When it comes to various conditions, vision disorders like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism are usually ignored by many Filipinos. What they don’t know is, there’s a solution that one can opt to – and that is LASIK. Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis is a kind of refractive surgery that treats various vision disorders like the ones mentioned earlier. Unlike other eye operations that are invasive, LASIK is done by using a laser.
Although this eye treatment is already in the Philippines, still less Filipino are putting their trust in undergoing a LASIK operation. Probably for a reason that as a long as one can stand the effects, it wouldn’t be necessary to undergo such procedure. The other factor is financial capability. Most of the Filipinos don’t have the money to spend for a LASIK surgery.
The Procedure
On the preoperative period, the patient has to follow certain rules. If the patient is wearing soft contact lenses, he or she will be advised to stop using the soft contact lenses for a week to 20 days before the operation. As for patients wearing hard contact lenses, they will be instructed to stop the usage of the lenses for about six weeks. Just before the operation, corneas will then be examined with the use of pachymeter to determine the eye part’s thickness. A topographer will also be used to measure the eye surface contour. The topographer works like a tool that creates a topographic map of the cornea. Through this process, other conditions like astigmatism and shape irregularities are detected. After the “topographic map” had been created, the eye surgeon will then calculate the amount and locations of the corneal tissue to be removed. Patients will be given antibiotic after the procedure to lessen the risk of having an infection.
During the operation, the patient needs to be conscious and mobile. On some cases, the patient is administered with a mild sedative and anesthetic eye drops to eliminate possible pains. During the flap creation, the eye will be held in place by a corneal suction ring. There are some cases that the patient’s eye might have a small upsurge of blood but this is a harmless side effect that the patient need not to worry about. The eye is then immobilized and the flap is produced. Using a metal blade, the process of creating the flap is done through mechanical microkeratome. This can be really uncomfortable especially on times that the flap is being lifted and folded back.
After the operation, the patient is provided with prescribed antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops. The application of drops can last up to several years right after the operation. Aside from that, the patient will also be advised to sleep more than his usual sleeping hours. He will also be given with a pair of darkened shields to protect his eye from bright lights. Protective goggles are also given to prevent the patient from unconsciously rubbing his eyes while asleep. Post-operative care needs to be followed strictly to avoid future complications.
The Philippines’ medical system is slowly climbing at its peak. However, there are times that people just can’t get benefits from the latest medical technology that the country has because of financial problems. Well, the Filipino people will just have to hope that cheaper medical services in this country will be provided soon.