Lasik is the acronym for laser assisted in situ keratomileusis. "Kerato means anything relating to the cornea, and mileusis is Greek for carving or sculpting. It is called situ because surgeons work on the cornea while it is in the eye" ("First the Flap, Then the Zap" 1999). The name Lasik refers to the use of laser to reshape the cornea without invading the adjacent cell layers. Lasik is a surgical procedure that is capable of correcting eye problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.

LASIK is popular for a reason; it is quick, painless, and an effective procedure that is better than other surgeries that reshape the cornea to improve eyesight. For most people, the recovery period is at most a few days, which is one of Lasiks big advantages over a

As with all surgeries, Lasik is not a foolproof procedure and people need to know that some can end up with worse eyesight than before they had the surgery. Most patients are happy with the results, but 5% have postoperative complications. Some the risks of having Lasik eye corrective surgery are: Infection and delayed healing but the chance of the cornea becoming infected after Lasik surgery is less than 0.1% chance. Under-correction or over-correction of the eye might be affect because it's not possible to predict perfectly how the eye will respond to the laser surgery. Also Lasik may leave a circular edge around the cornea that may temporarily or permanently create visible halos around bright lights. Other complications may include blurred vision, severe dry eyes, and "floaters" which are bits of tissue that appear in front of the eyes that obstruct vision.

previous generation of operations for the same purpose. One of the disadvantages of Lasik is that it can be quite expensive. Most Health insurance companies and HMOs do not cover the cost because they generally classify LASIK surgery as an optional or cosmetic surgery. So many patients have to pay for the correction procedure from their own pockets. The average cost for correcting two eyes is around $4000 to $5000 (Eyes Wide About LASIK, 1999).

On the other side, the major benefit of Lasik patients is that they do not have to wear contacts or eyeglass

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wide LASIK, Despite Lasiks, Flap Zap, Tiger Wood, eye surgery, lasik eye, surgery patients, lasik eye surgery, surgery lasik, reshape cornea, marsh 2000, patient experiences, lasik surgery, laser reshape,
Approximate Word count = 962
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)