Dr. Raja did my cataract surgery before Christmas last year. This was the best present I ever gave myself. 40 years of driving a car with required corrective lenses went right out the window. I passed the eye exam in February when I had to renew my Drivers License. Dr. Raja explained the whole procedure in advance. I was very comfortable during and after having it done. When I told my friends and family about the surgery they all assumed I had Laser surgery. When I explained that the doctor went into my eyes and removed the cataract and the lens I was born with they were stunned. The new lens in each eye has me seeing better than ever. Thanks Dr. Raja.
The major "ingredient" of Latisse is latanoprost. This is a pro-inflammatory medication. Sjogrens is essentially an autoimmune condition and so it could worsen your dry eyes if the medication gets in your eyes. If you apply it strictly to your upper lashes you should be ok. I would wait on trying it until your Sjogrens is well controlled first.
I like to wait until patients are at least 21 and I make sure that their prescriptions are stable, so they can enjoy their results longer! It is difficult to pick an ideal age, but anywhere from the mid-20s to 40s is usually reasonable. I was 25 when I had mine done!
There is no set maximum age for refractive surgery--it just depends on the patient and the situation. If cataracts are present, it is usually better to have those removed first. In order to fine-tune the vision afterwards, refractive surgery is a great option! Dry eyes may become more of a problem postoperatively, but that is usually transient.
LASIK or PRK are both good options for treating presbyopia, under the right circumstances, and as long as the patient realizes that it is not a long-term cure. When using "monovision", the dominant eye is set for distance and the nondominant eye is set for near. It is not tolerated by everyone, and I usually recommend a contact lens trial preoperatively to ensure that the patient will be happy after the surgery. Patients also need to realize that while this may treat them for the present and for the next few years, they may become more presbyopic over time. Lastly, cataracts should be ruled out, since it may be more prudent to have a refractive lens exchange. This entails removal of a lens that is not quite visually significant, but might cause problems in the future. A premium IOL may be placed at the time of surgery to help see at near and distance, or the IOLs can be set for monovision.
You likely have a small subconjunctival hemorrhage. When the vaccuum is applied before the microkeratome cuts the flap, it can break a blood vessel and essentially cause a "bruise" on the white part of the eye. Depending on the size, it goes away in days to weeks. Afterwards, you should be no worse for the wear and your outcome should NOT be affected by this.
