There’s only one way to find out if you’re a suitable candidate for LASIK corrective eye surgery:  visit a LASIK eye surgeon for a comprehensive evaluation! During this evaluation, many tests will be performed by Dr. Mandel to determine your candidacy for LASIK.  The following is a list of those tests: 1. Visual Acuity:  With this test, we measure how well you can see on the eye chart, both without glasses and with them. 2. Glasses Prescription:  We measure the prescription in your current …
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What is Hyperopia? Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, is a condition of the eye which primarily causes near objects to appear blurry. However, farsightedness isn’t as straightforward as nearsightedness, as it can also cause distant objects to appear blurry, if it’s severe enough. In order to understand hyperopia, it’s helpful to know a little bit about the anatomy of the eye and the visual system. When you look at an object, light rays from that object enter your eye through …
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There’s a lot of talk these days about the importance of corneal thickness when considering LASIK eye surgery, but what does it really mean and how important is it in determining candidacy for LASIK?  Although it’s not the only factor used to determine LASIK candidacy, corneal thickness is definitely an important one. Why is corneal thickness important? LASIK is a corneal procedure.  During LASIK  laser vision correction, once the flap is created and gently peeled back, microscopic amounts of corneal …
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What is Myopia? Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a condition of the eye which causes distant objects to appear blurry.  The term nearsightedness is a bit counterintuitive as it means that you CAN see near objects clearly, but distant objects are blurry.  In order to understand myopia, it’s helpful to know a little bit about the anatomy of the eye and the visual system.  When you look at an object, light rays from that object enter your eye through …
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It may surprise you to know that LASIK eye surgery may be safer than contact lenses for some patients. As a long time corneal specialist, Dr. Mandel has seen his share of complications referred to his practice. So, in addition to his LASIK laser vision correction patients, Dr. Mandel has seen many patients over the years who suffer from side effects and complications of contact lens wear. Many patients don’t realize the responsibility that comes with wearing contact lenses. Sometimes …
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Eye infections, particularly those that are contagious, can spread very quickly.  Many of you are probably familiar with this scenario:  your child comes home from preschool with a red, infected eye (“pink eye”) that they inherited from a classmate.   Ever wonder why it spreads so quickly in that environment?  In short, it’s because kids will be kids and they’re taught to share.  This means they share crayons and  share or trade lunch items, just to name a few.  Any of …
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The three key factors to consider when researching LASIK surgery are the skill of your surgeon, the pre-screening technology utilized and the technology used during the actual LASIK surgery. • The Skill of Your Surgeon:  First and foremost, LASIK is a surgeon-dependent corneal procedure.  Although a portion of LASIK surgery is computerized, manual manipulation of the cornea is still necessary.  The corneal flaps created in LASIK are thinner than a human hair.  Surgeons who are cornea-fellowship trained are best equipped to …
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November is Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month, so this blog post is geared toward diabetes education.  Before you discard this because you’re not diabetic, read on!  A staggering number of people are unaware that they are diabetic – 8.1 million Americans, to be exact. [i]   This is why routine, annual physicals (including blood work) are so important.  In addition, more than 29 million Americans have diabetes and 86 million Americans aged 20 years or older are pre-diabetic. [ii]  These are sobering …
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If you’re thinking about LASIK and are lucky enough to have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you’ll need to contribute to the account soon in order to use those tax-free dollars in 2016. With the ever-changing contribution amounts and rules on FSA accounts, it’s time to revisit this topic. What is an FSA? An FSA allows an employee to set aside tax-free dollars that can be used to pay for some out of pocket healthcare costs.  LASIK is one of the …
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September is Healthy Aging Month and knowledge is power!  With that in mind, the focus of this blog is to educate patients about those eye conditions that often come with age.  It’s important to note that although these conditions affect older patients, that doesn’t mean that they can’t also affect younger patients. Some are even congenital, which means they are present from birth. Presbyopia It’s true that some patients can put off the need for reading glasses longer than others.  …
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