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 North Americans 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.
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.
There is no obligation and it’s free, so you really have nothing to lose.