Am I too old for Laser Eye Surgery?

One of the most common questions about getting Lasik treatment is - am I too old for Lasik?

In order to decide if you are an ideal candidate for Lasik / Laser Eye Surgery, it tends to be the conditions that exclude you that are first looked at. Most people are candidates for Lasik, and quite often, suitability tester web widgets are designed to get as much interest in the product as possible.

Conditions that may exclude you from having Laser Eye Surgery may include:

• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• Whether your lens prescription has changed in the last couple of years

It is important to understand that the eyes are always deteriorating. Lasik can improve deteriorating eyesight momentarily, but the eyes will continue to deteriorate regardless over the years.

Presbyopia is a normal age related deterioration of vision, and Lasik is not used to specifically cure it. Lens replacements are now common in the form of IOL treatment, whereby the lens is completely replaced with an artificial one. This is now proving a very popular treatment in the elderly.

Whatever you might read, Lasik is open to most, clinics vary in their criteria for who is suitable. As we always recommend on this blog. Shop around, never commit to one Laser Eye Clinic, just because it is in your neighbourhood, or your best friend went there - see what is out there.

If you don't believe it is for everyone, William Shatner had the treatment done recently by Robert Maloney MD at the Maloney Vision Institute - at the bright age of 80!