Many people choose LASIK--those who have worn glasses for years and are tired of the hassle, people who find contact lenses to be bothersome and uncomfortable, and even individuals who wish that their eyesight was a little better than it currently is.  And while there are many different candidates and eye types that are helped with LASIK surgery, there is one group of people who can trully benefit from the freedom and advantages of LASIK: athletes.

There is a common misconception amoung people that LASIK surgery can be a huge risk and be dangerous for athletes who are looking into the procedure.  Many people believe that LASIK can keep you from participating in your sport or activity for months at a time. However, the truth is that LASIK surgery has an extraordinarily fast recovery time and is one of the safest, most non-invasive surgeries that exist today, with only about 3% of patients experiencing any side effects. Most people can go back to their sport after two days.  People who play sports where they may get hit in the eye, such as martial arts or soccer need to wait one month before resuming their sport. 

 Why LASIK is Great for Athletes

Many athletes find that LASIK not only can help to improve their vision, but also their performance during game time and their overall quality of life. 

When an athlete is out on the field or court during their game, their vision is one of the most important tools for their performance.  However, if you are wearing glasses or contact lenses, your visual acuity and hand-eye coordination is not nearly as precise as it could be.  At the same time, there are many different ways that your corrective lenses could actually work against you when playing sports.

For instance, if you are wearing eyewear when playing basketball, if you fall down or get fouled, your glasses could easily break and shatter into your eyes.  The same dangers exist for contact wearers.  If you are playing basketball and a contact lens falls out, you are in danger of missing a pass, which could easily change the pace of the game.  And if you are a referee, you work under the same difficult conditions.

For this reason, many professional athletes and referees choose to have LASIK.  Not only does this procedure help athletes move more comfortably and freely throughout the game, with no risk of injury or vision problems, but it can also make the game more fun since they are not worried about hurtying their eyesight.

 Not just professional athletes can benefit from LASIK.  If you are interested in finding out if you are a good candidate, be sure to fill out our Free LASIK evaluation form on our website, shapiroeyecare.com, or contact Shapiro Eye Care to schedule a consultation.

Once patients have decided to have LASIK, they can be excited, scared, nervous, and impatient and many times, these emotions are felt all at the same time!  LASIK is such a quick procedure--it only takes about 15 minutes for Dr. Shapiro to perform LASIK on both eyes.  Knowing what to expect when you have LASIK hopefully will reduce your anxiety and help you feel confident that your procedure is going smoothly.

Before Your Procedure

If you wear contacts, it is important not to wear them for at least 10 days before your procedure.  Contacts flatten the surface of your eye, and it is important for your eyes to be at their natural shape.  You will start using an antibiotic and use lid wipes before the procedure.  These are preventative measures to assure that there is no bacteria in and around the eye before the procedure. 

Day of Procedure

There are four important things to remember of the day of the procedure:

(1) Wear no deodorant, lotions, perfume, cologne or aftershave.  All of these items contain a chemical that causes the laser beam to slow down which will affect your procedure.  We recommend before you come in to shower and put nothing on your body after your shower.  

(2) Women should not wear any makeup. It may be difficult not wearing makeup, especially mascara and eyeliner, but Dr. Shapiro uses fluids in doing the procedure, and they can wash the mascara into your eyes.

(3) Have a driver to drive you home and who stays at our facility while you are having the procedure.  After the procedure, you vision will be clearer but will also seem as if you are looking underwater.  You CAN NOT operate a motor vehicle!

(4) Unlike most surgeries, we want you to eat something before you come in!

When you arrive at our office, a receptionist will take care of your payment and have you go to the laser suite.  There, a technician will put numbing drops in your eyes, clean around your eyes and give you a valium if you desire it, She will go over your post-op instructions, which are in the "LASIK Instructions" booklet given to you when you scheduled your procedure.

During the Procedure

Dr. Shapiro and his staff of caring technicians will guide you through the process.  They will let you know exactly what is going to happen and what to expect next.  Dr. Shapiro operates on one eye at a time.  The eye that isn't being operated on is covered to prevent light from bothering you.  A surgical instrument that keeps the operative eye open and prevents blinking is put in place.  You may feel a little discomfort as this is being done.

Next, Dr. Shapiro makes a microscopic flap using a laser on the surface of the eye. As he does this, you will feel some pressure on your eye, which only lasts for a few seconds.  Then Dr. Shapiro will use the Allegretto laser to reshape your eye.  At this point you must focus on a little green light for a few seconds.  If your eyes move, the laser will track your eye movements.  If your eyes move too far, the laser may stop and Dr. Shapiro will ask you to refocus.  You also may smell the gases that are being used in the laser.  Then Dr. Shapiro lays the flap back over the eye, and he is ready to do the next eye.  This process takes only a few minutes and most patients are amazed that the procedure is so quick!

After the Procedure

After the procedure, a technician will walk you into another exam room where Dr. Shapiro will examine your eyes with a microscope to make sure that everything looks good.  Then, a technician will put a pair of goggles on you to wear until the following morning.   Now, we want you to go home and take a nice long nap! 

If you are feeling any discomfort, a Tylenol or Ibuprofen is usually all you will need.   If your eyes feel dry, burning, or scratchy, use the lubricating drops that you are given.  In fact, the more you use the lubricating drops, the better your eyes will feel.  Just do not use the lubricating drops within 30 minutes of using the prescription medication.

Other symptoms you might experience and which are normal and will decrease in time are blurred or distorted vision, light sensitivity, fluctuation of vision and some crusting of the lashes in the morning.  Your eyelids may be swollen, your eyes may be red, or there may be some difficulty keeping your eyes open for a few days.  These are normal and temporary conditions. 

Always wear UV protection sunglasses when you are outside.

After the procedure you will continue to use the antibiotic for another seven days.  You'll also use a topical steriod for seven days that helps with the healing process. 

Dr. Shapiro will see you the day after your procedure to make sure everything looks ok.  Also, you'll read the eye chart and be amazed at how much improved your vision is!

Please feel free to send us any questions that you might have about having LASIK.  We will be glad to answer them.

 

Jill experienced a common problem that unfortunately happens to eyes on people over the age of 40 no matter how young at heart one may be - her eyes lost most of the ability to change focus from distance to near.  This condition is called presbyopia and happens to everyone whether they wear glasses or not. The most common way to fix this condition is to wear reading glasses.  The only way to avoid reading glasses is to perform a procedure called "Monovison".  One eye is corrected for distance and one eye is corrected for reading.  Your brain develops new neuropathways and you don't realize that one eye is corrected differently than the other.  Because of Jill's prescription, she only needed to have one eye corrected for distance.  Her other eye acts as her "reading eye"

At what age did you have to start wearing glasses?  
I was around ten when I started wearing glasses just for distance.  By middle school I was wearing them all the time. 
Then I started wearing contacts, and when I needed some correction to see up close, I wore monovision contact lenses.  One contact corrected my distance prescription.  The other contact left me a little "undercorrected," which allowed me to be able to read.
 

How did wearing glasses restrict you from doing the things you wanted to do?  
I grew up at the beach and really hated wearing glasses while sunbathing, but wore them so I could see out to the ocean. Really, wearing them in summer was annoying no matter what.  Even if I went swimming, I could only see to about the end of my arm. 
 
Yes, I can’t imagine eyeglasses would make a good tan line.
 

What compelled you to get LASIK?
I developed some kind of inflammation of the upper eye lid and could no longer wear my contacts 24/7.  I was miserable waking up at night and not being able to see the alarm clock. 
 
How did you end up finding Dr. Shapiro and why did you choose him?
 I did some research on the internet and found Dr. Shapiro. I liked what I read about his practice. 
 

 

What was your experience like at Shapiro Eye Care?
They were so friendly and explained everything. They explained that I could have "Monovision LASIK, which would be like what I used to have with contacts.  I was thrilled that I wouldn't need any reading glasses. I don’t think the procedure lasted a full 10 minutes.  If I had known the surgery and recovery were that fast, I would have considered having it done years ago. 
 

 

Since getting LASIK, how has your life changed?  
This may sound silly but I seem to have little patience with my husband and all his contact lens issues – you know, getting something in his eye, lens drying out, etc. He just needs to get the procedure done.  Life is wonderful without worrying about where I left my glasses or running out of contact solution!
 
 


And finally, what advice can you give people considering LASIK?
Go see Dr. Shapiro and his staff.  It’s painless, it’s fast and it’s wonderful.


 

New studies reveal that children under age 6 should not use a forthcoming portable 3D video game player because it could permanently damage their eyesight. 

On its Japanese-language website, Nintendo has issued a warning stating that their 3D player could have "a potential impact on the growth of children's eyes."  The company indicated that the danger lies in the fact that the neural processing that underlies eyesight is still developing in young children. As a result, the company suggested, the delivery of different artificial images to the left and right eye--as all 3D video systems do--could be harmful to proper eyesight development.

The device can be switched to a 2D mode that should be safe for children, it said.  Nintendo also recommended that adult 3DS users take breaks every 30 minutes when playing 3D games. Users of current 3D systems that play on home TV screens have reported nausea as well as eyestrain after prolonged usage. 

Introducing Dr. Esther Smith, a Pediatrician at Guilford Child Health. Dr. Smith is part of a rare group-- the 10% of the population who have prescriptions over -6.00. She was a -9.00 in both eyes. Fortunately for her, Dr. Shapiro uses a special laser called the Allegretto that can treat patients with up to a -14.00 prescription. She's excited to share her journey from -9.00 to 20/15 in both eyes. Her story is illuminating.

You recently had LASIK with Dr. Shapiro using the Allegretto laser that can treat patients with a very high prescription. At what age did you start wearing glasses or contacts?

I started wearing glasses in 2nd grade, after my parents noticed that I was squinting a lot. My prescription worsened continuously over time, to the point that I was absolutely unable to go without vision correction. I once lost a pair of glasses that fell into a lake when I was taking them off in preparation to go water skiing, and had to go without for a few weeks-- I was miserable.

I made the switch to contact lenses in middle school. I played volleyball for the school team and had difficulty with my glasses getting too foggy. But I tended to scratch or tear my contact lenses often because I just couldn't stop myself from rubbing my eyes now and then during allergy season. I finally learned to always keep several pairs of glasses and several pairs of contacts available as "backup", even if their prescriptions were out- of-date.

Wow! Sounds like glasses and contacts took over your life. How did wearing contacts inhibit you from doing the things you wanted to do?

Swimming was always a problem, as I worried I would lose my contacts in the water, even with goggles on.

Last minute sleepovers at a friend's house were never an option, as I always needed a contact case, contact solution, and my glasses available since I did not sleep in my contacts. The contacts I used were disposable and were supposed to be wearable all the time, even overnight, but I found that dryness and irritation were too bothersome if I wore the contacts for longer than 8-10 hours.

I never owned prescription sunglasses, so to protect my eyes on sunny days I had to wear my contacts, even if my eyes were "tired".

I avoided wearing mascara even though I think it looks pretty, because it made my contacts harder to wear.

What compelled you to finally get LASIK?

This may sound funny, but I've always had this odd fear that if my house ever caught fire and I had to escape, I wouldn't be able to find my glasses quickly enough and would be basically "blind" and useless until I could get new glasses, because my prescription was so strong.

It seemed like whenever I complained about having such poor eyesight, there was usually someone around who had undergone LASIK and was very pleased with the result. For many years I told other people that when I could afford it, I would get LASIK myself; most were very encouraging and voiced the same desire.

Over the past few years, I got really tired of my contacts always getting "cloudy", and I felt self-conscious about blinking too much. I couldn't afford LASIK during my pediatric residency training, but I put it on my "five-year goals" list and started saving money as soon as I got out into practice.

My husband plays mens' baseball at a community league here in Greensboro. Every week, I sat in the bleachers with a woman named Brenda Lowe, whose husband played on the same team. She reportedly had an even stronger prescription than mine before she underwent LASIK performed by Dr. Shapiro, and was very pleased with her results. She kept telling me, "It will change your life".

How did you end up finding Dr. Shapiro and why did you choose him?

I drive past Dr. Shapiro's office every day on my way to and from work. After Brenda's glowing recommendation, I started asking my co-workers and friends if they had heard any word-of-mouth stories, good or bad, about Dr. Shapiro. No one had anything negative to say about his practice or performance.

As a medical professional, I know it's very important to pay attention to evidence supporting a procedure, especially in regard to outcomes and potential complications. I did my homework and chose Dr. Shapiro mostly for his experience. According to what I read, positive outcomes and lower complication rates are directly related to level of experience when it comes to eye surgeries.

How would you describe your experience with Dr. Shapiro?

Getting an initial consultation was easy, and the staff at the office were all very polite and helpful. His nurse noted that I was a graduate of Indiana University and I was delighted to find out that Dr. Shapiro was as well.

The eye exams were quick but thorough, and my options for LASIK were clearly explained, with all my questions answered. Dr. Shapiro never promised miracles, but explained why I was a good candidate for the procedure. I knew he wasn't just promoting LASIK to everyone in order to boost business, as my husband had a consultation shortly after I did, and was not a good candidate. I felt comforted knowing that Dr. Shapiro wouldn't put my eyes at risk if he did not believe the benefits outweighed the risks in my case.

During the procedure I was pretty anxious, so Dr. Shapiro and his assistants kindly offered frequent reassurance. I did have some more discomfort after the anesthetic drops wore off, but within a few hours, the discomfort subsided.

Since getting LASIK, how has your life changed? Are you able to do things that you wouldn't have normally done?

The biggest improvement for me has really been the convenience. I can hardly describe the surprise and satisfaction I repeatedly experience after awakening from sleep and quickly realize that I am able to read a clock across the room. My bedtime and morning routines are quicker without the contact lens rituals. I don't have to worry about whether my contacts and glasses are out-of-date, requiring another eye doctor appointment in order to order new contacts.

Within a month, my sister underwent LASIK , saying she now had more confidence after having me as her "guinea pig".

As a physician, I often recommend procedures for my patients. Being the patient myself gave me a chance to empathize with the process, the anticipation, and the fear that many patients go through when deciding whether to have a medical procedure..

What is the biggest change you've noticed in yourself since having the procedure?

I will never take my vision for granted. I recently cleaned out all the vision paraphernalia I was storing under the sink. I had several pairs of old glasses and glasses cases, several bottles of contact solution and almost 20 contact lens cases to donate!

And finally, what advice can you give people considering LASIK?

Research your options. Read some medical literature about the procedure. Read about many other peoples' experiences, not just a few anecdotal stories. Talk about it with your loved ones. Learn about all the potential benefits and weigh the risks. Don't do it until you're certain that it's what you want and that you're ready. And when you are ready, call Dr. Shapiro!