Teenagers, as well as senior citizens, may wonder whether they would be good candidates for Lasik Surgery in Oahu. Perhaps they have had enough of wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses and want to have an operation for vision correction. Maybe some of their friends and relatives have recently reported great success with laser eye surgery. Is there an age that’s too young or old for this elective procedure?
The Earliest Age for Lasik
The concept of the earliest age for the treatment is easier to answer. Ophthalmologists generally will not operate on any patients younger than 18 and encourage patients to wait until their mid-20s. Vision changes are more unstable until the young adult years, with teenagers commonly needing a change in their lens prescription annually.
Exceptions
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved the treatment for people 18 years and older. However, doctors are legally allowed to perform the surgery on a younger patient if they believe it would be in the person’s best interests. For example, a child with myopia that is much more severe in one eye may benefit from the laser surgery. Research has verified good results with this strategy.
Seniors and Lasik
Lasik Surgery in Oahu can be made available to eye patients in their 70s and even their 80s as long as they do not have cataracts or any other eye diseases. Younger patients are not always good candidates just because they are 30 or 40 years old. For instance, a person dealing with chronic dry eyes and needing to use eye drops several times every day typically is discouraged from laser vision correction because the procedure can worsen the problem.
Overall Eye Health
Overall eye health is the most important factor when it comes to laser eye surgery for vision correction. An ophthalmologist with an organization such as Hawaii Vision Clinic conducts a thorough eye exam and asks all the pertinent questions of the patient. This person must be completely honest and not hide any information, even if he or she is afraid that doing so will result in disqualification from the operation.