Yearly Archives - 2012

The Right Doctor to Perform Your Denver LASIK Surgery

Once you make the decision to see if you are the right candidate for Denver LASIK surgery, your next step is to find the right doctor to give you a thorough examination and consultation. If this doctor decides that LASIK is right for you, then he will most likely be who you choose to perform the surgery. And choosing the right doctor for this procedure that can change your life is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. After all this is your vision and you want to make sure whoever you entrust it to is the right person.

One of the very first things you need to do when searching for a Denver LASIK doctor is check for experience. Find out how many LASIK surgeries this doctor has performed, how long he or she has specialized in this type of refractive eye procedure and also learn what their success rate has been. Do former patients seem to need enhancements way too soon? Have there been any less-than-successful outcomes? The chances are you know someone who has had Denver LASIK eye surgery performed. Ask your friends, family or acquaintances who they have used and if they recommend the doctor who improved their vision.

You may get a good feel on whether you have chosen the right doctor right from your initial consultation. The more thorough the exam and questioning, the more you can feel you can trust this doctor. If you are in and out in what seems like record time, then it is normal to not feel comfortable and wonder if the surgeries are treated like an assembly line as well. The right Denver LASIK surgery doctor will ask you as many questions as you ask him, if not more. He will want to know your complete medical history, any kind of medications you may be taking and how your vision problems have progressed over the years. The right doctor will also be up front and honest with you. He will tell you that LASIK surgery in Denver can only fix existing problems and is not able to combat the natural aging of the eyes, meaning you may end up needing reading glasses later in life. He will also give you a thorough eye examination to determine in LASIK in Denver is right for you. If it is, feeling confident in your choice of doctor is of the utmost importance. You can go into the surgery feeling both excited and confident at the same time, knowing a while new visual world awaits you.

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Cost Factors for LASIK Surgery

You may have heard for LASIK surgery for years and have friends who have undergone this procedure and raved about it, but something has always held you back from taking the plunge and finding out if this type of refractive eye surgery is right for you. One of those things could have been the cost of the surgery. Since it is an elective medical procedure often done for cosmetic purposes, it is not covered my most health insurance policies and the cost of LASIK in Denver will be an out-of-pocket expense.

Do not be fooled by the man advertisements you see with $499 in big, bold letters. The fine print will tell you this is $499 per eye, since LASIK is priced on a per eye basis. But, Denver LASIK is also priced according to what type of package you choose, the type of LASIK you have and also the extent of your vision damage. The more involved the procedure, the more it will cost you. Typically, for both eyes, LASIK can cost anywhere between $1600 and $2400. Now, there are people who do qualify for that oft-advertised cheaper price, but it is very rare.

While many people are able to pay such an amount up front and in one fell swoop, most Denver LASIK surgery doctors understand that this is a large expense that can take a toll on a pocketbook. That is why many accept payment plans and even offer third party credit opportunities with no-interest deals for a specified amount of time. Many patients are often able to get their payments down to $45 a month and then the procedure looks much more appealing�??and affordable.

Some people find if they average out the cost for new glasses with possible designer frames each year, as well as regular eye exams and find the cost of LASIK will be more economically sound for them in the long run. With the price factor of Denver LASIK eye surgery cleared away, it is time to get excited about the prospect of the new life you will have after undergoing the procedure. You will no longer need to worry about losing or breaking glasses, and then having to replace them. Soaking contact lenses in solution will be a thing of the past, as will the time you take each morning putting them in. The world will look clearer and crisper than you ever remembered it and in a few years you will barely remember the time when glasses and/or contact lenses were a major part of your daily life.

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What Eye Conditions Can Denver LASIK Correct?

Contrary to popular belief, not every vision problem can be corrected with LASIK surgery in Denver. Many people who wear glasses or contact lenses feel LASIK is the answer to their problems, but then learn after a consultation their particular eye issue does not make them an ideal candidate for this popular elective surgery. So, what problems exactly does LASIK surgery help?

One of the most common vision problems is called myopia, also known as nearsightedness. This is a condition in which people have problems seeing things at a distance, yet have no trouble seeing things close up. Myopia is caused by the eyeball being too long or the presence of too much curvature on the cornea. Denver LASIK surgery can correct these shape and balance issues in the eye to cure the myopia.

The opposite of myopia is hyperopia, also known as farsightedness. When someone is farsighted, they are able to see things that are far away, but things that are close up may become blurred. Although LASIK surgery is slightly more involved when correcting hyperopia, many farsighted people report wonderful success from the procedure.

Astigmatism is another common vision problem that LASIK eye surgery in Denver can correct. With astigmatism, fine details are hard to see at either a distance of close up. All of these problems are considered refractive eye errors and LASIK technology is specially made to correct refractive problems.

At your first consultation for possible Denver LASIK eye surgery, the doctor will give you a thorough eye examination to determine whether refractive eye surgery is right for you.  He will examine the shape of your eye, as well as perform a glaucoma test to make sure your eye is free of that disease. After the exam, you will go over your medical history with the doctor. You must be up front and honest during this part of the consultation because diseases like Herpes of the eye could disqualify you from having LASIK performed. The doctor will also go over all the risks of the surgery, the types of LASIK you have to choose from, as well as any pre and post-op instructions.

LASIK surgery can indeed change your life. Your vision may become clearer than you ever remembered and you will be free of burdensome glasses and contact lenses. Call us today to learn if LASIK in Denver is right for you and set yourself on the way to a bright and shining visual future.

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Pre and Post-Op Procedures for Denver LASIK

Denver LASIK surgery may be what you have dreamed of for years. Your self-esteem can be boosted when your face is no longer burdened with what you perceive as unbecoming glasses. Or never will you have to soak contact lenses in solution each night again, but like any surgery, there will be pre- and post-op care instructions that you must follow in order to have the optimum vision results. After all these are your eyes and you do not want to play around with your precious gift of sight.

Before LASIK eye surgery in Denver, your doctor will prescribe artificial tears, as well as antibiotic eye drops to make sure your eyes stay moist and to help ensure that an infection does not occur. Have these prescriptions filled before the surgery so they are on hand for you to begin using as soon as possible. If you are a regular contact lens wearer, cease wearing your contacts for several weeks before the surgery to give your eyes a break. Also, women should avoid makeup in the eye area for several days prior to Denver LASIK surgery, as the eyes should be free of any debris when the procedure is taking place. It is also imperative that you arrange for a ride home from LASIK in Denver because your vision will be blurry immediately following the surgery and it will not be safe to drive. Be sure to wear the wide dark sunglasses you are sent home with for several weeks after the surgery to protect your eyes from potentially-harmful ultraviolent sunrays.

When you arrive home, rest your eyes as much as possible. If you have kids, make sure someone can watch them as LASIK surgery is an excellent excuse to take a rare, well-deserved nap. Your vision should be better than you ever remember it being by the next day, but you still must take care to keep your eyes healthy. Take any eye medications as directed and still avoid makeup for about a week after LASIK surgery in Denver. You should refrain from playing any contact sports, as well as refrain from rubbing your eyes no matter how great the temptation may be. Also avoid swimming pools or hot tubs, as the chlorine-treated water can burn your eyes. Your eyes are more vulnerable than usual following any type of eye procedure, and you want to take extra precautions to make sure they stay as healthy as possible.

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Potential Side Effects of LASIK in Colorado

Although LASIK surgery is one of the most popular elective medical procedures in the United States, it is still a surgery and like any surgery, there will be a chance of side effects afterwards. You may love the new you sans glasses and no longer have to worry about losing said glasses or putting contact lenses in your eyes, but you must care for your eyes in the weeks and months following LASIK in Denver and not be alarmed when side effects occur.

One of the most common LASIK side effects is dry eye. If you have suffered from dry eye in the past, then Denver LASIK may exacerbate the problem. Dry eye symptoms can range from the annoying to the debilitating. Your eyes can become red and itchy, and also experience a burning sensation. And oddly enough, your eyes may produce too many tears that can cloud your newly improved vision. When the eyes do not get enough natural moisture, it can cause your tear ducts to overproduce to compensate. Your LASIK surgeon will prescribe you artificial tear drops to keep your eye moisture balance following the surgery, and hopefully this will combat any dry eye issues. You will also be prescribed antibiotic drops to help ensure that your eyes do not become infected.

Immediately following Denver LASIK eye surgery, you will not see clearly at all. As a matter of fact, your vision will be so fuzzy that you will need to make sure you have a ride arranged to drive you home from the procedure. You should rest your eyes for the rest of the day, but when you wake the next morning you may be shocked how well you can see. Many people report better vision after LASIK surgery in Denver than they had when wearing glasses or contact lenses. However, in the coming weeks and months you may begin seeing haloes or �??floaties�?� in front of your eyes. What many describe as starbursts may also appear and there is a chance of having a temporary sensitivity to light. Although these side effects should subside over time, do not do anything to exacerbate them. This includes rubbing your eyes, as well as using cosmetics products near your eyes for a few weeks. Debris from these products can get in your eyes and possibly cause infection.

If any of these side effects seem too severe or continue for too long, contact your Denver LASIK surgery doctor immediately to make sure nothing gets in the way of your newly improved vision.

 

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LASIK Candidacy in Denver

You may have been considering undergoing LASIK surgery for as long as the procedure has been possible. In 1999, the United States FDA approved this elective procedure for widespread use and since then people have been flocking to Denver LASIK eye surgery centers in the hopes of seeing the world in a whole new and clear way.

However, you must remember that LASIK surgery is not for everyone. Not every eye condition can be helped by LASIK surgery in Denver and not every age group is a candidate. If you are under 18, LASIK surgery is not the right choice for you. Your eyes may still be growing and changing and anything that LASIK corrects can be undone if your eyes undergo more maturation. The same can be said for women in their child-bearing years who still plan to have children. Pregnancy can change the shape of the eye and like those who are under 18, corrections that LASIK in Denver makes on your vision may end up being for nothing. Nursing mothers should also wait until they have weaned to have LASIK performed. People over 60 who have cataracts also find they may not need LASIK as cataract surgery can clear up their vision problems as new artificial lenses are put in place over infected lenses. Also, if you have ever had the Herpes virus in your eye, Denver LASIK surgery can cause another outbreak so it is important to disclose to a doctor at a LASIK consultation your complete medical history.

The ideal LASIK candidate will be someone who is either nearsighted, farsighted or suffers from astigmatism. These are refractive eye problems and they are the type of eye issues that LASIK specifically addresses. Your Denver LASIK surgery doctor will warn you, however, that all LASIK can do is correct present problems. It cannot slow down the natural aging of the eye and reading glasses may be necessary later in life.

Once you have been found to be a perfect candidate for LASIK surgery and decide to go ahead with the procedure, your Denver LASIK center will go over all the details with you. From costs to credit and payment plans, you will learn all the details, especially how the procedure is done and the type of care you will need to take both before and after the surgery. Call us today if you are ready to learn more about this life changing experience so many people are raving about.

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The Decision to Undergo LASIK in Denver

Choosing to undergo LASIK surgery in Denver is one of the most important decisions you can make in life. This may be an elective surgery, meaning it is not a medical necessity as you can continue living healthily while wearing glasses or contact lenses, but it is still a momentous one that is can change your life for the better in a myriad of ways.

Perhaps you have been wearing glasses since you were a child and have always felt self-conscious about them. Despite buying fancy and trendy designer frames, there is just something about glasses that makes you feel less attractive or inferior to others. The option of contact lenses never appealed to you since you didn�??t like the idea of inserting something into your own eye. Or, maybe did not want to deal with the inconvenience of soaking them each night and putting them back in each morning. However, for many years these were your only options if you wanted to see clearly.

In 1999, another option was added when the FDA approved refractive eye surgery correction, also known as LASIK, for wide and general use. You may have been contemplating Denver LASIK eye surgery since then, but wondered if you could afford it or even if it was the right choice for you. Fear of the unknown may have gotten in your way, but Denver LASIK doctors can alleviate that fear by explaining how the procedure is performed, any side effects that may occur, as well as their own success rate and the success rate of this surgery throughout the United States.

Denver LASIK surgery is a relatively quick procedure, with the entire thing taking no more than 10 minutes most of the time. It is performed on an outpatient basis, meaning you can go home soon afterwards. And, most of all the quality of your vision will be better than anything you ever remembered. The world will look crisper and brighter to you and those pesky glasses will be what make the world unclear. If glasses had made you avert mirrors for years, you will now look at your own self in a whole new light. You will not have to worry about losing them, breaking them or getting a new prescription every year or every other year. You can open your eyes in the morning and just see as you had always dreamed. Call us today and take that first step to seeing a whole new world in a way you never have before.

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Prepping for Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery is a relatively simple outpatient procedure performed on more than a million people over 60 each year in the United States. It helps improve the vision of those who suffer from this ailment, which is characterized by cloudy and blurred vision. During this procedure, the lens of the infected eye is removed and a new, artificial lens is put in this place. However, simple procedure does not mean this is not a surgery and like with all surgery, some pre-op and post-op measures must be taken to help ensure the best possible outcome.

Before your Denver cataract eye surgery, your ophthalmologist will go over your complete medical history, including any medications you may currently be taking. Depending on what those medications are, you may be asked to stop taking them in the days preceding the surgery. The day right before the surgery will have several instructions you must follow. First, do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your cataract surgery in Denver. You also should have someone drive you to the surgery location. This can sometimes be your doctor�??s office, but is most often a hospital or ambulatory surgery center. You will not see well immediately following the surgery, so having someone with you who can drive you home is pertinent.

Once you are at your Denver cataract eye surgery center, you will meet with an anesthesiologist. Although you will be awake during the surgery, you may want some sort of sedation and can discuss this with the anesthesiologist. The sedation is usually quite mild, and numbing drops will also be used so you do not feel what is taking place in your eye. The numbing agent may also come in the form of an injection, depending on what your anesthetist uses. The surgery itself should not take more than an hour to complete and afterwards you will be taken to a recovery room to rest before you are permitted to go home. Once home, you should rest your eyes some more for the rest of the day as rested eyes are more healthy eyes. You may experience some eye discomfort for a few days, and painkillers can be prescribed. However, your eyes should not feel severe pain. If they do, it is imperative that you contact your eye doctor immediately to make sure an infection has not developed.

Cataract eye surgery may seem simple, but should not be taken lightly. Your vision is a precious gift, and this procedure can give this modern medical procedure can help ensure this gift is yours for a long time to come.

 

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Do Not Let Cataracts Take Over Your Life

Cataracts are a common ailment for people over the age of 60, and for some people, it is an ailment they feel they can live with. For others, it disrupts parts of their everyday lives and becomes more than just a nuisance. It becomes something they would much rather live without and fortunately, due to modern medicine, they can.

It is not always necessary to remove cataracts because they are not known to do much harm to the eye. However, what they can do is impair vision and this impairment is not something glasses or contact lenses can fix on a long-term basis. When deciding whether or not to have cataract surgery in Denver, you must first look at certain factors about your life and how seriously the cataracts in your eye or eyes are infecting your everyday functioning. Do you feel safe while driving or are the cataracts clouding your vision so much that this is becoming a dangerous issue? Are you sensitive to bright lights and unable to see clearly in brightly lit rooms? Are faces that were once clear blurry? Can you do your everyday chores around the house with ease and are you still able to enjoy entertainment like movies and television, as well as the internet, with ease? If any of these things have become difficult for you, then your life is becoming impaired by this eye ailment and Denver cataract surgery to remove them should be a consideration.

If your cataracts have already been diagnosed, but you chose to let it go and do nothing about them because they were not interfering with your everyday life, give your Denver cataract eye surgery center a call when they do start interfering. Make an appointment to discuss surgery options, including what the surgery will entail, how it is performed and what the recovery from this procedure will be like. Once you decide that surgery is the right choice for you, it is important to follow all of your doctor�??s pre and post-op instructions to help ensure that your vision will be protected. The actual procedure is done on an outpatient basis and should take no more than an hour and you will be awake for the whole thing. Sedation is an option, but the sedation will be mild enough that it will not put you to sleep. Make sure to have a ride home from the surgery, as it will not be safe to drive immediately following it.

If you feel cataracts are a hindrance on your daily enjoyment of life and are compromising your independence, call us today and we will set you on a path to the freedom that comes with clearer vision.

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When You Need Cataract Surgery in Denver

Cataract surgery in Denver is a relatively common and simple procedure that helps improve eyesight, as well as quality of life. More than one million people over the age of 60 undergo cataract surgery in the United States, and as the years have passed, both the technology and safety of the procedure has seen enormous improvements.

Cataracts are characterized by the lens of the eye becoming blurred or cloudy. In Denver cataract surgery, the lens is removed from the eye and replaced by an artificial lens. This is done by the ophthalmologist making a small incision in the eye, while keeping a close look on your eye with a microscope. Sound wave technology is then used to break up pieces of the lens that will then be suctioned off the eye in a process called phacoemulsification. After the infected lens has been completely removed, an artificial lens is put in its place. The incision in the eye will then be closed and recovery can begin. Often, the surgery is performed on only one eye at a time. Sometimes only one eye is infected, but if both are infected, it may be advisable to wait a while between surgeries.

Denver cataract eye surgery is over in just about an hour, so the procedure is relatively quick. You will be awake throughout the procedure, but numbing medicine will be given so that you do not feel what is being done to your eye. There are very little risks involved with the procedure and you will be ready to go home soon afterwards. However, your vision will still be quite cloudy as your eye just underwent a traumatic experience. It will not be safe for you to drive, so always make sure to have a ride home pre-arranged. Be sure to follow post-op instructions carefully because they are imperative in making sure the cataract surgery was a success. You will be asked to use prescription eye drops, as well as given dark sunglasses to wear to protect your eyes from the sun. You will also need to make several post-op visits to your doctor to make sure your eyes are healing correctly. If there are any complications, your doctor will be able to know about them quickly and take care of them. You may also need a new pair of glasses or contact lenses after cataract surgery, and once your vision has improved enough and stabilized, your doctor will fit you with a new prescription that works well with the brand new lens that has added clear vision to your eyes.

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