Your Pressing Questions

Did you know that Lake Dillon Eye Care is on Facebook?

Many of our patients and people considering LASIK,  Cataract Surgery, or any of our other services find us on Facebook to ask us some of their most important questions about our services.

Check us out on Facebook and let us know if there is anything you would like to know about us!

Researching LASIK Surgeons

You can spend years deciding to improve your vision though LASIK. Research on the Internet and feedback from others who have had similar experiences can aid in your process. However, regardless of how many people you ask about LASIK, without a full LASIK consultation you will never know for sure if you are a good candidate.

The LASIK consultation also allows you to “interview” the surgeon to make sure you are putting the best possible professional in your corner. Below are some questions you should ask your LASIK provider. If he/she cannot or will not give acceptable answers, it is best to continue researching other providers.

LASIK Surgeon Questions

• What professional organizations are you certified by and what organizations to you belong to?
• What specific training do you have in LASIK surgery?
• How many years of LASIK surgery experience do you have?
• How many LASIK procedures have you performed?
• Where do you perform LASIK procedures?
• What are the potential risks and complications of LASIK and how are they handled?
• Does my overall health make me a good candidate for this procedure?
• Do you think LASIK will produce the results I want?
• How much will LASIK cost? Are there any hidden charges? Are there financing options?
• Exactly how will LASIK be performed?
• What type of technologies do you use?
• What do I have to do before, during and after LASIK?
• What will the recovery entail and what kind of external help will I need?  
• What are my options if I am dissatisfied with my surgical outcome?

Armed with this information, you can make an informed decision about improving your vision through LASIK.

Our doctors at Lake Dillon Eye Care offers free LASIK consultations and a free online LASIK Self-Evaluation to take the first step in the LASIK discovery process. To schedule your consultation, visit lakedilloneye.com or call 970-468-0389.

Cool Facts About Dolphin Eyes

Recently we read an article about dolphin eyes written by Joy Clausen Soto, Senior Dolphin Trainer at SeaWorld. We thought it was so interesting that we’re going to devote our next series of blogs to her cool facts about dolphin eyes.

“A dolphin can move each eye independent of the other.”

While that is cool for a dolphin, it’s not so cool for humans. In humans, this condition is similar to one called strabismus. It occurs when the muscles of the two eyes don’t work together to maintain proper alignment. You might have one eye looking straight forward while the other eye looks a different direction:

·         Inward (cross-eyed), known as esotropia

·         Outward, known as exotropia

·         Upward, known as hypertropia

·         Downward, known as hypotropia

Refractive surgery, such as LASIK eye surgery, won’t resolve strabismus. However, there are surgical and non-surgical treatments that can be used to correct the problem.

A person with corrected strabismus can also have instances of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. In these cases, they may consider having LASIK eye surgery to correct the vision problems. If you had strabismus at any time in your life, be sure to inform your LASIK surgeon of this and all of your medical history prior to undergoing the procedure.

To learn more about LASIK eye surgery, please contact Lake Dillon Eye Care in Lake Dillon, CO to schedule a LASIK Consultation. Call 970-468-0389 or visit lakedilloneye.com today.

Differences Between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists

Many people think all eye doctors the same. They use the terms Optometrist and Ophthalmologist interchangeably. The truth is that these are two very different types of eye care professionals.

Optometrists

Optometrists have earned a Doctor of Optometry Degree (OD). Optometrists have completed a four-year Bachelor’s Degree, plus four years of post-graduate professional training in optometry school. Their main focus is to provide primary eye care, including vision checks, eye disease diagnosis and overall eye health review. They prescribe corrective lenses to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and they can prescribe some medications. Optometrists often work closely with ophthalmologists to provide pre- and post-op care for eye surgery patients.

Ophthalmologists

Ophthalmologists are Medical Doctors (MDs) or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) who have achieved a Bachelor’s Degree, four years of medical school encompassing care for the whole body, internships, at least three years of hospital-based residency and additional years of training in eye disease treatment and eye surgery. Ophthalmologists diagnose and treat eye diseases, perform eye surgery, perform eye exams and write prescriptions for medications or corrective lenses.

Certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts or macular degeneration, are managed and corrected by ophthalmologists. Eye surgeries such as LASIK or Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Lens (IOL) implants should only be done by an eye surgeon who is highly experienced and using the latest technologies.

Frequent eye exams, even if you aren’t experiencing any vision problems, can provide early detection – and treatment – of developing issues.

Visit the website of ophthalmologist Dr. Chang at Lake Dillon Eye Care to schedule a Vision Consultation in . Visit lakedilloneye.com or call 970-468-0389 today.

What Really is 20/20 Vision?

It’s widely known that LASIK eye surgery can give some patients 20/20 vision. But what does 20/20 vision really mean?

According to the American Optometric Association, “20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance.”

There are varying degrees of vision based on what research has shown that a “normal” person can see. Other examples include:

·         20/10 vision means that you can see at 20 feet what can normally be seen when standing 10 feet away (your vision is better than normal)

·         20/40 vision means that you have to stand 20 feet away from something to see what you should be able to see at 40 feet away (your vision is worse than normal)

·         20/100 vision means that what should be normally seen at 100 feet away requires you to stand 20 feet away to see it (your vision is poor)

·         20/200 vision is considered legal blindness in the United States

Having 20/20 vision does not mean you have perfect vision because other factors, such as peripheral vision, depth perception, color vision, eye coordination and focusing ability play into your overall visual attributes.

If you have less-than-ideal eyesight that causes you to need glasses or contacts to correct your nearsightedness (good close-up vision/bad distance vision), farsightedness (good distance vision/bad close-up vision) or astigmatism (impaired distance and close-up vision), LASIK may help correct your refractive error and put you into the “normal” 20/20 vision range. LASIK surgeons take into consideration many of your unique attributes before recommending LASIK surgery, including your overall eye health, corneal thickness and medical history. 

To find out if LASIK might be able to give you 20/20 vision, contact Lake Dillon Eye Care in Lake Dillon, CO to schedule your free LASIK Consultation. Call 970-468-0389 or visit lakedilloneye.com.