Laser eye surgery
 

Hi, anybody on this board ever had laser eye surgery? ( I'll have mine done in two weeks ). How do you like it? Why? Any regret?

Oh if only I had a laser eye. That would be pretty sweet.

Good news - my friend had it years ago and loves it. He has no regrets.

Bad news-
My Mom had it and loves it, BUT her night vision is messed up. Any lights (i.e. headlights) she sees have "little diamonds around them." She says its as if she is looking through a wet windshield at lights.

You take a chance anytime you put holes in your body.

Lots of folks have had it done and love it. You don't often hear about the negative side effects in the popular press, however. Here is a good site that is on the opposite side of the fence and doesn't pull punches about possible downside of the surgery:

http://www.surgicaleyes.com/

HTH.

I had PRK surgery done about 1 year ago. It is the older of the two major surgeries (PRK and LASIK) being done today. I feel it was the best money I ever spent. No glasses, no side-effects to speak of. Well it was painful for a few days after the surgery and they can only do one eye at a time, but it has much less rate of complication than LASIK. I did TONS of research before I went under the laser, so if you have any specific questions just ask.

I had it done in October, I love it. No side effects.

I would recommend it to anyone.

Had it done about two years ago. Dad had it first and told me it was well worth the dough. I ended up going to the same doctor.

Took a couple hours all told (testing, applying anestetic to my eyes and then the actual surgery). When I got up off the table, I could see perfectly fine, but the room appeared full of smoke. The doctor and staff were great, explaining what was going on and taking time to instruct me on what to expect in the coming weeks.

I had no pain and, after a couple weeks, my eyesight was normal. My eyes seem a little more sensitive to allergies and late nights, but everything else is perfect.

Make sure you update us on how the surgery went.

I am on the Navy's waiting list for PRK (FREE LASER SURGERY!) A co-worker of mine had it done at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, he said it hurt like hell for almost a week and now he's pain free with perfect vision, as advertised. Military medicine being what it is, I imagine that a private practice probably gives a bit better follow up care to minimize that week of aftereffects. He says his night vision is fine. The Navy only does PRK, not LASIK.

I can't wait for mine. I have 20/200 vision and have worn glasses for almost 15 years. I'm tired of them.

-Mikey

My dad had LASIK and he likes it, though he has to use reading glasses for anything within an arms length. He was almost blind before so occasionally using readers isnt a bit problem until he has to look for a pair around the house.

I know two people who have had it done with no regrets whatsoever. You take your chances though as everyone is different. Let us know how it goes for you when the time comes.

As far as i know PRK is the only eye surgery the military will accept, if you have lasik i don't think they even will let you in..

Edit: this is for anyone who wants to join the military and as for my view, i think you people that had it are crazy =)

What's the difference between PRK and LASIK? Which is better?

Mikey, my vision was about the same. Before I threw my glasses in one of those donation boxes I tiered on for old times sake. Holy crap, was my eyesight bad! Gave me a head ache to look through them.

And Serpent, why is having this surgery crazy? I read alot about it before hand and talked to my eye doctor (who I've been with for 25 years) before agreeing. The risk seemed minimal. Now that I have 20/10 eysight and no need for the glasses that I wore for almost 30 years, I couldn't be happier. Not crazy at all if you ask me.

Just to me any risk is too much for my eyes, i don't want to go blind or hve my eye sight get messed up. So any risk of it is crazy to me..

I hear that as long as you don't go to one of those fly-by-night places to get it done you'll have very little to worry about. My mom got it done a few years ago and it pretty much saved her from going completelty blind - she still needs glasses but her vision's a whole lot better than what it would have been with out it. I'm planning on having it done someday... just can't afford it right now.

I understand the concern. Your eyes are usually one thing you don't want to mess with. But like I said, I talked with my eye doctor alot (his brother had his surgery from the same guy) and my Dad. Having the same surgeon that preformed the procedure for my Dad and my eye doctors brother helped alot. Seemed to minimize the risks in my mind.

PRK uses a laser to reshape the surface of the eye to correct your vision. LASIK involves slicing a small flap off the surface of the eye (not completely as they leave a small "hinge") and then using the laser to reshape the eye. The flap is then folded back into its original position for healing.

LASIK is newer and results in faster recovery than PRK. Since the flap can sometimes dislodge during subsequent eye trauma it is not acceptable for some jobs (military, for instance).

I really wanna get it done, but it the $$$ needed.. bah.. my glasses will do :)

I would love to get it done. I've had glasses since the 3rd grade, I would just about give my right arm to not have to worry about glasses/contact lenses every again.

My dad had it done, and he sees pretty good now, he wore coke bottles since he was a little kid.

One tip though, don't run into any bushes the day after you have the surgery done, it jacks up the flap that they have to cut open and makes all kinds of trouble.

I had LASIK a little over a year ago. I was seeing about 20/45 and had enhancement in January. Now I am seeing close to what I did with my glasses. They will do enhancement within a year, because the flap does not have to be recut in that time, if that gives you any idea why you would not want this if you are in the military or a professional water skier.

I am absolutely glad I did it. I had some halos at first, but that got better. I do have dry eyes, and that has not gone completely away.

The plus is that I can see when I shave. I can see at the pool....which is a big thing. I can see the clock at night. I love the results.

One thing, you should have it done at a place that uses wavefront or interwave technology. They call it different things in different places. It is not near as widely available, and it is considereably more expensive. But it does have two major advantages. It is far less likely to give you halos while driving at night, and that can be distracting. More impotantly, it is far less likely to introduce random abnormalities in your vision.

I had laser eye surgery two years ago, and I love it. I had bad nearsiteness and my mom paid for the sugery as my graduation gift. No more glasses and no more contacts, it feels great. I have the problem of halos, somewhat worse at night and after long nights at the computer, but I can't say I wouldn't recommend it, I say research it and talk to your doctor, it will be worth it. The halos I have gotten use too, hell doing drugs helps you deal with weird lights while your driving, so I don't notice it anymore. I did loose half of my night vision, I had really good night vision, but 2 weeks after I healed I noticed I couldn't see in the dark as well, but I've adapted to it.
<P>I did have a slight problem with mine, I had LASIK and while useing suckion on my right eye(to make a flat surface to make the cut) they couldn't get a grip and ended up giving me an eye hickey (I'm sure there is a medical term, but that's what it was) and had to do it a week later, the left eye went fine and in 2 weeks, I had perfect vision. My mother got it done and my aunt did too, they love it as well and had no major pain.

I have been wearing glasses since I was 5. I had some major surgery when I was a baby, go figure. I have been debating it forever and really want to do it when I turn 21, but what are some of the horror stories I hear all these ppl talk about? I have heard of ppl going blind, but what goes wrong in the surgery?

http://www.surgicaleyes.com

The site covers all the side effects.

My mother had laser eye surgery and at first everything was fine. Then her vision started to fade and for the next few months her vision fluctuated. Now her vision is normal and she says that she has no regrets and that the benefits of not having to wear glasses was worth it.

I haven't had it and don't know anyone who has. I wanted to thank the people who replied since it is something I contemplated getting should my vision worsen. I've already got below average vision and getting worse, though thankfully my vision isn't too bad yet.

Christophagust, any eye-doctor who isn't a total fraud will not do th surgery unless your prescription is stable. Most like to see the same prescription for about 2 years or more. Sorry, them just the breaks.
I understand all of you who wouldn't want to mess with your eyes, and I admire those of you who went through with it anyway. Having worn glasses and contact lenses for 15 years before the surgery it wasn't even a question once I understood all the risks. One just has to understand the mechanism of sight and focus in the cornea. Myopia results from a cornea that is too peaked, thus PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) and LASIK (Laser in situ keratomesis) attempt to remove some tissue from the cornea to make it more rounded. OU182 described how they do it quite well.
Healing time is faster in LASIK, the can do it with eyes that are much weaker, but there are much more complications. PRK is usually done 1 eye at a time with the second eye coming anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months later. There is sometimes corneal hazing which can be treated with steroid drops and dry eyes. There is also a tendency in PRK to overcorrect the eyes and fix them properly with steroid therapy later on. You won't see the full results for about 6 months. Plus it hurts like HELL for the first day or two.
My experience with the surgery has made me a believer, but I was already willing to face the risk before I got it done. I chose PRK (which is incidentally alot cheaper) because I wanted to cut down the percentages of the biggest risks.
Surgical eyes is a great site, read that and talk with your doctor. Some vision problems result from higher disorders of the eye that this surgery cannot fix, plus depending on a whole host of other factors (age, prescription, corneal abrasions, etc:) the surgery may not suit you.

Is the night vision loss permanent? Sounds like it to me. If so, I may change my mind about this surgery.

It depends on what causes the loss of night vision. More common in LASIK, can also be caused by extreme halos from corneal haze. It really depends. It's not common, but it can happen.

damn after reading a few of the stories on there, i think i'd stick with glasses!

Hmm...i'm highly thinking about it.....hell if they could just improve my vision enough to where i could get buy without wearing glasses.

For those of you who have had the operation- how bad was your vision? Mine is around 20/400.

I've had glasses for nearly 15 years. I've been considering it, but the price tag is still an issue. I've heard that the procedure is done cheaper in Canada....anybody know? I live close to Canada and definently would go if I new I could save a few bucks...Have laser, will travel!

20/200 and 20/400 plus astigmatism...

Two people in my office had it. No side effects and they love not having to wear glasses.

When they find a way to do it without the initial scalpel incision, I'll get it. But for now, no sharp objects nea rmy eye unless it's an emergency

I had Lasik done and am glad. Tired of wearing contacts and glasses for 12 yrs. Entered a website contest for one of the best doctors in the area. All the pro athletes use him as have some other eye doctors who chose to have the procedure done. THey did one eye for free I paid for the other less expensive eye. Even have a tape of my procedure in one eye. (had to move to a different laser for the other eye) It has been great. Had only pain the first day in one eye (very dialated on a sunny day) but other than that it has been great.

their website: http://www.2020eyesite.com/

Hi, again
Like I said before, I will have mines done in two weeks. I have one more question. You see, right now I don't need glasses to read or look at small objects. Now I doctor said I definitively need them for reading after the operation ( according to him, anybody over 40 will need them for reading eventually ). That kind of defeats the purpose ( not wearing glasses! ), don't you think?
However,he did mention there is one kind of surgery to get aroud that problem. It called UNIVISION. What it is is they do surgery for nearsight on your dominant eye ( the stronger of the two eyes ) and on the other eye they do surgery for farsight. He said it a little hard to get used to but you never need glasses for any circumstance. Anybody ever heard or know anyone had that done?

I have heard of this surgery (UNIVISION) but never known anyone it was done to or read about the results. I am a bit skeptical because eyes have a tendency of trying to work together to focus on one thing, and to me it would seem that would cause a big strain on both of them.
How old are you now and what surgery are you getting? There are two age related processes that affect the eye, presbyopia and macular degeneration. It's because you presbyopia that you will need reading glasses eventually. Of course I will need them too even though my sugery was successful, of course if I didn't get the surgery I would need bi-focals. If you trust your doctor talk to him some more, if you don't then get a second opinion. In all the surgery research I did, nothing was stressed more than evaluating your doc. I know you must be excited, but it's your vision at stake!

kimmytr-

I was told I might need reading glasses after my surgery. However, trading in my huge glasses for some small reading glasses seemed alright to me. Turns out I didn't need them, but still might in the future.

There's always a chance you won't need them. I think your doctor is just covering his bases.