When is age an issue for having LASIK surgery?

When is Someone Too Young or Too Old to Have LASIK?

LASIK is FDA-approved for those 18 and older. Dr. Lindahl encourages young patients to wait until they are 21, when a person’s prescription stops changing. Having a stable prescription for at least two years is required before anyone, young or old, is deemed a good LASIK candidate.

Most adults grow their savings, begin traveling for work and pleasure, and perhaps develop an irritation or exhaustion with contacts and eyeglasses. This creates the popular period during which most people have LASIK.

Around the age of 45 - 50, a person’s eyes start to change again. Soon thereafter, many people start to need reading glasses due to a condition known as presbyopia. LASIK does not correct presbyopia, but some people with the condition decide to have KAMRA. The KAMRA™ Corneal Inlay treatment is an eye procedure that restores near vision and frees you from the constant frustrations of reading glasses. The inlay sits in the first few layers of the eye known as the cornea. Smaller and thinner than a contact lens, the KAMRA inlay is a mini-ring with an opening -- or pinhole -- in the center. The inlay uses this pinhole to focus light coming into the eye. This restores near vision while maintaining distance vision.

At age 60, the eyes start to change once more. This is when the risk of cataracts increases. Some adults get to age 70 or 80 with no cataracts and have otherwise healthy eyes. Despite being outside the common LASIK age spectrum, these people can be good candidates for laser eye surgery. It’s possible that a 70-year-old without cataracts or other eye illnesses is actually a better candidate than a 30-year-old with very dry eyes and diabetes.

Age certainly influences one’s LASIK candidacy, but it by no means draws an absolute boundary. If you are in good health, have a stable prescription and are considering LASIK, ask Rochester Eye and Laser Center to assess your candidacy.