Carter Eye Center in Dallas, Texas

What is LASIK?
LASIK is so commonly used that many people don’t know that the acronym stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. In simple phrasing, it means surgery to the cornea with the use of a laser. Lasers were first used to perform corneal surgery around 1950, but the procedures used have changed and improved over the years.
Wavefront-guided LASIK, the kind used by Dr. Carter, uses technology utilized for years by astronomers but was only recently applied to LASIK. It allows Dr. Carter to precisely map the shape of your eyes and achieve a more uniform shape of the cornea. This allows greater accuracy in the procedure and helps you have even better vision.

Am I a good candidate for LASIK?
There are many factors which contribute to whether or not you are a good candidate for LASIK. Some indicators that you may be a good candidate for LASIK are:

• You are over 21
• You aren't nursing or pregnant
• You currently use glasses or contacts
• Your prescription has not changed within the past year
• You understand risks associated with LASIK
• You don't have a history of scarring or dry eyes

What will happen at my LASIK consultation?
When you come see Dr. Carter for a consultation, you will be asked about your health history and your eye history. Dr. Carter will then examine your eyes and let you know if you are a good candidate for LASIK. If you are disqualified from LASIK, Dr. Carter may be able to offer you another option for seeing without glasses and contacts.

The best way to find out if you are a good candidate for LASIK at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas is to make an appointment with Dr. Carter today.

You probably already know that not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK. But did you know there is an option for near-sighted adults that can still allow you to see clearly without contacts or eyeglasses?

Rather than adjusting your natural lens, Visian ICL is a lens which is placed over the front of your eye's natural lens, adjusting the refraction of light to help you see clearly. Other lenses have been used for older adults (over the age of 45), but Visian ICL is specifically for younger adults between the ages of 21 and 45 who may not be good candidates for traditional LASIK.

ICL stands for Implantable Collamer® Lens, a hypoallergenic material that is safe for use in the eye. Unlike a contact, which sits on top of the eye, Visian ICL is inserted under a flap in the eye, so you will not be able to feel it like you would contacts. Also, if your vision changes in the future, Dr. Carter can replace the ICL with a new lens to adjust for the change.

You can learn more about Visian ICL at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas by emailing Dr. Carter. If you have been told LASIK isn't a good option for you, Visian ICL may be the right choice.

Deciding what you get your college graduate as a graduation present can be nearly impossible. Finding something special, memorable, significant, and beneficial may sound suspiciously like the search for the holy grail of graduation gifts: You've heard it's out there, but you're not sure where to start looking.

But what about the gift of a glasses- and contact-free life after graduation? A graduate looking forward to searching for a "real life job" and standing on his or her own feet is sure to be excited at the idea of never having to search for glasses in the morning or put in contacts. In fact, LASIK patients often see better than they did when using glasses or contacts before the procedure.

Carter Eye Center’s "20/20 or it's free" guarantee insures that this investment in your graduate's future will be worth every penny.

You don't have to wait for your grad to finish classes before giving him or her a hassle-free vision of the future. Mid-terms and finals will look a lot less daunting when seen without glasses, and graduation pictures, job interviews, and weddings will all look different when seen with glasses- and contacts-free 20/20 vision.

You can make a consultation appointment at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas, Texas for your grad today by visiting our contact us page or calling the phone number at the top right-hand corner of our blog.

Over the years, we have had many well-known names come to Carter Eye Center with the same goal that you have. Their professions may be a little different, as professional football players or media personalities, but they are all looking for our 20/20 or It's Free guarantee.

The who's who of CEC patients include:

• Pat Summerall, former professional football player, who had Crystalens says, “It’s changed my life!”
• Norm Hitzges, author and sports talk radio host, said working with CEC to have LASIK done was a piece of cake.
• Preston Pearson, former running back for the Dallas Cowboys, trusted his vision to CEC and is very pleased with the clarity of his vision.

Other celebrities and personalities have worked with CEC to find 20/20 or better vision, and you can find their names on our Who's Had LASIK at CEC page. But you don't have to be a professional football player or a talk show host to have the high-definition vision Tony Castillas talks about.

Our 20/20 or It's Free guarantee insures that you're not risking your finances for better eyesight, so you can have perfect vision without making millions. But whether you are a professional football player or a student in college, you can have clear vision without contacts or glasses. Please contact us today to learn more.

Lots of people come to Carter Eye Center in Dallas, Texas concerned about the risks involved with having LASIK or other eye surgeries performed on their eyes. The old types of laser eye surgery were more risky, and the technology which has developed over the years, such as Wavefront® guidance technology and CustomVue offer greater precision and with that greater safety.

It is possible that a person who has LASIK can't see perfectly afterwards, but usually this is because the individual wasn't a good candidate for LASIK to begin with.

At Carter Eye Center, our 20/20 or It's Free Guarantee means we will meet with you before your procedure to determine whether or not LASIK is right for you. If you aren't a good candidate for LASIK, we will provide you with different options can still help you see clearly without the hassle of contacts or eyeglasses.

If you are considering LASIK, please schedule an appointment at Carter Eye Center to find out if you are a good candidate. If you are, your procedure will be painless, with little necessary recovery time. Many eye centers make this promise to their patients. But only Carter Eye Center promises that if your LASIK procedure doesn't give you 20/20 vision, you get every penny back.

LASIK is most appropriate for patients between the ages of 18 and 40, although age 40 is not an absolute limit. Because of the FDA’s approval for LASIK for those over 18 years old, pediatric LASIK is considered an "off-label" use and is reserved for cases where the child's sight is seriously threatened.

People's natural eye lenses begin losing their flexibility and around age 40 often develop a noticeable decrease in their vision due to presbyopia, the inability of the lens to flex and focus sufficiently. LASIK will not correct presbyopia, so, other procedures should be considered to correct this condition.

Around age 60 people begin developing cataracts. LASIK, again, is not a solution for cataracts, as it can't get rid of the cataract. But lens replacement can correct both the cataract and the refractive error. If older patients' lenses are clear and healthy, they may have the option to choose between refractive lens exchange or RLE (lens replacement) and one of the refractive corrective procedures, such as LASIK. This would be a case where being over age 40 is not a limitation

Eye stability is more important than age, so even if you are over 18, if your vision isn’t stable, your refractive error is very large, or your corneas are very thin, LASIK would not be recommended. There are other procedures that are more appropriate to correct these aberrations.

No matter what your age, if your vision isn't perfect, please contact Dr. Harvey Carter at the Carter Eye Center in Dallas. Not only will he schedule a free consultation, but, if you qualify for LASIK, he will also give you his 20/20 or it's free guarantee.

Because you will need to return for a follow-up visit a day or two after your LASIK procedure, you should avoid travel, and plan to rest for a few days after surgery. If you are given the OK to return to work, someone else may have to drive you for a few days. More than likely you will wear a shield until your follow up visit, a couple days later.

LASIK patients usually can't drive until a few days after their procedure. Your eyes may be itchy, irritated and possibly feel like they are burning right after surgery. While over-the-counter pain relievers will control this discomfort, if you plan to travel by car, make sure someone else does the driving.

If your vision is hazy or blurry, often a result of dry-eye, your ability to rely on what you see will be compromised. Your LASIK surgeon will give you drops that will reduce the irritation as well as help you focus.

It would be wise to do some research before you travel. Air travel is safe after LASIK; however, if you plan to fly, or travel to an area that is dry or windy, dry-eye may be worsened. Air conditioning in hotels, jets, planes, and even cars can aggravate dry-eye. Dry, irritated eyes are more easily infected, so, talk to your surgeon and make sure your travel plans are OK, and that you are prepared to accommodate climate changes.

For more information please visit the website for the Carter Eye Center in Dallas, or contact them to schedule a free consultation. Dr. Harvey Carter and his team of eye surgery specialists are proud to offer you their 20/20 or it's free guarantee, and the assurance that they offer the highest quality of care possible.