Many patients travel to Korea seeking laser eye surgery but want to ensure they are eligible candidates before making the trip.

While we can only determine your eligibility after comprehensive testing at our clinic, which includes more than 20 different tests, knowing your prescription in advance might be helpful.

The main factors that determine eligibility are:

• Eye Power (Manual Refraction)

• Corneal Shape and Thickness (Pachymetry and Pentacam Test)

• Retinal Imaging (OPTOS)

Specific Guidelines for Eligibility:

• High Prescription and Low Corneal Thickness: If your prescription is high (over -6.00 D of myopia) and you have low corneal thickness, the doctor might recommend LASEK or ICL surgery.

• Extremely High Refractive Power: If your myopia and astigmatism total close to -10.00 D, you are automatically not eligible for laser eye surgery. Reshaping a large amount of cornea can cause side effects such as glare, halos, and long-term keratoconus. A safe alternative would be an ICL (implantable collamer lens) implant. This procedure does not involve reshaping the cornea and does not cause keratoconus, making it suitable for patients with high prescriptions and thin corneas.

• Moderate Myopia and High Astigmatism: If you have moderate myopia and a high degree of astigmatism (over -2.00 D), SMILE PRO would be the best option.

• Thin Corneas: If your corneal thickness is lower than 480-490 µm, only ICL surgery is recommended, regardless of your prescription.

• Low to Moderate Myopia: If you have low to moderate myopia (-0.50 to -4.50 D), you will most likely qualify for any surgery unless your corneal thickness is below the average range (500-550 µm).

• Astigmatism Only: If you have minimal myopia but astigmatism, LASIK or SMILE PRO would be suitable for correcting astigmatism.

• High Hyperopia or Astigmatism: If you have a very high level of farsightedness or very high astigmatism (over 4.00 D), vision correction surgery might not be recommended.

• Patients with Autoimmune Diseases: Please consult with your doctor first before getting laser eye surgery.

• Breastfeeding and Pregnancy: Breastfeeding and pregnant patients are not eligible candidates for laser eye surgery.

• Unstable Prescription: There should be no major changes in your vision for 6 months in order to qualify for laser eye surgery.

• Retinal Detachment, Lattice Degeneration: Retinal treatment might be recommended before the laser eye surgery.

• Presbyopia: Presbyopia can not be corrected with laser eye surgery and ICL. These procedures are only recommended for patients under 45. For patients with presbyopia and cataracts, IOL surgery would be the best option to correct vision.

Please consult with our clinic to undergo the necessary tests and receive personalized advice on the most suitable vision correction procedure for you.'

Contact us for more information:

Tel: 010-3435-5770 (KakaoTalk, WhatsApp available)

Email: info@bgneyeclinic.com

Website: bgneyeclinic.com

Address: Lotte World Tower 11th Floor, 300 Olympic Road Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea (Jamsil Station, Exit 2)

05551, 서울시 송파구 올림픽로 300