What You Should Know About PRK Or LASIK Eye Surgery

Eye surgery, sometimes called ocular surgery, is usually surgery done on the eye itself or its posterior components, usually by an optometrist. The eye is such a delicate organ, and needs extreme care prior, during, and immediately after a surgery. Complications can arise from any eye surgery, but cataracts and macular degeneration are two of the most common complications from eye surgery. Most eye surgeries are routinely covered under some type of insurance, so finding out in advance what the cost will be before the surgery will help to minimize the amount of time it takes for the patient to recover, as well as the costs involved in any corrective surgeries that may be required as a result of the operation. Some procedures are covered under insurance while others are not, so before you schedule your eye surgery it is important to read all of your insurance policy documentation thoroughly to make sure that you will be covered.

A cataract is usually considered a pre-existing condition and therefore is not covered by any insurance, even a Medicare program. Fortunately, cataract surgery can often be covered by Medicare if the medical condition is not likely to interfere with future vision. Therefore, if you have an eye condition that might get worse or interfere with your ability to see clearly it is important that you discuss eye surgery options with your doctor, including whether or not the operation is covered, and if so, how much the procedure will cost.

Prior to scheduling eye surgery it is important to ensure that your eyes are properly cleaned and you are taking good care of them by avoiding medications that can irritate the eyes or cause the infection that leads to the formation of a large macular degeneration cloud. You should also avoid rubbing your eyes, using rubbing alcohol to wipe the conjunctiva or wiping your eyes with petroleum jelly or astringent. If you are interested in LASIK, it is important that you carefully consider your options, as the success rate is quite high, but it also has a high rate of complications. For these reasons and more, many people prefer the safe, simple, non-invasive alternative afforded by LASIK to vision correction surgeries such as LAR or PRK.