General Guidelines when considering LASIK, LASEK, PRK
In many cases LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, LASEK, PRK are successful procedures of refractive surgery and can help to improve the quality of life. There is however a risk of complications. That's why you should ask yourself some important questions prior to surgery. After all, it’s you who is responsible for your eyes and not the surgeon carrying out the laser vision correction:
What are my reasons for the surgery? Is my vision bad even with corrective lenses (glasses, contact lenses), or do I want to replace the corrective lenses merely for convenience or prestige reasons? Note: It is very likely that due to presbyopia you will have to wear glasses usually at the age of 45-50, even if the operation was successful.
Consider alternatives to an irreversible refractive surgery on a healthy eye and ask an unbiased ophthalmologist. (Here the ophthalmologist doesn’t mean the refractive surgeon but an independent specialist!)
Ask your unbiased ophthalmologist if he or she would recommend a refractive surgery in your case. If the ophthalmologist is not competent in the field of LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, LASEK, PRK consult several independent specialists on this issue!
Always demand your personal records or a copy of your records signed by the physician and take it with you!
If you decide to undergo a laser eye surgery you need to check if the surgeon uses the latest technical equipment. Ask manufacturers for the latest devices and which physician has already used them successfully for operations. This forces the physician to observe a high standard of quality. Pay attention to the quality of the preoperative examination! Make sure your LASIK risk score is determined because the probability of a dissatisfactory surgery outcome increases with the dioptric value. Make sure the surgeon carrying out the operation is a renowned specialist which means that he or she has also published in scientific magazines. "MEDLINE" is a useful public database for this purpose. You find it at  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed . Refractive surgeons often don't have much time for lenghty talks with patients, which is easy to understand. However, you have the right to such a consultation. Prior to talking to the refractive surgeon you should already gather information about general aspects of LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, LASEK, PRK. You can get useful material from clinics providing refractive surgery or on the internet. Read the information provided in the brochures carefully and do not allow yourself to be impressed by a fancy layout. The more you know about the general aspects the better you can discuss individual problems. Prepare yourself for the consultation with the refractive surgeon by preformulating your questions. If possible, you should have refractive surgery on one eye only and wait to see how it turns out. Further guidelines are published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/
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