Want to have myopia surgery, but the doctor advises against it? Ophthalmologist tells the truth!

"My eyes don't feel any pain, so how come there's something wrong with my eyes?" Mr. Yang, who has 700-degree myopia and wants to have surgery to remove his glasses, looked confused after hearing the doctor's diagnosis.

Mr. Yang, 33 years old this year, has worn glasses for 20 years. He dreams of taking off his heavy glasses. Last weekend, Mr. Yang came to the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University. Before the myopia surgery, when Mr. Yang had a fundus examination, Zhang Qingsong, a member of the Refractive Subcommittee of the Ophthalmology Committee of the China Association of Non-public Medical Institutions and the director of the Refractive Department, found that Mr. Yang had a retinal tear and had to undergo fundus laser treatment, otherwise there was a possibility of retinal detachment and blindness.

People with high myopia like Mr. Yang usually feel that wearing glasses is not convenient or beautiful enough, and usually have a strong desire to take off their glasses. Director Zhang Qingsong reminded that if you have high myopia and want to have myopia surgery, you must do a good screening before the operation. "We often receive patients who come for myopia surgery, and during the examination, we find that they have other eye diseases, such as glaucoma, retinal tears, etc. Many people do not meet the surgical indicators and need to treat other eye diseases first."

Mr. Yang is currently receiving laser fundus treatment, and surgery will be arranged later depending on the recovery. "Many people mistakenly believe that after myopia surgery, they can see clearly and avoid these fundus problems." Director Zhang Qingsong emphasized that myopia surgery itself only changes the refractive power of the eyeball, and does not change the potential risk of fundus lesions caused by myopia. For people with high myopia of more than 600 degrees, whether they have undergone myopia surgery or not, it is very necessary to check the fundus every six months to one year.

Wearing glasses is a very troublesome thing for many myopic patients, which not only affects their appearance, but also their lives. Therefore, many people want to get rid of glasses through myopia surgery, but they have many questions. Today, these "secrets" about myopia surgery will be disclosed to you one by one.

1. Correct understanding of myopia surgery

As a medical procedure, we should have a rigorous and objective understanding of myopia surgery. We should neither demonize it nor deify it. We should actively cooperate with doctors before, during and after the operation to achieve ideal surgical results.

There are two main types of myopia surgery at present, corneal laser surgery and lens implantation surgery, each of which is suitable for different groups of people and can correct the existing myopia. If you want to have myopia surgery, you can do it if you meet the surgical conditions. However, you should also develop good eye habits after the surgery. Don't think that myopia surgery can put good vision in a "safe". Good vision can only be maintained for a long time by using your eyes scientifically.

Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital) has introduced a number of internationally synchronized equipment such as Zeiss All-Femtosecond, Eagle Vision Femtosecond FS200, Intralase, and Armass Excimer in Hubei Province, and has achieved "customized eye care" according to the patient's eye conditions and personalized needs. The refractive department has 20 myopia correction experts, including 11 chief physicians and deputy chief physicians, 5 doctors, and 13 masters, providing strong technical support and guarantee for every link before, during, and after the patient's surgery. In the past five years, the average annual number of myopia surgeries has been 15,000 eyes, and the surgical population has spread across the country.

2. Entry threshold for myopia surgery

At the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), there are about 18 preoperative examinations for myopia surgery, which takes about 2 hours. In addition to the dozen or so routine preoperative examinations, the hospital has specially introduced equipment such as Pentacam, Corvis, Sirius, and Oubao for the selection of refractive surgery methods, evaluation of corneal cross-linking surgery effects, and screening of keratoconus, etc., to achieve standardized evaluation of corneal biomechanics and ensure that surgical risks are minimized.

The preoperative examination standards of the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei Headquarters) are more stringent than the industry standards promulgated by the state, reducing surgical risks at the source and strictly controlling the entry threshold for myopia surgery.

Therefore, a considerable number of friends who want to undergo myopia surgery will be turned away at the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei Headquarters).

After preoperative examination of myopia surgery

Started to worry again

How long does myopia surgery last?

Will myopia relapse after surgery?

Are there any side effects of myopia surgery?

…

How long does myopia surgery last?

Will it relapse?

From a medical point of view, the therapeutic effect of myopia surgery is permanent. As long as you follow the doctor's advice after myopia surgery, use your eyes properly, have regular checkups, and avoid certain unreasonable eye behaviors, such as staying up late and using your eyes at close range for a long time, myopia will not recur. Therefore, everyone must take good care of their eyesight after myopia surgery.

Are there any side effects of myopia surgery?

Many ophthalmic diseases, including cataracts, glaucoma, etc., are closely related to the patient's age, genetics or eye habits, and have nothing to do with myopia surgery. Because laser myopia surgery does not enter the eyeball, it is only a correction of the cornea on the surface of the eyeball. It can neither cause other eye diseases nor solve or prevent other eye diseases. Some friends who have just undergone myopia surgery will have some discomfort, such as dry eyes, glare, etc., but most of these symptoms will slowly disappear over time. Dr. Feng Mei, a refractive specialist at the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), said: Not everyone is suitable for myopia surgery, so a strict preoperative examination must be carried out to determine whether myopia surgery can be performed. Some rumors on the Internet that people had myopia surgery 20 years ago and became blind 20 years later have no scientific basis.

How to avoid vision loss again after myopia surgery?

① Strict surgical standards. Since its establishment in August 2003, the hospital has successively become a national clinical drug trial base, a key clinical specialty of ophthalmology in Hubei Province, a standardized training base for resident physicians in Hubei Province, and an excellent demonstration base for all-femtosecond, femtosecond, ICL surgery, German AMAS thousand-frequency excimer laser, and Cool Vision Green Femtosecond. Director Zhang Qingsong won the "Expert Award for Personal ICL Surgery Over 5,000 Cases" in 2018, "China ICL Core Expert" and "TICL Personal Surgery Over 3,000 Cases" in 2019, and "ICL Personal Surgery Over 10,000 Cases Expert Award" in 2020. In 2020, he won the "China Personalized Micro-Femtosecond Academic Contribution Award", "China Personalized Micro-Femtosecond Technical Achievement Award", and won the "2020 People's Good Doctor of the Year" award for both moral integrity and skills. We have repeatedly emphasized that preoperative examination for myopia surgery is very important. For minors whose myopia is not stable, and adults whose myopia has not been stable in the past two years, the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei Headquarters) does not recommend surgery in order to prevent the possibility of myopia increase after surgery.

② Use your eyes scientifically and have regular follow-up examinations. During the recovery period of myopia surgery, myopic patients should also strictly follow the doctor's advice, reduce the use of electronic products and long-term intense eye use. In fact, whether you have surgery or not, you should develop the habit of loving and protecting your eyes. The hospital's refractive department is basically open all year round, and conducts examinations and surgeries. Some patients can have examinations and surgeries on the same day, which basically does not delay the patient's study and work time. All patients who undergo myopia surgery in the hospital can enjoy 6 free follow-ups in more than 500 Aier Eye Hospitals across the country within the first year after surgery, which greatly saves the time and cost of follow-up examinations. Avoiding the above two factors, the situation of myopia growth after myopia surgery generally does not occur. Only a very small number of people have myopia growth after myopia surgery. Zhang Qingsong, a member of the Refractive Subcommittee of the Ophthalmology Committee of the China Association of Non-public Medical Institutions and deputy chief physician of the refractive department of Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), emphasized that as long as you pay more attention to the reasonable use of your eyes after surgery and ensure good eye habits, generally speaking, you will not be myopic again.