Have you always wanted to do without glasses or contact lenses? Laser vision surgery may finally allow you to say goodbye to them! Here are some questions and answers on refractive surgery techniques that will help you better understand this procedure.
1 – What visual defects can refractive surgery correct?
Over the years, surgical technologies in ophthalmology have greatly progressed and evolved. They thus allow today to treat, except contraindications, the whole of the visual defects and even sometimes several at the same person. Whether you are farsighted, astigmatic, nearsighted or presbyopic, you may be eligible for laser eye surgery if the correction to be made is not too great. Another requirement is that you must be at least 18 years old. Namely, the growth of the eye and the stabilization of vision takes place between the ages of 18 and 25. Your ophthalmologist will be able to confirm that your sight is stabilized during the preoperative assessment.
2 – Where to have surgery and at what price?
Today in France, this type of surgery is performed both in public hospitals and in clinics or private centers whether you live in Paris or in the provinces. You don’t need to live in a big city either. Thus, near Rouen, it is thus possible to consult an eye clinic in Tourville. As far as prices are concerned, they vary according to the techniques used (LASIK, FemtoLASIK, PKR, implants), the prices of the clinic or the fees of the ophthalmologist surgeons. On average, the cost ranges from €800 to €3,000 per eye.
3 – What is the coverage of the health insurance?
In most cases, the Health Insurance considers this operation as a comfort intervention and therefore does not support it. Nevertheless, certain specific interventions linked for example to cataracts or unilateral myopia, which cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses, may be covered by health insurance. With regard to mutuals and health insurance, the reimbursement of refractive surgery interventions varies according to the contracts taken out. Following the sending of the estimate of the intervention, your mutual insurance company will indicate to you if an assumption of responsibility is possible as well as its amount.
4 – What are the different laser techniques used?
First of all, the doctor will carry out preliminary examinations to determine your eligibility for refractive surgery. There are several techniques including LASIK and PKR which are the most popular. Their use will depend on the shape and thickness of your cornea, your visual defects, your age but also your lifestyle, the sports you practice. For example, thin corneas are only operable in PKR. It is therefore the ophthalmologist surgeon who will advise you on the most appropriate techniques according to your case. Finally, note that the operation generally lasts between 15 and 20 minutes under local anesthesia of the eye.