While illness is unavoidable for everyone, and you likely know someone affected by this condition, do not underestimate its severity. The harm it causes patients is significant, and its treatment requires careful prevention and management. Below, we outline the advantages and disadvantages of laser vision correction to help you take your condition seriously and pursue active treatment.
Case 1:
Condition Description:
Pros and Cons of Laser Vision Correction
Dear Doctor: After reading your response about laser vision correction, I'm very interested in undergoing the procedure. However, I've heard that the effects only last about ten years, and over time, the cornea may age, potentially doubling the original prescription. I'm unsure if this is true. Thank you for your clarification. I look forward to your response.
Answer:
Hello!As an ophthalmologist, I've never heard such claims. This is likely a rumor—please disregard it.
Why resort to surgery for myopia? Undoubtedly, surgical treatments offer remarkable efficacy, short recovery periods, and rapid results for correcting vision. This is precisely why many individuals with myopia are willing to pay high costs for refractive surgery.However, are you aware that beneath the glamorous facade woven by advertisements from numerous institutions offering this therapy lie hidden drawbacks and shortcomings of surgical treatment? Thus, as more myopic individuals undergo surgery today, ophthalmologists are beginning to question: Can surgical treatment fundamentally resolve myopia?Is it truly worth risking severe complications like retinal detachment, retinal hemorrhage, glaucoma, or keratoconus for vision restoration that may only be temporary? Let's examine the reality of surgical myopia correction. There are three main categories and six specific procedures: three corneal surgeries, two lens surgeries, and one scleral surgery. Each carries inherent risks.Corneal Surgery: Clinical efficacy and value require further observation. The cornea, the eye's frontmost biological lens, accounts for two-thirds of the eye's total refractive power. Minor changes in its curvature significantly alter the eye's overall refractive state. Its inherent plasticity makes altering corneal shape a primary or preferred approach for correcting refractive errors.Radial Keratotomy: First proposed in 1953 by Professor Sato of Japan, this technique involved making radial incisions on the corneal surface to alter its curvature and correct myopia. However, many cases resulted in severe damage to the corneal endothelium, yielding more lessons than successes.Over two decades later, an improved technique involving incisions solely on the anterior corneal surface gained widespread adoption in the former Soviet Union and the United States, and briefly became popular in China. However, due to its high demands on surgical skill, precise control of incision depth and length, significant intraoperative risks, and inconsistent outcomes, it gradually faded from the stage of refractive correction. Nevertheless, some practitioners still perform this procedure today.Excimer Laser Keratectomy: Formally introduced into clinical practice in 1991, this technique uses a computer-controlled laser beam to reshape the corneal surface into a predetermined concave or convex lens to correct myopia or hyperopia. The procedure is relatively simple and safe, yielding good results for mild to moderate refractive errors (below -6.00 diopters).However, it carries risks including postoperative eye pain, regression of refractive error, and corneal haze. Excimer Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK): This technique involves using a precision microkeratome to lift a corneal flap, followed by laser reshaping of the underlying stroma. The flap is then repositioned. It is suitable for patients with moderate to high myopia (600 to 1500 degrees).It offers good predictability and accuracy, with minimal postoperative pain and rapid recovery. However, the procedure is technically complex and carries risks of undercorrection or overcorrection, corneal astigmatism, and regression. Serious complications such as retinal detachment, retinal hemorrhage, glaucoma, and keratoconus may also occur.PRK and LASIK are primarily suitable for refractive error patients aged 18–50 with stable refractive status for over two years, good overall health, and no acute or chronic eye diseases. Comprehensive preoperative eye examinations are required to rule out other ocular conditions. Postoperative care involves regular medication application and follow-up visits to facilitate corneal healing.Additionally, other techniques exist, including superficial keratoconjunctival ring implantation, lamellar keratoplasty, lamellar artificial cornea implantation, intrastromal corneal ring implantation, and lamellar keratoplasty. While each method addresses specific refractive conditions, most face limitations or technical immaturity. Their clinical efficacy and value require further observation, limiting widespread adoption.Lens Surgery: Significant Side Effects Present The human eye's lens, situated behind the pupil, functions as a convex lens equivalent to approximately -17.00 diopters and possesses accommodative power. Clear Lens Extraction: This procedure removes the natural lens, reducing myopia by about -17.00 diopters while providing image magnification. Advances in phacoemulsification technology have made the surgery more convenient.It is suitable for ultra-high myopia exceeding 1600 degrees but carries risks of severe complications such as glaucoma and retinal detachment, which can lead to blindness. Intraocular Lens Implantation: For patients with high myopia, a concave artificial lens made of polymer material is implanted in front of the natural lens to reduce myopia.This procedure demands high surgical precision, is complex to perform, and carries a risk of damaging ocular tissues, leading to complications. Scleral Surgery: This highly complex procedure carries risks of complications like retinal detachment. Extensive research has revealed that the axial length (the front-to-back dimension) of highly myopic eyes is significantly longer than that of normal eyes and tends to continue growing.Therefore, theoretically, shortening the axial length through scleral (outer eye wall) surgery could reduce refractive error. Procedures like scleral thermocoagulation, scleral shortening, and scleral reinforcement strengthen the posterior sclera and shorten the axial length using methods such as electrocoagulation, scleral resection, or graft padding.While effective for certain progressive myopia and pediatric high myopia, these procedures are highly complex and carry risks of complications like retinal detachment. Currently, most hospitals employ excimer laser surgery—a simpler, lower-risk technique that focuses on the cornea. However, complications remain a sensitive and unavoidable topic. Individuals with myopia are advised to exercise extreme caution when selecting treatment options.
Case 2:
Condition Description:
Laser treatment for myopia? Pros and cons of laser myopia correction? I want to understand how laser treatment works and what constitutes the best approach. I want to understand how laser treatment works and what constitutes the best approach.
Answer:
Laser eye surgery isn't suitable for everyone. Pre-operative corneal thickness testing is required. Moreover, the history of laser surgery is still relatively short, and it remains uncertain whether long-term complications may arise decades after the procedure. Some individuals who underwent this surgery a decade ago have already begun experiencing regression. Additionally, the success rate varies significantly from person to person.During my internship at the hospital's ophthalmology center, I witnessed firsthand how doctors perform the surgery. The corneal tissue consists of five layers: the outermost epithelial cell layer, followed by the anterior elastic layer, the central stroma layer, the posterior elastic layer,and finally the endothelial cell layer. The procedure involves thinning the middle stroma layer (which resembles plywood, consisting of layered sheets) to shorten the eyeball's axial length, allowing images to focus properly on the retina. Though the process is quick, risks exist—especially in smaller hospitals where surgeons' limited skill can cause significant harm.During follow-up visits with patients who underwent surgery, we observed some developing symptoms like photophobia years later, others experiencing regression within one or two months, and even cases where the procedure failed within a week. This explains why celebrities and leaders still wear glasses—because wearing glasses remains the safest treatment for myopia today.One final point: laser treatment currently offers nearsighted individuals a chance at renewed vision. However, if you neglect proper eye care habits, myopia may recur—and by then, there's no remedy. Ultimately, you must decide if it's worth pursuing. Some undergo surgery for specific career goals (I know a young man who had it to become a seafarer). I should mention—I'm Dr. Wu from Shenzhen Sunshine Hospital.http://sun.91.cn/
Condition Analysis: Laser surgery uses laser technology to restore the eye's natural lens structure. Guidance: There are risks and a possibility of recurrence. Those with less than 500 degrees of myopia can often recover naturally without surgery. Doctor's Inquiry: Unless required by a specific profession, surgery isn't necessary.
Case Three:
Condition Description:
What are the pros and cons of laser vision correction for myopia? Are there requirements for laser treatment, like age or prescription strength? Are there any side effects or complications? Is it likely to relapse?
Answer: