Dr. Alan Berg on what 50,000 LASIK procedures taught him about the best LASIK results in Los Angeles: candidacy, LA’s dry-eye climate, measurements, cost, and what to verify.
A Los Angeles refractive surgeon compares LASIK, PRK, EVO ICL and refractive lens exchange — who each one fits, how recovery differs, and what decides it.
LASIK is not the only vision correction option. The right procedure depends on how old you are, how strong your prescription is, and what you want your vision to do for the next few decades.…
If you’ve been exploring vision correction options, you’ve probably heard a lot about LASIK. It’s the most well-known laser eye surgery, and for good reason.
LASIK has helped millions of people achieve clear vision without glasses or contacts. However, not everyone qualifies for LASIK, and many patients are discovering that EVO ICL offers an excellent alternative that may better suit their unique needs.
Keep reading to learn why EVO ICL is becoming a popular choice for patients who do not meet traditional LASIK candidacy criteria.
EVO ICL stands for Implantable Collamer Lens, a vision correction option that works differently from LASIK. While LASIK reshapes your cornea by removing tissue with a laser, EVO ICL takes an additive approach. Your eye surgeon places a specially designed lens behind your iris and in front of your natural crystalline lens, where it corrects your vision without removing any corneal tissue.
The lens is made from Collamer, a biocompatible material containing collagen. Your body doesn’t recognize it as a foreign object, which means there’s no risk of rejection.
Once the EVO ICL is implanted, you can’t see or feel it. It simply works quietly in the background to give you clear, sharp vision.
Several situations make EVO ICL a better choice than LASIK for vision correction:
LASIK has limitations when treating severe nearsightedness (myopia). The procedure requires removing corneal tissue to reshape your eye, and there’s only so much tissue that can be safely removed.
If your prescription is too high, your eye doctor might determine that LASIK would require removing more tissue than is safe or advisable. EVO ICL offers a broader treatment range because it doesn’t rely on tissue removal.
Instead, the implanted lens performs the corrective work, enabling treatment of moderate to severe myopia that falls outside LASIK’s range.
Your cornea needs to maintain a certain thickness to preserve its structural integrity and health. Some people naturally have thinner corneas, which means LASIK (which removes corneal tissue) might compromise corneal stability.
EVO ICL bypasses this concern entirely because your cornea remains untouched. The lens does all the work without requiring any tissue removal, making it an excellent option if your corneas are too thin for laser vision correction.
LASIK can temporarily affect tear production because the procedure involves creating a corneal flap, which can disrupt the corneal nerves that trigger tear production. If you already struggle with dry eyes, LASIK might worsen your symptoms.
EVO ICL doesn’t create a corneal flap or affect the corneal nerves in the same way, making it a gentler option for patients who experience routine dry eye symptoms.
The EVO ICL procedure is similar to LASIK in terms of timing and approach. Your eye surgeon can typically treat both eyes during the same appointment, and the procedure itself is quick and comfortable. You’ll receive numbing drops to help prevent pain during the insertion.
Recovery from EVO ICL is straightforward. Most patients notice improved vision almost immediately, with continued improvement over the following days. You’ll use prescribed eye drops for a period after the procedure to support healing and prevent infection.
Your eye doctor at Berg-Feinfield Vision Correction will schedule follow-up visits to monitor your progress and ensure your eyes are healing properly. One unique advantage of EVO ICL is that the lens is removable.
While it’s designed to be a permanent solution, your eye surgeon can remove or replace the lens if your vision changes significantly in the future or becomes medically necessary. This flexibility offers peace of mind for many patients.
Not every patient is a LASIK candidate, but that doesn’t mean clear vision without glasses is impossible. EVO ICL has opened doors for thousands of patients who were told they couldn’t.
Schedule a consultation at Berg-Feinfield Vision Correction in one of the following areas today to discover whether EVO ICL is the right choice for your vision goals: Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Beverly Hills, Valencia, Santa Clarita, Arcadia, Van Nuys, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Pasadena.
Are you considering LASIK to improve your eyesight and reduce your dependence on glasses and contacts? If so, you may be wondering about the longevity of the procedure and whether it can permanently give you clear vision.
Keep reading to learn more about how long LASIK lasts, and whether it could help you achieve the vision of your dreams!
LASIK is a procedure that can give patients freedom from visual aids by correcting refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. These common vision problems can occur due to your eye being too long or too short, or having a misshapen cornea.
This prevents light from reaching the retina at the right spot for clear vision. LASIK corrects refractive errors by reshaping the cornea with specialized lasers to allow light to hit your retina at the optimal angle, resulting in sharper images.
Before your LASIK surgeon begins the procedure, they will numb your eyes with anesthetic eye drops. They may also offer you a sedative or anti-anxiety medication if you are feeling nervous.
Once your eyes are ready, they will make a small flap in your cornea with a femtosecond laser. Your LASIK surgeon will fold back the flap and reshape the tissue underneath with an excimer laser.
To complete the procedure, they will fold the flap back over your eye, allowing it to work as a natural bandage while you heal. After the procedure, you will need someone to drive you home to begin recovery.
Your LASIK surgeon will provide you with a protective eye shield, eye drops to prevent infection and reduce inflammation, and detailed instructions on post-operative care. You will also be required to attend follow-up appointments so they can monitor how you are healing and clear you to return to activities like driving and working.
Most patients are able to resume their daily routine after just one day of recovery and begin noticing visual improvements at this time. However, it will take several weeks or months to achieve peak visual clarity after LASIK.
LASIK permanently corrects refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism by reshaping the cornea. The cornea will not revert back to its original shape and cannot be reshaped without another procedure.
Most LASIK patients enjoy clear, high-definition vision for decades. However, age-related vision changes from conditions like cataracts, presbyopia, and glaucoma may still occur.
Because these conditions affect different parts of the eye, LASIK cannot prevent them from impacting your vision. It’s important to have realistic expectations about what LASIK can do for your eyesight in the long term before you undergo the procedure.
To discover whether you are a good candidate for LASIK, you must attend a LASIK consultation with your eye doctor at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction. You may be a good candidate if you:
Your eye doctor will perform a thorough eye examination and ask questions about your medical history, lifestyle, and visual goals to determine whether LASIK could be right for you. If you are not a good candidate for LASIK due to thin corneas or a high prescription, they may recommend other vision correction procedures like the EVO ICL and PRK.
Are you ready to learn more about how LASIK can give you crystal-clear vision for decades? Schedule an appointment at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction in Burbank, CA, today!
Like any other surgery, LASIK requires some recovery time. Fortunately, most LASIK patients experience relatively quick and easy recovery times, with few, if any, side effects!
Recovery after LASIK surgery varies from person to person. Keep reading to learn what you can typically expect for a recovery time from LASIK!
Immediately after LASIK surgery, it’s normal to experience some discomfort, such as burning, itching, or a sensation like there’s something in your eye. These symptoms usually subside within a few hours.
Your vision may be blurry or hazy, and your eyes may be watery. It’s important to rest your eyes and avoid activities that can strain them, like reading or using electronic devices.
You should do all you can to avoid anything from touching your eye area. You may also be given protective shields to wear over your eyes to prevent accidental rubbing and to protect them while you sleep.
Most LASIK patients experience a noticeable improvement in their vision within just twenty-four hours after the procedure. It’s important to closely follow your eye surgeon’s post-operative instructions to prevent infection and inflammation and to keep your eyes lubricated.
Over the next two to seven days, your vision should continue to improve. Many patients feel comfortable returning to work and resuming normal activities within one to two days after surgery.
You should continue using the prescribed eye drops as directed to promote healing and ensure eye comfort. To reduce the risk of infection, avoid swimming pools, hot tubs, and getting water directly into your eye.
When outdoors, you should wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from bright light and UV exposure. You may be more sensitive than usual to bright lights and glare for a few weeks after LASIK surgery.
By the end of the first month after LASIK surgery, most patients see significant improvements in the quality of their vision, often reaching near-optimal clarity. After about two weeks to a month, you can gradually return to activities like swimming or using hot tubs, as long as your eye surgeon has cleared you to do so.
You should avoid any activities, like contact sports, that might risk eye trauma.
While most healing occurs within the first few weeks, complete stabilization of vision can take several months. You may continue to experience subtle changes in your vision as your eyes fully heal.
By six months following your LASIK surgery, your vision should be stable and any lingering side effects, like dry eyes or night glare, should have improved or be gone. You can address any persistent eye health or vision issues with your eye surgeon at follow-up appointments.
Once you fully recover from LASIK surgery, all that’s left to do is enjoy the clarity of your newly corrected vision! It’s likely you’ll be one of the 96% of all LASIK patients who report the highest level of satisfaction with the surgery and its outcome.
Do you want to learn more about LASIK or determine if you might be a candidate? Schedule a LASIK consultation at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction in Burbank, CA, today!
A step-by-step checklist for choosing a LASIK surgeon in Los Angeles: credentials to verify, experience numbers to ask for, technology and pricing to compare, red flags, and twelve consultation questions.
LASIK is a popular refractive eye surgery that has helped millions of people achieve freedom from glasses and contact lenses. But like any medical procedure, patients naturally have questions about whether LASIK is safe.
Keep reading to learn how LASIK works, what makes it safe, and who is a good candidate for the procedure!
LASIK is a procedure that uses a laser to reshape the cornea, which is the clear front part of the eye that helps focus light. People choose to get LASIK to correct common vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
These conditions are caused by irregularities in the shape of the cornea or the eye that prevent light from focusing directly on the retina. LASIK aims to reshape the cornea to achieve proper focus.
This can allow people to see clearly without being dependent on glasses or contact lenses. Those who get LASIK often seek the convenience and freedom of waking up with clear vision.
No more fumbling for eyeglasses or having to insert contacts every morning. Athletes and active people choose LASIK so they can participate in sports without lenses or glasses getting in the way.
LASIK also offers cosmetic benefits for those who want to look and feel their best without eyewear.
Before the procedure, your LASIK surgeon will numb the surface of your eye with eye drops to ensure you are more comfortable. During LASIK, your LASIK creates a thin flap in the cornea, folds it back, and then removes a predetermined amount of corneal tissue underneath using an excimer laser.
The outer corneal flap is then laid back into place, where it heals naturally within a few days. This alters the cornea’s curvature and corrects common vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
The procedure takes ten to twenty minutes per eye and is one of the most common laser vision correction procedures.
When performed by an experienced LASIK surgeon, like those at Berg Feinfield, complications are rare. Safety begins with an extensive preoperative exam to determine if you are healthy enough for LASIK.
The flap creation and excimer laser used today are highly precise technologies, and your eye’s position is tracked throughout treatment.
The best candidates for LASIK are healthy adults over eighteen with stable vision who expect improvements in their quality of life from freeing themselves of glasses or contacts. Issues that may disqualify you include uncontrolled diabetes, autoimmune disease, dry eyes, thin corneas, and cataracts.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding delay the procedure. Your eye doctor at Berg Feinfield will conduct testing to determine if your eyes and health make you a good LASIK candidate.
Modern LASIK is a safe, effective procedure to correct vision when performed by a qualified surgeon. By understanding how it works and the risks involved, you can decide if LASIK is right for you based on a consultation with your ophthalmologist.
While not without risks, LASIK continues to help many people see clearly!
Are you interested in learning more about LASIK or determining if you are a good candidate for the procedure? Schedule a LASIK consultation at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction in Beverly Hills, CA, today!
If you’re considering LASIK, you’re on the right track toward investing in yourself and your vision. At Berg Feinfield Vision Correction, we specialize in providing personalized LASIK treatments to help you achieve the best possible outcome.
Our team of experienced LASIK surgeons and staff are committed to guiding you through every step of the LASIK process, from the initial consultation to post-operative care. We understand that LASIK is a significant investment, but we believe that it is one of the most worthwhile investments you can make in yourself.
Keep reading to learn more about LASIK, and why it is the one investment in yourself that’s truly worth it!
LASIK, which is short for Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis, is a surgical procedure that uses a specialized laser to reshape the cornea, the clear front part of the eye, to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. During the procedure, a thin flap is created on the cornea, and the laser is used to remove tiny amounts of tissue to change the shape of the cornea.
The flap is then carefully placed back into position, creating a natural bandage that helps with the healing process. LASIK is a safe and effective option for those who want to reduce their dependence on glasses or contact lenses.
There are many reasons why LASIK is one of the most popular refractive procedures. Here are just a few:
LASIK can significantly improve your vision, and many people achieve 20/20 vision or better after the procedure. This means that you can enjoy the freedom of not having to rely on glasses or contact lenses.
With LASIK, you no longer have to worry about carrying around glasses or dealing with the hassle of contact lenses. You can wake up in the morning and immediately see the world around you without any extra steps.
Improved vision can have a significant impact on your self-esteem and confidence. You can feel more comfortable in social situations and be more confident in your abilities without having to worry about your vision.
LASIK can be a significant upfront investment, but it can save you money in the long run. Over time, the cost of glasses, contact lenses, and their maintenance adds up.
Contact lenses and glasses can cost you hundreds per year. Imagine how that can add up over a 20-year period.
The cost of glasses and contact lenses can easily exceed ten thousand dollars! In contrast, LASIK has a one-time cost, and the savings from not having to purchase glasses or contact lenses can pay for the procedure over time.
Additionally, LASIK can help you avoid the costs associated with broken or lost glasses and contacts, prescription changes, and other related expenses. Ultimately, LASIK can be a smart financial decision for those looking to save money on their vision correction needs.
At Berg Feinfield Vision Correction, we recognize that the cost of LASIK can be a financial barrier for many of our patients. Our goal is to make this life-changing procedure accessible to everyone, which is why we offer flexible payment options designed to meet the needs of your unique budget.
You can choose to pay by cash, major credit card, or select from our range of affordable payment plans. We offer low annual percentage rates and extended loan terms to qualifying patients. Additionally, we provide a twelve-month financing option with no interest, which makes LASIK an affordable option for all.
Do you want to learn more about LASIK or determine if you may be a good candidate for this procedure? Schedule a LASIK consultation at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction in Beverly Hills, CA, today!
Although LASIK is the most well-known, there are many types of refractive procedures that can provide you with visual freedom and reduced dependency on visual aids. If you are not a good candidate for LASIK, your eye doctor may recommend an alternative procedure to help accomplish your vision goals.
Keep reading to learn more about LASIK alternatives and if they are as good as LASIK!
Certain people may not have a good outcome with LASIK if they do not qualify as a candidate for the procedure. This is often due to the unique characteristics of their eye.
For example, if you have thin corneas, you may not be a good candidate for LASIK. The goal of every refractive procedure is to give you sharp, clear vision and freedom from glasses and contacts.
LASIK surgery uses the excimer laser to reshape the cornea. During LASIK, the LASIK surgeon cuts a thin flap in the cornea’s surface and reshapes the inner layer to correct vision problems.
After the cornea has been reshaped, the flap is repositioned and will heal on its own after a short time. A good LASIK candidate should have thick enough corneas so that the LASIK surgeon can create a flap, which is necessary for the procedure.
For patients with thin corneas, LASIK is not recommended.
At Berg Feinfeld Vision Correction, the eye surgeons offer three refractive surgical procedures that are very effective alternatives to LASIK if you’re not a good candidate. These procedures will give you similar results and are better suited to the unique qualities of your eyes.
The PRK procedure is similar to LASIK, except it doesn’t require the creation of a flap in the cornea. Instead, your eye surgeon will remove the epithelium, the outer layer of the cornea, which regenerates during recovery.
PRK produces almost identical results to LASIK. Those who have PRK should expect a recovery period of five to seven days with mild discomfort.
It will also take the same amount of time to regain natural vision and see clearly.
LASEK is a procedure that combines the best outcomes of both LASIK and PRK. During LASEK, a pre-incision is made in the top layer of the cornea, and a mild alcohol solution is used to loosen the cells of the epithelium.
This makes lifting the outer layer flap easier. Then the laser is applied to the specific area of the cornea, which is reshaped to correct vision problems.
When the flap is replaced, it’s protected by a soft contact lens which acts like a bandaid for your cornea. It is designed to improve the healing process.
Recovery is faster with LASEK than with PRK and should take only about two to three days to get back to most of your everyday activities. There will be slightly more discomfort with LASEK than LASIK but less time than PRK.
If you have a high degree of myopia and you’ve wanted LASIK surgery but are not a good candidate, EVO Visian ICL is a newer procedure that can give you the same visual freedom. And if you’ve ever been nervous about undergoing surgery with permanent results, EVO Visian ICL is reversible.
It treats nearsightedness and astigmatism with a lens implant that changes the focus of the light entering the eye. The result is vision correction so that you no longer need glasses or contacts for distant vision.
The EVO Visian ICL is ideal for patients who aren’t good candidates for LASIK either due to thin corneas, extreme nearsightedness, or dry eye. The results with EVO Visian ICL are excellent and comparable to LASIK.
Are you interested in learning which refractive procedure may be right for you? Schedule an appointment at Berg Feinfield Vision Correction in Burbank, CA, today!
