When can refractive eye surgery be considered non-cosmetic? | Eye ...

When can refractive eye surgery be considered non-cosmetic?
Generally it is ?medically indicated? and not purely cosmetic in nature when the individual cannot receive adequate corrected (20/40 or better in ONE eye) vision with glasses OR contacts. If contacts, maybe some specially designed, or hard RGP, etc give you improved vision that your glasses can?t,.. it is still ?cosmetic?.

Now,.. even if the ?laser? eye surgery (generally anyway) is deemed 100% a necessity for medical needs.. ie: you are legally blind without it ? Insurance companies still usually won?t pay it. They have such things as Lasik and the like coded as cosmetic, and generally won?t budge unless you really make your own case for it (and it isn?t stated VERY specifically in their policy).

I am unfamiliar with ?vision insurance? ? I do know medical insurance covers alot of ?eye procedures? as the eye is an organ of your body ? so I would think ?vision insurance?, specifically, might be a bit more lenient in the rarer case of a surgery , usually cosmetic in nature, needed as medical necessity and might pay it.. or partial.

Things are changing though ? all over. I?m not saying it will be covered any time soon.. in fact if you are referring to Lasik ? the FDA, among other organizations are really starting to turn their heads with the vast surfacing of the small percentage of strongly negative outcomes. I doubt it will ever be FDA ?dissaproved? ? but it is possible some tighter regulations could be placed. Though 1-2% of cases (and that is being under-conservative) do end up horribly.. and I would guess up to 10% of cases end up much less than what the person expected. IE: Maybe end up with 20/40 in one eye, 20/60 in the other.. etc. But I digress.

Medical options to improve vision that are necessary ?

Grafts ? (Corneal replacements) *Cornea is the outer surface of your eye just in front of your Iris*

Cataract surgery (IIRC).

Vitrecomy due to complication.

Laser in the eye(s) to relieve pressure.

Corneal Dystrophy, like Keratoconus is most certainly a ?medical condition? ? and there are quite a few treatments coming out for this progressive disease ? The latest is something call corneal cross linking (CXL) which takes Riboflavin drops in the eye, with a special wave length of UV-A light.. to strengthen the cornea and essentially (so far in the follow up studies) ? Halt the progression of a generally progressive disease. With often some slight regression in the disease (minor). Yet this is FAR from covered by insurance.. even though if the studies continue to show people?s eyes holding out it would be most advantageous for insurance to pay for it because it would essentially eliminate them paying (potentially) for multiple Corneal Transplants in the future (ALOT more expensive). Just another example I?m familiar with. ? I absolutely despise insurance companies.. really do. I wish there were a ?good? way to pay for health care that didn?t involve a company interested in only the bottom line approving or denying what you can or cannot have done medically. But, such is the way it is!

I can only say that in some cases where you can find a STRONG medical causation for your vision (especially with a doctor or two confer) ? You can advocate for yourself to your insurance and it isn?t unheard of for them to pay for a procedure that otherwise never would have been approved.

Best of luck,If your vision does not improve with glasses or soft or rigid contacts then you will not likely get improvement with lasik. Reshaping the cornea in refractive surgery will only correct refractive error. If you have another pathology that is causing your visual loss it wouldn?t be advantageous.

The common medical problems that cause a decrease in vision include: cataracts, macular degeneration, keratoconus, fuch?s corneal dystrophy, glaucoma, diabetic macular edema and retinal detachment. Some of these are medical problems that have procedures available to help correct it somewhat or completely.

Cataracts are the most common cause and, like Jared (my identical avatar twin) said, if your vision had dropped a few lines or it is affecting your daily activities then insurance will cover the cost (minus your copay). I would suggest seeing an ophthalmologist for a thorough exam. If you have a medical problem the care will be filed through your medical insurance. I have never seen insurance cover LASIK for any reason.

Good Luck!Never.

Refractive eye surgery is a substitute for glasses. If glasses don?t help vision and headaches, refractive eye surgery won?t either. It also does not prevent detached retina.

There are preventative laser procedures for retinal detachments for people who have small retinal holes or peripheral retinal degenerations that increase risk of detachment. The laser is used to create small scars around the hole or degenerative area and the scars prevent detachment. This procedure uses a different laser than the refractive laser and it does not change refractive error.

There are other preventative laser procedures for eye diseases. None of the preventative laser procedures change refractive error.When stronger prescriptions no longer help vision and headaches become a near daily occurrence, what medical options are there to improve vision that would be considered necessary rather than cosmetic?
Is there such a thing as preventive eye surgery, such as to prevent a detached retina? (eyes around -6.0, prehypertension, and father had a detached retina at age 50)

Refractive Eye Surgery
A Consumer?s Complete Guide: LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, CK, Implantable Contact Lenses, and Other Surgical Eye Procedures ? Dependence on Glasses and Contact Lenses

Author Chris A. Knobbe, M.D., Ophthalmologist (Eye Physician and Surgeon) and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, has written the definitive treatise on refractive surgical procedures to redu

Refractive Eye Surgery
A Consumer?s Complete Guide: LASIK, IntraLASIK, Epi-LASIK, CK, Implantable Contact Lenses, and Other Surgical Eye Procedures ? Dependence on Glasses and Contact Lenses

List Price: $ 59.95

Price: $ 59.95

What Is Refractive Eye Surgery?

Article by Gray Rollins

Refractive eye surgery is a type of eye surgery that is used to rectify refractive errors of the eye and decrease dependency on corrective lenses such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. Successful refractive procedures can reduce myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, and astigmatism or elongated corneas. A number of different procedures exist for refractive eye surgery depending upon the type and severity of the refractive error.

There are four main types of refractive eye surgery procedures: flap and photoablation procedures; corneal incision procedures; thermal procedures; and implants. Currently, the most common refractive eye surgeries involve the use of lasers to reshape the cornea.

Flap procedures involve cutting a small flap in the cornea so that the tissue underneath can be reshaped to correct the refractive error. LASIK, short for Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis, is the most popular refractive surgery and is used to correct myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The LASIK procedure involves using a microkeratome or IntraLase to cut a flap into the stroma, moving the flap out of the way, removing excess corneal tissue with an excimer laser, then replacing and smoothing out the flap. LASEK is best suited for individuals with thin or flat corneas. The LASEK procedure uses a small trephine blade to cut into the shallow epithelium, after which the eye is bathed in a mild alcohol solution to soften the edges of the epithelium. The flap is gently moved out of the way so that an excimer laser can remove excess corneal tissue, after which the flap is replaced and smoothed out. Epi-LASIK, like LASEK, involves a shallow cut into the epithelium, but makes use of epikeratome to create a thin epithelium sheet for removal instead of the harsher blade and alcohol.

Photoablation, the second stage in flap procedures, makes use of ultraviolet radiation to remove excess corneal tissue. PRK, or photorefractive keratectomy, was the original laser eye surgery procedure. PRK involves numbing the eye with local anesthetic eye drops, and reshaping the cornea by destroying miniscule amounts of tissue from the surface of the eye. The laser used, an excimer laser, is a computer-controlled ultraviolet beam of light. It burns cool so as not to heat up and damage the surrounding eye tissue.

Corneal incision procedures such as radial keratotomy and arcuate keratotomy use miniscule incisions in the cornea to alter its surface and correct refractive errors. Radial keratotomy, or RK, uses a diamond tipped knife to make a number of spoke-shaped incisions in the cornea. The result of the incisions is that the cornea flattens out, minimizing the effects of myopia. Arcuate keratotomy, or AK, is very similar to RK. The diamond knife is used to cut incisions that are parallel to the edge of the cornea, as opposed to the spoke-shaped incisions of the RK procedure. These procedures have been much less common with the emergence of laser-assisted refractive eye surgeries.

Thermal procedures use heat to correct temporarily hyperopic refractive errors, or farsightedness. The thermal keratoplasty procedure involves putting a ring of 8 or 16 small burns on the eye immediately surrounding the pupil. The application of the heat increases the slope of the cornea, making it steeper, through thermal contractions. There are two main types of thermal keratoplasty. Laser Thermal Keratoplasty, or LTK, is a no-touch procedure that uses a holmium laser. Conductive Keratoplasty, or CK, uses a high-frequency electric probe.

The final type of refractive eye surgery involves the use of implants. Implantable contact lenses, or ICL, can be used to correct severe levels of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The implants are actually tiny contact lenses that are inserted through a small incision in the side of the cornea. Implants are seated so they sit immediately in front of the eye?s natural lens just behind the cornea. ICL works in conjunction with the eye?s natural lens to refocus light on the retina and produce a crystal clear image.

Each of these procedures has its advantages and disadvantages, and not all individuals are suitable candidates for refractive eye surgery. Individuals who are interested in learning more about surgical options should contact their ophthalmologist for more information about these procedures, as well as inquire about other new cutting-edge procedures. Since ophthalmologic surgery is constantly growing and changing with emergence of new technologies and methods, there are always new techniques in development. As new equipment is developed and methods refined that can improve the success and minimize the side effects of refractive eye surgery, new procedures will emerge to replace outdated techniques.

About the Author

Gray Rollins is a writer for MyEyeSurgery.com. To learn more refractive eye surgery and finding a lasik eye surgeon, visit us.

Refractive Eye Surgery

Laser eye surgery allows many people to enjoy life without glasses. At UW Medical Center?s Refractive Surgery Center, Dr. Tueng T. Shen and her University of Washington team offer the latest form of this surgery, called LASEK. This procedure can be done without cutting a flap in the cornea, as the older and more familiar LASIK surgery did, which means less chance for complications in the future. We profile three patients who have had or are preparing to have this procedure, including the contact lens trials that will allow them to choose the best level of correction for their own lifestyles. To see more videos from the University of Washington visit uwtv.org.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

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