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<div class="section1">Patients should be over 18 years of age, have healthy corneas, and have vision that has been stable for the past year. People who may not be good candidates for these procedures are pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding (vision may not be stable); people with scarred corneas or macular disease; people with autoimmune diseases (i.e., systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis); or people with diabetes. Patients with glaucoma should not have LASIK because the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye is raised during the procedure. A patient with persistent lid infections (i.e., blepharitis) may not be a good candidate because of an increased risk of infection. An ophthalmologist who specializes in laser vision correction can determine who would be likely to benefit from the operation and suggest which of the two operations might be more appropriate for any given patient.
If a patient is thinking of having cataract surgery, they should discuss it with the doctor. During cataract surgery an intracocular lens (IOL) will be inserted and that alone may correct distance vision.
Source: The Gale Group. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed.";
