Every day, we talk to patients that are curious about LASIK surgery but hold back for one reason or another. And it usually comes back to one common problem: fear.
And the is understandable because it’s hard to know what to expect from any medical procedure. However, LASIK is a very common, safe procedure that has improved the vision of countless individuals.
Often, fear comes back to a lack of knowledge. Many patients find that when they learn more about LASIK, many of their fears go away. So let’s look at the top four reasons most people are afraid to get LASIK:
- Fear that their doctor will make a mistakeThis is an understandable concern. After all, no doctor can guarantee you that absolutely no complications will arise during the procedure. All surgeries come with an inherent amount of risk.
However, those risks are fairly low with LASIK. 99 percent of patients are happy with the results of LASIK and for the one percent that isn’t, those mistakes can be fixed during a follow-up procedure.
And according to the FDA, there have never been any cases reported of patients being blinded after having LASIK.
- Fear of the laserThis is another fear that is completely understandable. No one enjoys thinking about having a laser pointed at their eye.
However, the laser only makes contact with your eye for a couple seconds. And the laser comes equipped with a special tracking system to ensure that it cannot miss.
- Fear of being awake during the surgerySome patients dislike the idea of being awake while their doctor is performing surgery on their eyes. However, we think you’ll find that this sounds much worse than it actually is.
LASIK is an incredibly quick procedure and numbing eye drops will ensure that you don’t feel a thing. Plus, your doctor can give you something prior to the surgery to help you relax.
And the truth is, the surgery would be much more risky if your doctor were to give you anesthesia and put you to sleep.
- Fear that they can’t afford itOn average, LASIK costs about $2,500 per eye which leaves many patients convinced that there is no way they can afford it. However, there are a number of creative ways you can pay for LASIK. And most patients who have had the surgery agree that it was well worth the investment.
Are there any questions or concerns you have that we didn’t address in this blog post? No problem — just contact our office and schedule your LASIK consultation with one of our doctors.
