Am I a candidate?
Curious if LASIK is right for you? Our surgeons and eye care professionals evaluate several factors when determining LASIK eligibility, such as your refractive error and general eye health. Every patient is unique, and we’ll recommend the treatment option best suited to your individual needs.
To find out if you’re a good LASIK candidate, start by taking our quick quiz. Then, book your free, no-obligation consultation—available in-person or virtually—where we’ll assess your candidacy and determine the treatment that’s right for you.
Can LASIK treat my eye condition?
Laser vision correction may very well be able to treat your eye condition. Just over 50% of Canadians have some form of visual impairment so if you have one of the conditions outlined below, find out if the procedures we offer can correct your particular eye condition. You want to let go of wearing glasses or contacts—and we want to help you see the world with a fresh perspective.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a condition that means a patient can see near objects clearly but distant objects appear blurry. This happens when a person’s eyes are longer than usual, which prevents light from focusing properly on the retina and converging at a point just before.
Hyperopia, or farsightedness, is when the eye has trouble seeing nearby objects but can register distant objects more clearly. This is because a hyperopic eye is shorter than a normal-sized one, so light converges on a point after the retina and the picture is out of focus.
With astigmatism, objects at near or far distances become blurry. This is largely due to the irregular shape of the cornea—an astigmatic eye resembles a football, not a sphere. This causes light to enter the eye, but it does not focus on a single point, resulting in blurriness.
Presbyopia is an eye condition that causes people to have difficulties focusing on small details, like fine print. It commonly appears in people aged 40 and over, at an age in which the eye begins to lose elasticity. Those with presbyopia usually wear reading glasses to see small objects better.
Cataracts are the age-related clouding of the eye’s natural lens. This condition typically starts to form in people who are over the age of 40. Symptoms include difficulty seeing clearly, duller colours and difficulties driving at night-time.
Keratoconus is characterized by a cone-like shaped cornea that deflects light as it enters the eye, which causes distorted vision. Symptoms of this condition usually become evident in a person’s late teens or twenties.
What could disqualify me from getting LASIK?
The majority of patients that come to LASIK MD are candidates for some type of vision correction. However, there are some factors that could potentially affect your eligibility, including:
- YOUR EYE'S HEALTH
Certain eye conditions may be limiting, such as severe dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis (commonly known as pink eye) or other types of eye infection.
- YOUR CORNEAL THICKNESS
If your corneas are too thin, then this physiological trait may impact your potential to get a laser vision correction procedure. And while you can’t see just how thick or thin your corneas are just by looking at them, one of our eye care professionals will take accurate measurements at your consultation. In the event that this is your situation, we do offer other treatment options to help correct your eyesight that are not conventional LASIK.
- PREGNANCY
If you are pregnant, you are not eligible for vision correction surgery. You can still book your free, preoperative consultation when expecting, but we will schedule your surgery for a date after you’ve given birth. Breastfeeding does not impact eligibility. You can undergo vision correction even if you are still nursing.
- PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
If you have certain pre-existing conditions, like rheumatological conditions (such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis), you may still be permitted to undergo this procedure.
The above are just some things we look at before you are given the go-ahead to get LASIK. Ultimately, the best way to know if you are a definite candidate for this procedure, however, is to book a pre-operative assessment with our knowledgeable staff.
Over 99% of laser vision correction patients are between 18 to 70 years of age. For people younger than 18, our surgeons prefer waiting because your prescription may still change as you get older.
And while laser vision correction can be a great option for anyone with eye conditions such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, different technologies available can help those thinking in the long-term: For interested people aged approximately 40 and older, we may recommend our all-encompassing and comprehensive treatment option, PresbyVisionTM.
Though you may not be a candidate for LASIK, you might be well-suited for another type of vision correction procedure we offer. From reading vision correction procedures (such as PresbyVisionTM), implantable contact lenses, photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) or Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking (CXL), if you’re not a candidate for LASIK, we’ve got you covered—drop by our clinic to see if we can help correct your specific eye condition.
Do you have an optometrist that you visit regularly? If so, your optometrist may be a member of our network of affiliate doctors and be able to discuss laser vision correction and candidacy with you.
There is no obligation and it’s free, so you really have nothing to lose.