to reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses or contacts.

2. What kind of vision correction can be done with LASIK?
LASIK is a very flexible procedure, and can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

3. What about my need for reading glasses?
If you are over 40 and are using reading glasses or bifocals, there is no procedure for correcting this. Your distance prescription is corrected, which reduces your reading prescription. There are also ways to use laser vision correction to help reduce your reading glasses need further, these options will be discussed with you before your procedure.

4. Is there a right age to have LASIK done?
LASIK can be done from the age of 18 years old onwards without an upper age limit.

5. What if I am wearing contacts now?
If you wear soft contacts, they should be out for at least 24 hours (preferably 3 days) before your examination for LASIK. Hard or rigid gas permeable contacts should be take out for at least two weeks prior to your exam. The interesting fact that people forget about contact lenses is that they can also cause a significant number of problems including infections, allergies, and corneal epithelial scratches or breakdown.

6. What will my vision be like after the procedure?
Vision after LASIK is as clear as with good contact lenses.

7. Is the procedure difficult or painful?
The procedure is done using only anesthetic drops in the eyes, and is not painful. It takes about 15-20 minutes for both eyes to be done, and you are driving and back at work the next day.

8. Do I need to take time off from work?
Although it is probably wise to take off at least part of the day you have the procedure, you should be back at work by the next day.

9. Can both eyes be done at the same time?
Using the LASIK procedure, both eyes are done at the same time.

10. How long does it take?
The actual time to do the procedure on each eye is about 2-3 minutes, but the set up time actually makes the overall time about 15-20 minutes for both eyes.

11. Do I have to wear a patch?
No, just protective sunglasses during the day, and protective plastic shields at night.

12. Is laser vision correction permanent?
Yes, it is permanent. It has been shown that in small percentages of people (2-4%) it can have some loss of effect within the first 3-6 months, but Alpha Laser Centers guarantees its procedures for 12 months, and will enhance at no extra charge. Long-term data show no change in effect over many years.

13. Are there long term side effects?
LASIK has been performed in this country since 1995, and is actually a modification of a procedure called ALK which has been around for about 30 years. The excimer laser has been used for worldwide for about 10 years now, so there is an enormous amount of data concerning laser vision correction.

14. PRK or LASIK?
Although both procedures will get you good vision correction, LASIK will get you good clear vision much faster, in as little as hours. LASIK allows you to get both eyes done at the same time on the same day, and is more comfortable. LASIK also allows for much more flexibility in the type of correction done. Dr. Motwani performs his procedures almost exclusively using the LASIK procedure, and PRK is only used in the rare case that someone is a poor candidate for LASIK.

15. Why shouldn't I get this done for the lowest price I can find?
Unfortunately, because of the high cost of the most advanced equipment, you do get what you pay for, and the costs for the best equipped centers are considerably higher than for the mainstream. Currently, the latest and technologically most advanced excimer laser machine (the Nidek EC-5000, which we use) costs up to double what the other machines do. The latest devices used to make the flap cost about $70,000. Once you factor in the cost for the other equipment, annual service contracts, personnel, and for having a center that makes the client comfortable, the cost is high indeed. If someone is offering a lower cost, you are losing something in one of these factors. Fortunately, the majority of people interested in laser vision correction realize that this is a one-time procedure, and do not choose their laser center based on price alone.

16. How do I pick my laser center/doctor?
This is a really hard question to answer. Although most centers would have you believe that this is directly in relation to the mega-thousands of procedures their doctor has done, the answer is more complex than that. It has to do with the level of equipment, the attention to detail, determining the pre-operative parameters and in performing the procedures, and the center's commitment to patient satisfaction. In reality, most people pick the center and doctor that they feel the most comfortable with, one they feel be stable and there for them a year down the road, and one that specializes in refractive surgery only so they know the doctor's concentration is focused.

17. How do I get started if I am interested in LASIK?
If you have read this far, then you are pretty well informed. You can call our Point Loma location at 1-877-SEE-ALPHA to schedule a free consultation to find out more or come down to our center at:

8899 University Centre Lane
Suite 250
La Jolla-UTC

How do I know if I am a good candidate for LASIK Eye Surgery?

A large percentage of nearsighted, farsighted, and astigmatic patients are potential candidates for LASIK. Patients who are 18 years of age or older, have healthy eyes that are free from retinal problems, corneal scars, and any eye disease are suitable. Along with being medically suitable, the best candidates are people with a lifestyle or occupation in which they are dissatisfied with their contact lenses or glasses. By having an evaluation, examination, and consultation with you, the doctor will be able to determine if you are a good lasik candidate.

How Long Does LASIK Take?

In our practices, LASIK is performed as an office procedure in the comfort and convenience of an excimer laser eye surgery suite. The entire treatment takes about 5 to 7 minutes per eye or approximately 15 minutes for both eyes.

Is the Effect of LASIK Eye Surgery Permanent?

Yes. Following an initial healing period of two to three months, the effect of the treatment is lifelong.

Will I Need Reading Glasses After the Treatment?

Generally, patients under 40 years of age read well without glasses following the treatment. Patients over 40 may need magnification for reading fine print. Presbyopia is the term that refers to the natural weakening of the focusing muscles that occurs in our early to mid 40s, causing us to need the magnification that reading glasses provide. The LASIK treatment does not correct or prevent presbyopia. We also will be glad to discuss another option called monovision.

How Many Times Do I Need To be Seen Following the Treatment?

Most patients are usually seen the day following the treatment and then at least 1 month and 3 months following the treatment. Some patients require more visits. Remember, we are available 24 hours a day when you have any questions, concerns or need attention.

How Soon After The Treatment Can I Bathe or Take a Shower?

Your LASIK Surgeon will advise you as to the specific, however typically you can bathe the same day as the treatment but you should not shower for 2 days after the treatment. As always, avoid getting soap or water directly into your eyes. Avoid rubbing your eyes during the first month after surgery.

When Can I Drive After The Treatment?

You should not drive the day of treatment. After that, you may drive when you feel confident that your visual acuity and eye comfort allow you to drive safely.

How Soon Can I Use Eye Makeup?

You may resume wearing eye makeup starting 1-2 weeks after your treatment. We strongly recommend that you purchase new eye makeup, specifically mascara, to avoid potential infection following your treatment.

How Soon After The Treatment Can I Exercise?

Non-contact sports can be resumed as soon as you feel capable. Eye protection is always recommended for racquet sports or rough sports where there is a risk of being hit in the eye.

How Soon Can I Swim?

You should stay out of swimming pools for one week after your treatment, and rivers, lakes and oceans for two weeks following your treatment.

What Kind of Anesthesia is Used During the Treatment?

Numbing eye drops are used. Sometimes an oral medication is used to help with relaxation. Don't worry -no needles or intravenous drugs are used.

Can you Have Both Eyes Treated at the Same Time?

LASIK Treatment can be performed on both eyes on the same day. This decreases the troublesome effect of being nearsighted in only one eye between the two treatments. You may elect to have one eye done at a time.

Does LASIK hurt?

The LASIK treatment itself is painless because we put a few numbing drops in your eyes to make you even more comfortable. You will feel pressure on and around the eye during treatment. With LASIK, some patients may experience a feeling of "something in the eye" for a day or so after treatment.

Can I See the LASIK Treatment as it is Being Performed?

You will be "awake" but very relaxed. You will not be able to see any of the details of the LASIK treatment. You will see a number of lights, but the images will be blurred.

Will I Experience Pain after The LASIK Treatment?

Some patients experience a feeling of burning or scratchiness. This feeling generally lasts from one to three hours following the treatment. Most people feel fine if they can take a nap soon after the treatment.

How Soon After Surgery Will I See Well?

Each patient is different. The eye drop medications cause some blurring, but most patients notice a dramatic improvement even as they leave the office. More than 4 out of 5 patients can pass a driving test without glasses or contact lenses after the treatment.

Will My Eyes be Patched?

No, but clear, protective eye shields will be placed over your treated eye(s) following the treatment, and will be removed in our office the next morning. You will continue to wear these eye shields at bedtime for 1 week for protection.

When Can I Go Back To Work?

Most patients are back to work full-time the day after treatment. An additional day or two is rarely required before returning to work. If you can we, recommend that you take it easy for a couple of days.

Will I Need Glasses or Contact Lenses After The LASIK Treatment?

The goal of refractive surgery is to reduce your dependence on glasses and/or contact lenses, but LASIK patients still may benefit from reading glasses or distance glasses when they desire perfect near or distance vision. A nominal percentage of patients wear a thin pair of prescription glasses for night driving.

Should I have a Custom LASIK Eye Surgery Treatment or a Conventional Treatment?

The best treatment for you depends on the measurements we take from the Aberrometer and your other clinical measurements and vision complaints. This will indicate the presence and severity of aberrations, or distortions, which will necessitate a Custom Laser Eye Surgery treatment. You may have specific complaints that are related to the optical aberrations that are not corrected by your current glasses or contact lenses. Finally, Custom Laser Eye Surgery is usually indicated for anyone who has had previous corneal surgery.

Why should I have Custom LASIK Eye Surgery when conventional Lasik Eye Surgery worked fine for my friends?

Conventional Lasik Eye Surgery has provided excellent results for literally millions of people. However, if you are a patient who has unusual aberrations not readily corrected by conventional Lasik Eye Surgery, customized laser eye surgery is the best choice for you. The best thing to do is to come in for a Complimentary Consultation and together, the LASIK surgeon and you, can determine which treatment option is necessary and best suited for your individual needs.

What is the real difference between conventional Laser Eye Surgery and Custom LASIK Eye Surgery?

Conventional Laser Eye Surgery treats the vast majority of common optical aberrations called "lower order" aberrations. These are responsible for causing nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Custom LASIK Eye Surgery provides a more precise treatment for patients who have "higher order" aberrations, which we can now measure with the Aberrometer. For these patients, customized laser eye surgery may provide a better quality of vision by measuring and addressing all of these aberrations as part of the treatment plan.

Why is Custom LASIK sometimes more expensive?

Custom LASIK represents the application of advanced technology to conventional Lasik Eye Surgery and may provide a better quality of vision by measuring and addressing visual distortions that previously could not even be measured. Our practices have incorporated the advanced measurement technology, the Aberrometer measurement system, and the Custom LASIK Laser Eye Surgery software necessary to provide these treatments. This advanced technology adds a modest cost but may deliver the best vision quality.

How Much Does Laser Vision Correction Cost? Can I Afford It?

Our practice policy is to arrange affordable monthly payments in order to help fit LASIK into your budget. As compared with eyeglasses and contact lenses LASIK can pay for itself in a few years time. Eyeglasses usually have to be replaced once a year or so and contact lenses, depending on the type, can be extremely costly. Speak with our Refractive Surgery Coordinator for more financing information. In most cases you can qualify FOR AN AFFORDABLE MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN.

Your Company May Be Able To Help You Pay for LASIK!

Many companies have implemented healthcare options that make elective surgeries such as LASIK an affordable alternative. These insurance programs are referred to as Flex Plans, cafeteria plans or alternative health plans. These plans designate a limited amount of pre tax dollars to pay for the employees predetermined elective surgery. Generally the employee must decide which surgery they are planning to have and declare this to their employer. You can contact your human resource office to find out when your company's enrollment period begins.

by Alien Sheng

There are several different factors that you should take into consideration if you are planning on having cosmetic dental surgery done; although this can definitely be considered as being much less severe than most of the other types of cosmetic surgery, there are still certain risks and complications that are present in regards to cosmetic dental surgery, as with all types of cosmetic procedures, and these should be taken fully into consideration.

What is Cosmetic Dental Surgery?

Cosmetic dental surgery refers to that of cosmetic work which is done to the teeth of a person; with cosmetic dental surgery you can look younger, and basically the process is like a reverse aging process, as having beautiful teeth instantly makes you lose years. Truly, modern dentistry offers that of a wide variety of treatment options for people who are seeking to enhance or simply fix their smile.

There are many different processes that can be considered as being included in this type of procedure, including that of: porcelain veneers, tooth whitening, tooth shaping, and gum lifts, for example.

Porcelain veneers can easily be considered as the most popular and most commonly chosen procedure out of all of these, and what they are is custom-made porcelain wafers that the dentist will take and place over the fronts of a person's teeth in order to enhance their smile, and they can also be used to help repair damage that has been done to the teeth.

Basically these veneers can be used in order to improve a wide variety of cosmetic dental problems, and they can help by whitening stained or discolored teeth, closing gaps between teeth, and they can even often times correct a crooked smile without the need for braces. This procedure generally involves the removing of only a thin amount of the undermost layer of the tooth, and the dentist will then take molds and temporary veneers will be placed on for the patient to wear while the permanent ones are being made.

After this process, the laboratory which the molds have been sent to will carefully craft the porcelain into veneers, and in about two weeks, the veneers will be ready for the dentist who will then fasten them to the front of the patient's teeth. In regards to the cost of such a procedure, this largely depends on that of how many veneers will be used.

The most important thing is to find a good dentist or orthodontist, one who is both experienced and qualified and one that is trustworthy so that you can be sure that the procedure will be completed properly.

Article Source : goarticles.com

n 2005, blepharoplasty or cosmetic eyelid surgery was listed as the third most popular surgical procedure among men and women by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Over 230,000 operations were performed in the United States alone.

In the United Kingdom, the same procedure proved to be even more popular. A similar survey showed blepharoplasty was the second most popular surgical procedure for both men and women with an increase of over 50 percent in the number of cases from the previous year.

“Cosmetic surgery is more popular than ever. Moreover, it is no longer just for the rich and famous. More and more people everyday are opting for plastic surgery to improve their looks and hopefully their lives,” according to an article in the web page of the Hilton Head Regional Medical Center in South Carolina.

In blepharoplasty, fat, excess skin, and muscle are removed from the eyelids to lift drooping upper eyelids and reduce puffy eye bags that form under the eyes. Upper and lower eyelid surgery can be done at the same time. The procedure costs anywhere from $1,500 to $7,000 and can be done in a hospital, surgical center or office. It normally lasts from one to three hours using general or local anesthesia or sedation.

Like other surgical methods, however, blepharoplasty has risks and complications, and not everyone will benefit from the procedure. Among the many possible bad things a patient can experience after the operation are bleeding, blindness, blurred vision, double vision, difficulty closing the eyes, dry eyes, excessive tearing, and scarring.

“Complications of eyelid surgery, while rare, can cause prolonged healing, change in or loss of vision, unpleasant - looking and painful scars, the inconvenience and cost of further surgery, and the possibility of requiring eye drops or ointment, temporarily or permanently,” warned the people at smartplasticsurgery.com.

Take the case of John McGill, 52, from Cambridgeshire, England, who was assured that eyelid surgery was simple and wouldn’t take long. True enough, he left the surgeon’s office after 25 minutes and that’s when his troubles began.

"There was a lot of swelling and my eyes were sore, itchy and very red. With just the slightest breeze, they would start watering. I went back to the clinic and the surgeon just said to give it time but matters didn't improve," he told the BBC News.

Eighteen months after the operation, McGill consulted an eye specialist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital who told him what was wrong: too much skin had been removed from his lower eyelids. It took two more operations to correct this defect after which McGill sued the erring surgeon. He eventually got a six-figure settlement but only after his case dragged on for years.

“It is just unbelievable that surgeons are able to operate like this. The clinic I went to was a well respected high street outlet, not a back street job,” he told the BBC.

Luckily, you don’t always have to rely on surgery to get rid of eye bags. Other less invasive options are available that won’t drain your wallet and jeopardize your health. One of them is Eyevive, a safe and natural eye cream that can eliminate eye bags, dark circles, puffiness, and other eye imperfections that comes with aging.