LASIK, or “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis,” is the most common procedure used today to treat the following ailments: nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The LASIK Procedure reshapes the cornea to allow light entering the eye to be properly focused, giving you better vision (this is similar to other refractory surgeries). The overall LASIK procedure takes no more than 15 minutes, and in most cases is absolutely painless. Surgery results (proper vision without the help of glasses or contacts) can be seen within 24 hours of your procedure.Imagine waking up in the morning and not needing your glasses or contacts at all. Wouldn’t that be nice? Not only would it be extremely convenient, but today it’s entirely possible thanks to LASIK.
IPAD MINI contest is almost over! Enter to win while you still can!
We are almost done with the IPAD MINI contest with only a few days left! You or a friend could win this awesome new Apple product! The way to be entered into the contest is to refer a friend, sign-up for our newsletter, or like us on our Facebook. The winner will be announced in May. Don’t let someone else win this brand new high-tech toy! Good luck from all of us at GS&G!
Pre-Op Questions & Concerns
Before you have cataract surgery, you should tell your doctor what medications you are currently taking, as some medications might lead to problems during surgery. For example, alpha-blockers and blood thinners can lead to complications when undergoing surgery.
The surgery method known as phacoemulsification is the preferred method over others because:
- The surgery can be done in a shorter time.
- Chances of having astigmatism after surgery are far less likely.
- Recovery time after surgery is shorter.
- There are far less complications with surgery overall.
Surgery results are pretty identical for both procedures, but healing time is faster with phacoemulsification.
This should go without saying, but it’ll be said anyway: the more experience your surgeon has, the less likely you are to have problems with your surgery. With a combined field experience of over 25 years, I think anyone would be in good hands at GSG.
Regardless of what kind of surgery you have done, you’re going to need reading glasses afterwards. There is an option with the intraocular lens so that you have one for seeing far away and one for seeing things up close. Talk to your doctor about the pros and cons about having this combination of lenses.
Cataracts in children are best to be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. The biggest period of development of the eyes is from birth to 3 months. The faster the cataract is found and removed, the better chances of that person having better vision later in life.
Cataract Myths #5
MYTH 5: Cataracts can “grow back”.
FACT: NO. Cataracts are not a growth; they develop as the lens’s cells die and accumulate. It is possible, however, to develop a secondary, completely different cataract in the eye. Vision can be compromised when the membrane that holds the new lens implant gets cloudy, but this can be easily treated with laser surgery- a painless, 15-minute procedure that will have you seeing clearly again in no time.
Be sure to visit the rest of our site, or give us a call for more information on cataracts and cataract surgery.
April Newsletter
Grosinger, Spigelman & Grey Eye Surgeons provide precision technology for the 21st Century.
Winter is almost over, and outdoor activities will be starting. Playing sports with glasses at times could be difficult and dangerous.Grosinger, Spigelman & Grey Eye Surgeons care about your well being. With over 20,000 thousand LASIK surgeries performed, award winning surgeons are offering a special for the month of April with a $500 discount for LASIK Surgery on both eyes. The offer is limited to first 10 callers !!!
From the Blog:
The Quest to Create a Bionic Eye Gets Clearer
Restoring sight to the blind has proved particularly challenging for scientists, but a new technology combining an eye implant and video-camera-enabled glasses may soon be available in the U.S. Researchers have been pursuing the development of such a bionic eye for decades, in some cases spending hundreds of millions of dollars…[Read more].
15 Things Didn’t Know About Eyes
- The average blink lasts for about 1/10th of a second.
- While it takes some time for most parts of your body to warm up to their full potential, your eyes are on their “A game” 24/7.
- Eyes heal quickly. With proper care, it only takes about 48 hours for the eye to repair a corneal scratch.
- Seeing is such a big part of everyday life that it requires about half of the brain to get involved.
- Newborns don’t produce tears. They make crying sounds, but the tears don’t start flowing until they are about 4-13 weeks old.
- Around the world, about 39 million people are blind and roughly 6 times that many have some kind of vision impairment.
- Doctors have yet to find a way to transplant an eyeball. The optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain is too sensitive to reconstruct successfully.
- The cells in your eye come in different shapes. Rod-shaped cells allow you to see shapes, and cone-shaped cells allow you to see color.
- You blink about 12 times every minute.
- Your eyes are about 1 inch across and weigh about 0.25 ounce.
- Some people are born with two differently colored eyes. This condition is heterochromia.
- Even if no one in the past few generations of your family had blue or green eyes, these recessive traits can still appear in later generations.
- Each of your eyes has a small blind spot in the back of the retina where the optic nerve attaches. You don’t notice the hole in your vision because your eyes work together to fill in each other’s blind spot.
- Out of all the muscles in your body, the muscles that control your eyes are the most active.
- 80% of vision problems worldwide are avoidable or even curable.
Optical Illusion of the month
Procedures
Cataract Myths #4
Myth #4: Cataract surgery is risky in that the overall risk factor is high and recovery time may take months.
FACT: NO. With a success rate of 95%, Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most perfected surgeries in medicine today. However, as with any surgery you may have, risks do exist, so please bring up any concerns you may have with your doctor prior to surgery. After the procedure, patients need to refrain from doing any bending or heavy lifting for up to three weeks, as well as rubbing or pressing the eye. Other than that, you can go back to your normal routine and activities when you remove the eye patch, usually the next day or so. Cataract surgery patients commonly see an improvement in eyesight immediately after the procedure, and other patients will notice a more gradual progression in regaining the eyesight they once had, taking usually two to three months.
Be sure to check back for our fifth and final Cataract myth!
Cataract Myths #3
Myth #3: You can reverse your cataracts.
FACT: NO. Cataracts are unavoidable. The lenses in your eyes will naturally cloud as you get older, but their development can be slowed. You can slow their progression by quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet, and wearing sunglasses with 100% UV ray protection.
More myths debunked soon!
Cataract Myths #2
Myth #2: Activities that are done up close (i.e. puzzle-solving, reading and/or sewing) can make your cataracts worse.
FACT: NO. There is no correlation with cataract development and using your eyes to see closer or further away. However, when you are doing an activity up close, a cataract will be much more apparent and bothersome. Needing more light to do the same activities throughout your day is also a sign of a cataract.
More myths debunked soon!
Cataract Myths #1
The next several posts will expose just how misinformed some people are about cataracts, and will hopefully change your “views” on cataracts and cataract surgery. We will present one myth, then we will disprove it and replace it with nothing but facts.
Myth #1: Eye drops can delay, dissolve or even prevent cataracts and/or the development of cataracts.
FACT: NO.The FDA hasn’t approved ANY drops to fixing or preventing cataracts. Cataracts are a natural development of the aging process, and are impossible to prevent. Some drops even claim to “dissolve” the cataract. This term is used incorrectly in that there is nothing to “dissolve”, hence misinforming you and potentially further harming your eyes.
More myths debunked soon!
Letter from Fight Blindness Foundation
We recently held two VisionWalk Kick Off events to jumpstart our fundraising for the 2013 Eastern Michigan VisionWalk. We had a lot of fun, shared great fundraising and team ideas and handed out brand new 2013 VisionWalk materials. I’m sorry you couldn’t join us, but I am sending you some supplies to get you set up for this year.
At the Kick Off events, we announced that the Eastern Michigan VisionWalk has raised $400,960 since it began five years ago in 2008. If we raise $99,040 for this year’s VisionVVaik, we will have raised half a million dollars for research! We hope you will do all that you can to help us achieve this amazing milestone.