LASIK Vision Correction
Ophthalmologist & LASIK Surgeon Serving Chicago, Lombard & Naperville Areas Of Illinois
Have you grown tired of wearing glasses or contact lenses every day? Would you like to be able to see clearly from the moment you wake up instead of fumbling around the night table for your glasses? LASIK can help you restore clear vision and eliminate the hassles associated with glasses and contact lenses once and for all.
LASIK uses a laser to reshape your eye’s cornea in order to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Each of these common vision problems occurs because your eye is too long or short, which prevents the cornea from effectively focusing light onto the retina. LASIK allows your eye to properly focus light on the retina, and this will ultimately produce the improvement in vision that you experience.
Due to the many benefits associated with LASIK, more than 600,000 Americans undergo the procedure each year. In fact, LASIK has a satisfaction rate of over 96%. Dr. Richard Foulkes has performed thousands of LASIK surgeries over the last 20 years, and he can help you determine whether the procedure is right for you during a comprehensive eye evaluation.
Please call 630-724-1400 today to schedule your free LASIK consultation. We serve patients in Chicago, Lombard and the surrounding areas of Illinois.
- Benefits of LASIK
- Your Free LASIK Consultation
- Am I a LASIK Candidate?
- Your Custom LASIK Procedure
- Bladeless LASIK
- Important Considerations for Your LASIK Procedure
- Recovery after LASIK
- Discontinuing Contact Lens Use Prior to LASIK
- Contact Our Chicago LASIK Surgeon
Benefits of LASIK
The most important benefit you’ll experience is the restoration of clear vision. Over 95% of LASIK patients no longer need glasses or contact lenses after their procedure. In addition, you’ll experience an improvement in your peripheral vision after LASIK.
This improvement in your vision will also result in a variety of lifestyle benefits, including:
- The ability to see clearly from the moment you wake up in the morning
- Improved performance in your favorite athletic activities while eliminating the need for corrective eyewear
- A lighter travel bag that doesn’t contain bulky contact lens solutions
- Elimination of the need to switch from sunglasses to eyeglasses every time you go indoors
- Elimination of the ongoing expenses associated with contact lenses and eyeglasses
- Reduction in allergies
- Ability to pursue careers that require clear vision without the need for corrective lenses
We often hear from our past LASIK patients that their newfound sight has enabled them to more fully participate in their careers, be more engaged with their families, and experience milestones such as a wedding or the birth of a child in a more visceral and impactful way.
Your Free LASIK Consultation
Your LASIK consultation is an opportunity for Dr. Foulkes to provide you with as much information as possible regarding your vision correction options. This is also when we can begin to address any questions or concerns you may have associated with preparing for LASIK, how the procedure is performed, past patient outcomes, and your specific recovery. Most importantly, Dr. Foulkes will evaluate your eyes to determine whether LASIK is the right solution or if you may be a better candidate for an alternative vision correction procedure.
Dr. Foulkes will perform the following pre-operative evaluations during your LASIK consultation:
- Measurement of corneal thickness
- Complete review of overall eye health
- Measurement of prescription for refractive errors
- Custom LASIK measurement for higher order aberrations
- Dry eye test
- Dilation of the eye to view the retina
- Glasses and contact lens history review
- Measurement of pupil size
Based on the results of these tests, Dr. Foulkes will explain your options in detail and recommend the right treatment course to achieve the best possible vision.
Am I a LASIK Candidate?
In order to be considered a suitable candidate for LASIK, you must meet the following criteria:
- Age 18 or older
- Stable vision prescription for at least 2-3 years
- Healthy eyes that have been free of injuries or infections for at least 1 year
- No corneal scarring
- Have corneas that are thick enough to accommodate the creation of a corneal flap
- Do not have any autoimmune diseases
If you experience dry eyes, you should discuss this with Dr. Foulkes during your initial LASIK evaluation. While dry eyes won’t necessarily prevent you from undergoing the procedure, Dr. Foulkes may want to treat the condition before moving forward with LASIK in order to reduce the risk of complications.
There are also several lifestyle factors which should be factored into the timing of your LASIK procedure:
- Pregnancy – Hormone changes during pregnancy and nursing can impact your vision. As a result, Dr. Foulkes will typically recommend that you wait until you are done with this process to undergo LASIK.
- Contact sports – If you sustain a blow to the eye region following your procedure, it may increase your risk of complications. Therefore, it’s important that you wait to resume contact sports until your eyes have fully healed.
If you don’t meet the criteria for LASIK, Dr. Foulkes may recommend an alternative procedure such as:
Your Custom LASIK Procedure
Like fingerprints, no two sets of eyes are the same. In order to ensure the best possible results, Dr. Foulkes customizes every LASIK procedure based on the unique shape of your eyes and the vision problems you experience. We utilize the latest and most advanced LASIK technology, allowing Dr. Foulkes to deliver the customized treatment you need.
Custom LASIK procedures are a step up from traditional laser vision correction surgery because they enable Dr. Foulkes to correct complex vision problems including glare, halos and high-order aberrations. These issues were largely untreatable using traditional LASIK.
Like the name implies, custom LASIK surgery provides the ability for you to receive a personalized procedure that’s completely tailored to your eyes. The result is the best possible vision correction. The probability of post-surgical side effects also is significantly diminished because of the precise, high-level detail provided by the 3D wavefront map of your eye.
Quite simply, this procedure is designed to pinpoint the distinct, individual errors in your vision and efficiently, effectively correct those errors.
Bladeless LASIK
There are two steps to the LASIK procedure:
- Creation of the corneal flap
- Correction of the underlying corneal tissue using an excimer laser
Traditionally, the corneal flap was created using a microkeratome blade. The use of a blade can result in the following complications with the corneal flap:
- Uneven flap edges which can cause an irregular corneal surface
- Incomplete flaps, called buttonhole flaps, which may result in small scars along the surface of your cornea
These issues can be avoided by using a laser to create the corneal flap. Dr. Foulkes uses Zeimer’s FEMTO Z6 LDV Surgical Laser, a device that sets the standard in speed and accuracy for today’s custom bladeless LASIK procedures. The use of this laser allows Dr. Foulkes to complete a 3D corneal correction and provides him with power to customize each corneal flap to accommodate your unique visual needs.
The Z6 laser technology is superior to other femtosecond lasers in a variety of ways, including:
- Short pulse width
- Large corneal flaps
- Uniform, reproducible flap thickness
- Capable of thin flaps (SBK)
- Full computer-controlled suction
- Truly safe ultra-thin corneal resections
- Lowest pulse energy (nJ)
- Highest pulse repetition rate (MHz)
Important Considerations for Your LASIK Procedure
There are several important factors to consider when planning your LASIK procedure. Two of the most important are:
- Pupil size
- Correction zone
Pupil Size
This is a very important consideration in LASIK eye surgery. How much the pupils will dilate at night determines what size the zone of correction has to be on the cornea. If the pupil will naturally dilate beyond the zone of correction, the presence of halos and significant glare can occur.
The Zyoptix II scanner will take a picture of your pupil in low light to get an accurate measurement of your pupil size. This device shows your nighttime disturbances, or aberrations, in the lowest light possible. Based on this measurement, we will adjust your treatment to the largest correction zone possible. If there are significant aberrations, a more customized treatment may be necessary.
Correction Zone
An effective treatment zone size is important to give the best quality vision after LASIK. Many lasers under-correct as they move out to the edge of the treatment. Even though the laser may claim to have a large treatment zone, the observed area of treatment can be very small. This is not true of the Planoscan software and the Zyoptix software of the Technolas laser, which is why we use this technology with our LASIK procedures.
By having a larger effective zone of correction and blending the two curves together with full power to the optical edge of your pupil, the possibility of halos and glare are greatly diminished and night vision may actually improve. The Zyoptix software can greatly help patients that have already had LASIK and currently experience night vision disturbances. We can likely eliminate or reduce the effect by providing a re-treatment that may only treat out at the rim of the pupil.
Recovery after LASIK
After the procedure, you’ll be asked to rest for a while. We also require that you have someone to take you home as you’ll be unable to drive immediately following LASIK. You’ll wear protective sunglasses in the hours immediately following your procedure, and you should avoid rubbing your eyes. Within a couple of days, you’ll be able to return to your normal routine.
Discontinuing Contact Lens Use Prior to LASIK
Contact lenses can “mold” the corneal surface, which changes the corneal curvature and may lead to a change in your refraction (prescription). In order to properly calculate the treatment to correct your refractive error, you will have to stop wearing contact lenses at some stage prior to your appointments. In time, the cornea will return to its natural shape and size. We are dedicated to providing you with the most accurate treatment and this can only be achieved if the corneal surface is stable and back to its natural shape.
For the vast majority of patients, the recommended length of time for contact removal should suffice. However, the individual rate of corneal adjusting may vary. If your cornea is still adjusting at either the pre-operative or surgery appointment, you will be required to reschedule your appointment for a later date. This will allow the cornea to return to its natural shape and refraction to stabilize, providing you with an opportunity to attain the best possible outcome.
Medical evidence suggests that the likelihood of an enhancement, or secondary procedure, is reduced the longer a patient has their contact lenses out.
Removal of Contacts Prior to Pre-Operative Evaluation/Surgical Appointments:
| Type of Lenses Worn | Days without Lenses Worn |
| Soft Contact Lenses | 5 Days |
| Extended Soft Lenses (Sleeping In) | 2 Weeks |
| Toric Lenses | 3 Weeks |
| Gas Permeable Lenses | 4 Weeks minimum |
Contact Our Chicago LASIK Surgeon
Please contact Foulkes Vision using the form on this page or call 630-724-1400 today to schedule your free LASIK consultation. We serve patients in Chicago, Lombard and the surrounding areas of Illinois.