Choosing a good eye surgeon can be tough, especially when you need laser eye surgery. Protecting your vision is important and choosing a bad eye doctor can result in permanent scarring of the eye or worse. There are two important factors that you should consider when it comes to choosing a good eye surgeon.

Are you in desperate need of an eye examination? Have you been wearing the same week long disposable contacts for much longer than any ophthalmologist would find appropriate by now? Did that very first pair of glasses from way back in your youth finally repell the superglue you've once again forced upon it? If this sounds familiar, it is pretty likely that you know you need an eye exam, and/or new contacts or glasses. And don't feel ashamed, for more people find themselves in this type of situation than you might imagine.

Squinting or holding a newspaper at just the right distance to see the words are some of the behaviors exhibited by people with vision problems. That is why when Lasik surgery came along people flocked to their eye doctors hoping to get the procedure. The FDA received 140 complaints from people who underwent Lasik surgery. This prompted the FDA to review the issues and a year later the FDA panel ruled that the agency should require clearer warnings about the risks associated with Lasik surgery.

There is now an alternative to traditional LASIK eye surgery called IntraLase LASIK. IntraLase LASIK was developed within the last few years in order to give patients clearer and more precise vision over traditional LASIK. The surgery is performed in an eye doctor's office just like traditional LASIK. However, there are a few key differences you should be aware of when deciding which type of LASIK surgery is best for you.

After years of careful consideration, I had LASIK eye surgery in the spring of 2008. I did have a somewhat scary complication, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I keep trying to talk my husband into doing it, and I tell people it's the best money I've ever spent. I don't have 20/20 vision, but it's not too far off, and I love not being dependent on glasses and contacts. It's taken me a while, though, to not reach for my glasses when I first wake up!