A stable prescription; Ideally you should wait until you eyes are steady for at least 18 months.

Good health is needed to under go any medical procedure.

Your eyes also need to be healthy.

Your cornea, the clear dome, needs to be thick enough. The operation will involve shaving off part of your cornea.

Your level of shortsightedness needs to be under a -10 D of myopia.

Maximum long-sightedness is around 6 D, though this does vary a bit with surgeons.

If you have astigmatism it should be less than 5 Diopters

If you can get past these 7 hurdles then you are well on your way to being a suitable candidate for lazer eye surgery.

How does age affect the procedure?

Things get a little more complicated if you are over the age of 45. Over this age you will probably be wearing reading glasses.

There are 3 options:

Your distance vision could be corrected to give you similar vision to looking out of the top part of your bifocals or multifocals. Only problem, is that you will still need to wear reading glasses.

The second option might sound strange as it is called mono-vision. In mono-vision, the dominant eye is corrected for distance vision and the non dominant eye is corrected for near vision. Although this might sound hard to get used to, Optometrists do this with contact lenses and generally it works quite well for around 2/3rds of the population. It would be advisable to try out mono-vision with contact lenses first before you have your eyes permanently reshaped with lazer. The general rule is that mono-vision is easier to tolerate if you don't have to look intently at computers and small print. So if your lifestyle involves more talking than reading you could be an ideal candidate.

The third option is to have a lens implanted that flexes with the muscles of your eye. This is a much more invasive procedure, although it is based on standard cataract surgical technique. It is not for the faint hearted.

Do your research and check out the prospective surgeon's website to see if they do the mono vision procedure.

Overall lazer eye correction is a safe and effective option for most people. It is important to have realistic expectations. You may still need to wear reading glasses after your procedure and if you have a very high prescription you make not get a perfect outcome. The vast majority of people who have had the operation are very happy.