LASIK may give best results for eye treatment
LASIK, which stands for laser in-situ keratomileuisis, is a surgery using lasers to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism. The outpatient procedure only uses local anesthesia, so patients do not have to be put to sleep. Patients receive a calming medication, such as Valium, to help them relax during the procedure.
“It’s not much different than going to the dentist,” Dr. James Lusk of Lusk Eye Specialists, highlighting the ease of the procedure.
Established in 1980, Lusk Eye Specialists, with a location in Shreveport and Minden, offers a LASIK center at their clinics. Patients do not have to go to the hospital for their procedure, instead having surgery at the center, and can leave shortly after the procedure is complete. Their Eye Surgery Center is one of the only freestanding surgery centers in the Ark- La-Tex, and Lusk was one of the first surgeons to offer LASIK surgery to the Shreveport-Bossier community.
Lusk Eye Specialists was one of the first practices to offer LASIK eye surgery in the region.
As far as candidacy for LASIK eye surgery, there is no age limit, as patients do not have to be put to sleep. However, adults should wait until they are 21 before having LASIK performed. Lusk explains this is because eyes continue to grow and change until someone is 21. Students who study and read constantly, especially those in graduate programs like medical school and law school, should wait to have LASIK performed until they finish school. Heavy reading, Lusk explains, affects vision.
Some patients are not candidates for LASIK surgery due to the shape of their cornea. Some of these patients are candidates for LASIK’s processor, radial keratomy surgery. RK is a more invasive procedure than LASIK. Results can take up to six weeks to show, unlike LASIK’s 24-hour vision improvement, but Lusk said results are the same as LASIK.
Lusk uses the Galilei, a corneal topography system, to test patients’ corneas, determining if they are better suited for RK surgery over LASIK.
Lusk Eye Specialists’ Galilei is the only technology of its kind in Shreveport.
Lusk Eye Specialists uses CustomVue technology with their LASIK surgery, allowing the surgeon to customize and personalize treatment based on each individual.
“It gives you the best possible vision in light and dark. It’s just a terrific result,” Lusk said.
The technology used to create CustomVue is the same technology NASA used to create the Hubble telescope.
Lusk said some patients lose the effect of LASIK surgery in four to six months. During this period, the surgeon continues to follow up with the patient, performing touch-up procedures to get the best results possible.
LASIK is expensive, though. Lusk said their average procedure costs around $2,000. He said the procedure can cost about half of Lusk Eye Specialists’ cost, but the technology is not as advanced and doesn’t include CustomVue.
“I wouldn’t want it for myself,” he said of the cheaper, less advanced LASIK procedures.
Lusk Eye Specialists offers payment plans to help break up the procedure’s cost. Lusk said in the early days of LASIK, insurance companies would help cover the surgery. Lusk said few insurance companies cover LASIK now, and he hasn’t come across an insurance company covering LASIK in some time.
New research has shown that LASIK may be safer than wearing contacts. Contact lenses can lead to infections, resulting in possible vision damage and costly treatment.
Seeing patients gain freedom from their LASIK surgery is one of the most rewarding aspects of the procedure, Lusk said. Patients talk about how they can now swim without worrying about losing contacts or playing golf without having to wear glasses.
“It’s a great procedure. It’s a happy procedure,” Lusk said, explaining that in medicine, it is common to share bad news more than good news.
“It’s one of the miracle operations of the world.”
–Tara Bullock
