It is great that you are thinking about the long-term results of your laser vision correction. As you may already know, collagen cross-linking activates the collagen fibres within the cornea to cross-link and thus resulting in a stronger cornea. By strengthening the cornea after laser vision correction, it is hoped that the longevity of your laser results can be extended and at the same time, minimising the need of enhancement surgery in future.

Speaking from personal experience of having undergone LASIK surgery one eye at a time (sequential surgery), the main drawback of sequential surgery is the downtime. I had LASIK surgery while I was a medical student. So far, the results are good. Looking back, I would have opted for bilateral LASIK surgery (both eyes at the same time). Hope that this helps!

Current options available for laser vision correction include corneal flap-based procedures like LASIK, and also no flap, Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA) methods like TransPRK. During LASIK, the doctor will have to cut your cornea to create an external flap using either a blade or a Femtosecond laser (bladeless LASIK). Whether using a blade or the laser, there will still be a cut corneal flap and this will result in cut corneal nerve endings, increasing the risk of procedure-induced dry eyes. This, together with flap complications, are the main disadvantages of LASIK.

Eyelid twitching or blepharospasm is very common. Almost everyone would have experienced it at least once in their lifetime. It comes about due to over-excitation of the eyelid muscles. It is usually harmless although it can be rather annoying! It may be triggered by a variety (or even a combination) of these factors: eye irritation, caffeine, alcohol, dehydration, high potassium diet, stress, and fatigue.

In addition to all the good advice that has been shared before this, I would like to highlight that a very common underlying cause of recurrent chalazions, that most people (even Doctors) overlook, is Demodex blepharitis. Demodex is a microscopic eyelash mite (the scientific names for these that infest humans are Demodex Folliculorum and Demodex Brevis). Demodex tends to cluster at the eyelash roots and thus lead to blockage of the sebaceous glands which in turn lead to chalazion formation.

In short, yes definitely! Your eye pressure will affect whether or not you are suitable for LASIK. Long answer: Your eye pressure is an indication of your glaucoma risk. Although everyone’s eye pressure fluctuates on a daily basis (it even varies depending on the time of day), a normal person’s eye pressure should be consistently within the range of 8 to 21. If your eye pressure is ever recorded as higher than 21, you may need further tests to evaluate the possibility of glaucoma.

Suitability for Lasik / Refractive Surgery is a common concern of patients with dry eyes. It is well established that post-Lasik, patients experience longer periods of reduced cornea sensitivity and symptomatic dry eyes. This is thought to be related to the cornea nerves being severed at the nasal and temporal limbus during creation of the flap. However dry eyes per se doesn’t automatically disqualify you from having Lasik performed. This is because most patients with symptomatic dry eyes can be optimised before surgery so that they may get better results after surgery.

One of the key aspects of any pre-ReLEx SMILE/LASIK evaluation is to exclude any abnormalities that may be present in the eye. A healthy eye is a pre-requisite to any form of refractive surgery including ReLEx SMILE and LASIK. The presence of a retinal tear would require that the tear be treated first before proceeding to ReLEx SMILE. Retinal tears if left untreated may result in retinal detachment, a potentially blinding condition. Hence, priority has to be given to managing the tear before it develops a retinal detachment.

Hi, The term ‘perfect eyesight’ can be somewhat misleading as it could mean different things. When we check eyesight (visual acuity), we are asked to read a chart with smaller and smaller letters. One of the line of small letters near the bottom is called the 6/6 line, and if a person can read the letters on that line, some people would call that ‘perfect eyesight’. But being able to read or make out the letters does not necessarily mean that those letters are perfectly clear.

Lasik is very safe and has an excellent record, however up to 6% of patients may require an enhancement procedure within 10 years of the original surgery. Some minor changes in spectacle refraction does occur over time, occurring most significantly in patients who were of a younger age at the time of surgery, higher degrees of myopia, and of the female sex. For the majority of patients, the spectacle refraction is minor and do not require any visual aids or surgery.

Indeed, the majority of dry eye cases caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) are mild. Usually, this can be simply treated with lubricating eyedrops and are not a contraindication to laser vision correction, in particular, Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA) procedures such as TransPRK.

There is a cumulative therapeutic dose in the range of 120mg – 140mg/kg that some doctors adhere to in the bid to reduce the relapse of acne. Sometimes, doctors may prescribe lower doses (with lower side effects) until the acne has cleared and continue the course for a few more months after. It really depends on the prescribing doctor as each has his/her own protocol. If you find that you are still having relapses with lower doses then discuss with your doctor the option of a course to achieve the therapeutic accumulative dose.

You are correct to conclude that in order for you to have a satisfactory outcome in the above situation, both the refractive errors and strabismus have to be addressed. Ideally, we should conduct a full evaluation of your eyes to rule out any other eye-related problems. Generally, refractive surgery should be performed prior to the strabismus surgery as the degree of strabismus may change after refractive surgery. This sequence would result in a more stable and predictable outcome for both conditions.

Lasik surgery is not eligible for Medisave, UNLESS: There’s a difference of more than 3 diopters (or 300 degrees) of refractive errors between your eyes AND you are intolerant to contact lens and spectables. If you satisfy both criteria, you’ll be able to use Medisave to pay up to $1200 of your bill. MOH’s rationale for this is that Medisave is intended only for medical uses, and Lasik is not technically a medical necessity (as one can use contacts/glasses to compensate for myopia).

I usually advise my patients to stay off visually demanding tasks (i. e. computer work, reading etc) right after the procedure (first 12 hours) and to get some good rest. While most patients are able to recover about 75% of their vision the next day after LASIK, I would usually recommend to take things easy for the first 3 days and return to work on the 3rd or 4th day after surgery. While engaging in prolong tasks that are visually demanding does not affect the LASIK results directly, such tasks do cause dryness of the eyes and this may slow down the rate of recovery.