Aa
Eye Surgery
Hi! I'm 16 years old. I got minus 11 power in my both eyes. Can I undergo a laser surgery to reduce power before 21 years?? If not, then is there any alternative way?
The question was the specifics of the requirement (which might exist for some particular engineering niches in the US also, I just hadn't heard of it).. The issue is whether they allow laser surgery at all, and whether the requirement is definitely that acuity without correction. Requirements for various things change over time, its best to check the actual official document listing the requirement, if nothing else to confirm the details are the same as when your brother became an engineer.
In your original post you said "before 21 years", it sounded like you were talking about getting the surgery now and wasn't sure if they'd operate on someone that young since usually they wait until you are an adult, but it sounds like you are just concerned about making sure you can have it before you get the job, sorry for any confusion. I don't know if there is a legal age cutoff in your country, or if it is up to the doctor, hopefully someone else can chime in, or I suspect the office of an eye surgeon there could likely tell you if you email/call them. It may be that they would also know whether it is possible to have laser surgery to become an engineer, though I'd confirm what they are telling you by seeing the actual document listing official requirements since their specialty is eye surgery, not engineering.
In your original post you said "before 21 years", it sounded like you were talking about getting the surgery now and wasn't sure if they'd operate on someone that young since usually they wait until you are an adult, but it sounds like you are just concerned about making sure you can have it before you get the job, sorry for any confusion. I don't know if there is a legal age cutoff in your country, or if it is up to the doctor, hopefully someone else can chime in, or I suspect the office of an eye surgeon there could likely tell you if you email/call them. It may be that they would also know whether it is possible to have laser surgery to become an engineer, though I'd confirm what they are telling you by seeing the actual document listing official requirements since their specialty is eye surgery, not engineering.
Well, I've already mentioned "before 22 years"
And as my elder brother is already an engineer, I came to know about the medical criteria of companies. I don't know 'bout US. But it's true in India.
And as my elder brother is already an engineer, I came to know about the medical criteria of companies. I don't know 'bout US. But it's true in India.
re: "to get a job as an engineeer"
Does the same requirement exist merely to go to school for it? Or could you merely plan on getting the surgery after you are an adult, before you get a job?
It seems like most jobs with a visual acuity requirement tend to allow that to be met when wearing correction (contacts or glasses). I have heard that the rare ones that require good uncorrected visual acuity sometimes allow the person to have undergone laser surgery.. but sometimes they don't, so I'd suggest checking on that. I hadn't heard of engineers in general (in the US at least) being required to meet some visual acuity standard, what field of engineering is this, do you have link to whatever the official requirement is that may outline whether surgery is allowable? (whether its a law, regulation, or a standard a professional society sets).
Does the same requirement exist merely to go to school for it? Or could you merely plan on getting the surgery after you are an adult, before you get a job?
It seems like most jobs with a visual acuity requirement tend to allow that to be met when wearing correction (contacts or glasses). I have heard that the rare ones that require good uncorrected visual acuity sometimes allow the person to have undergone laser surgery.. but sometimes they don't, so I'd suggest checking on that. I hadn't heard of engineers in general (in the US at least) being required to meet some visual acuity standard, what field of engineering is this, do you have link to whatever the official requirement is that may outline whether surgery is allowable? (whether its a law, regulation, or a standard a professional society sets).
Actually, I'm a high school junior. I need to do this surgery because currently I'm preparing for engineering course. If i join, I must have my nearsightedness reduced to get a job as an engineer. Contact lens isn't gonna help me in this case. So if it's not possible to undergo this surgery, I won't prepare for those exams anymore. My powers are stable for almost 1 year. So please suggest if it's okay to go through this surgery in that age or not. Thank You!
Hi Stan, thanks for posting. I can understand why you want to have surgery for your nearsightedness.
Generally, doctors typically don't do vision correction surgery on teens since vision can change a great deal in the teens and early 20s. Typically surgery is delayed until someone's vision has been stable for some period of time, such as 2-3 years or more.
Many laser vision correction places offer a free consultation, so you could go visit one and discuss your specific case, how long your vision has been stable at -11 diopters, and similar aspects of your individual situation.
There is another issue many people with strong nearsightedness face, and that's the problem of the limits of the surgery. The way surgery for nearsightedness 'works' is that a portion of the middle of the cornea is removed, either by a fine scalpel or by a laser (such as in LASIK). The tissue removed is usually under a 'flap' which reduces discomfort after surgery.
The surgical goal is making the curve of the cornea 'flatter' which eliminates or reduces the nearsightedness for the patient. However, because the human cornea is only so thick, there's only so much tissue that can be removed. This means there is a limit to the degree of nearsightedness which can be corrected with surgery.
The broad guideline for LASIK started at something like -8D, then some places began operating on people up to -10D, a few do it up to -12D. It also depends on your individual corneas. Some patients have thicker corneas than other people. That's why a one-on-one consultation will help the doctor determine whether you are a candidate for the procedure, and if so at what age or under what conditions they'd recommend it.
In terms of alternatives to surgery, there are some other options including implantable contact lenses, or a form of cataract surgery where they replace the natural lens inside your eye with one that's calibrated to fix your nearsightedness. That last option has other issues though such as the loss of vision close-up if the new lens is calibrated to give you good distance vision.
And all of the surgical options have risks. The other issue is the need to wait til your prescription stops changing. You don't want surgery to 'fix' your nearsightedness only to have your vision continue to change and the lenses that were implanted to no longer work well.
Nearsightedness is most often caused by your eyeball being longer than average. Having a procedure on the cornea doesn't change the amount by which your eyes might continue to get longer, so it doesn't prevent your prescription from changing after surgery. Repeat eye surgeries are not recommended. That's why waiting to have surgical vision correction, in whatever form is best for you, would be best once your vision has stabilized.
I hope this information is helpful to you. The great news is that there are lots of contact lens options to choose from. I hope one of them will work for you. Good luck!
Generally, doctors typically don't do vision correction surgery on teens since vision can change a great deal in the teens and early 20s. Typically surgery is delayed until someone's vision has been stable for some period of time, such as 2-3 years or more.
Many laser vision correction places offer a free consultation, so you could go visit one and discuss your specific case, how long your vision has been stable at -11 diopters, and similar aspects of your individual situation.
There is another issue many people with strong nearsightedness face, and that's the problem of the limits of the surgery. The way surgery for nearsightedness 'works' is that a portion of the middle of the cornea is removed, either by a fine scalpel or by a laser (such as in LASIK). The tissue removed is usually under a 'flap' which reduces discomfort after surgery.
The surgical goal is making the curve of the cornea 'flatter' which eliminates or reduces the nearsightedness for the patient. However, because the human cornea is only so thick, there's only so much tissue that can be removed. This means there is a limit to the degree of nearsightedness which can be corrected with surgery.
The broad guideline for LASIK started at something like -8D, then some places began operating on people up to -10D, a few do it up to -12D. It also depends on your individual corneas. Some patients have thicker corneas than other people. That's why a one-on-one consultation will help the doctor determine whether you are a candidate for the procedure, and if so at what age or under what conditions they'd recommend it.
In terms of alternatives to surgery, there are some other options including implantable contact lenses, or a form of cataract surgery where they replace the natural lens inside your eye with one that's calibrated to fix your nearsightedness. That last option has other issues though such as the loss of vision close-up if the new lens is calibrated to give you good distance vision.
And all of the surgical options have risks. The other issue is the need to wait til your prescription stops changing. You don't want surgery to 'fix' your nearsightedness only to have your vision continue to change and the lenses that were implanted to no longer work well.
Nearsightedness is most often caused by your eyeball being longer than average. Having a procedure on the cornea doesn't change the amount by which your eyes might continue to get longer, so it doesn't prevent your prescription from changing after surgery. Repeat eye surgeries are not recommended. That's why waiting to have surgical vision correction, in whatever form is best for you, would be best once your vision has stabilized.
I hope this information is helpful to you. The great news is that there are lots of contact lens options to choose from. I hope one of them will work for you. Good luck!
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