Laser Eye Surgery Anyone?

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LorenzoN said:
i have been thinking about these myself but it seems not permanent and anyting that has surgery in the word scared me ....... I never had contacts so i might start that instead .
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Lorenzo I would agree that you should try contacts first. I wore contacts for years and they did not start bothering me till recently. For some people over a period of time their eyes begin to develop a resistance to contact lenses and they are no longer comfortable, but for a lot of people they are perfectly content wearing contacts or glasses to address their vision.
 
AngelEyez said:
Lorenzo I would agree that you should try contacts first. I wore contacts for years and they did not start bothering me till recently. For some people over a period of time their eyes begin to develop a resistance to contact lenses and they are no longer comfortable, but for a lot of people they are perfectly content wearing contacts or glasses to address their vision.
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Same problem occuring to me.

My eyes were as wet as a schoolgirl when i first starting wearing them, and over the years they got drier and drier until wearing contacts for a full day automatically meant burning eyes.
Had to revert back to glasses that are (thankfully) covered under my benefits at work :D

Contacts are awesome though and can come down to the same price as getting new designer glasses every 2 years. I miss my days being able to wear contacts all the time but i guess its part of 'getting old'
 
^^ combine the gradually increasing discomfort of lenses with a high enough prescription that wearing glasses completely fails to address your periphery vision and you've got a desire to search for other solutions i.e. laser vision correction.

Lenses were great while they were comfortable because they eliminated the periphery vision issues that I had with the glasses.
 
I had it done in 2004 and by Dr Cohen at Lasik MD. The instrument used to cut the cornea malfunctioned and I had to wait six months for a re-attempt. After the re-attempt my vision was better than 20/20. It is still 20/20. I am happy I got it done and I would not hesitate to do it again.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
I had it done in 2004 and by Dr Cohen at Lasik MD. The instrument used to cut the cornea malfunctioned and I had to wait six months for a re-attempt. After the re-attempt my vision was better than 20/20. It is still 20/20. I am happy I got it done and I would not hesitate to do it again.
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This is quite an incredible story. Kudos to you for not being skeptical about going through with it a second time after an instrument malfunction on your eye! Wow.
 
johnp said:
I hope people know that the surgery doesn't improve vision vs. ordinary prescription eyeglasses.
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True, but it can improve vision vs contacts. I always rode with contacts and sunglasses (liked being able to take off the shade and don't like carrying a second visor). For whatever reason, contacts to correct my astigmatism were not available (don't remember the reason, I was just told that by multiple doctors). So when I was riding, things were always a little off. Even now after regression, they are better than with contacts before the surgery.

It is a very personal decision and I encourage people to read all they can and talk to as many people as possible. I read 3" of medical studies, went through all the major players (in Toronto) marketing material and visited a few clinics before I decided to go ahead.

The chance of loss of vision is vanishingly small. Some people do go through the procedure and get worse however and then cannot be corrected (even back to where they were). As of 4 years ago, they were still trying to figure out what went wrong. That being said, anyone I have personally talked to that had laser vision correction (probably 15 people) has been corrected to better than -1, many better than 20/20 and none regret doing it.
 
johnp said:
I hope people know that the surgery doesn't improve vision vs. ordinary prescription eyeglasses.

It's an attempt to correct vision by altering the curvature of your eye instead of correcting via eyeglasses. Correcting via eyeglasses is typically a more accurate correction and often after laser surgery people still need glasses, just weaker ones.
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My dad was legally blind and couldn't pass the vision test to get his licence anymore with glasses.

After surgery he uses dollar store reading glasses when reading the paper.
 
AngelEyez said:
Lorenzo I would agree that you should try contacts first. I wore contacts for years and they did not start bothering me till recently. For some people over a period of time their eyes begin to develop a resistance to contact lenses and they are no longer comfortable, but for a lot of people they are perfectly content wearing contacts or glasses to address their vision.
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This happened to me too. Im thinking abt getting it done as well. It seems thAt you recovered well. Congrats!!!
 
RockerGuy said:
Wouldn't the Halos be affecting your night vision?

For me, its not worth it
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The halo around the lights was limited to close proximity around the street light (or similar light source) in darker areas. Imagine lights on the sides of urban highways etc. best comparison would be looking at a street light in the fog - similar light halo. Didn't effect my ability to see details at night at all. In fact, 3 days after the surgery, I was on a date, and we went for a stroll through a large park, and took a few side trails. I could see better than my date.
 
I know a couple people at my work that had it done. It's a risk for us - we require a medical thats renewed every year. They have no complaints and are very happy. I plan to get it done once my eyes stabilize in a couple years. The technology has come along way, and I trust it. However, it's not something I'd look for the best price on. I only get one set of eyes - they're getting the best treatment around.
 
just curious said:
I know a couple people at my work that had it done. It's a risk for us - we require a medical thats renewed every year. They have no complaints and are very happy. I plan to get it done once my eyes stabilize in a couple years. The technology has come along way, and I trust it. However, it's not something I'd look for the best price on. I only get one set of eyes - they're getting the best treatment around.
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+1 - I sure wouldn't trust it to the 'best deal of the week' type of place...especially like some have mentioned hearing of clinics closing a few months after doing surgeries. Personally I am tempted to go ahead with it but the cost and the fear of something going sideways during this scares me. I know people who've had it done and are very happy with the results but I guess once I get over that fear I'd move forward. Glasses don't bother me (although a little bit when riding and the wind presses the helmet/glasses into my face) and contacts I use when doing sports (although not a fan as they dry my eyes very quickly)
 
^^ Yup I agree, if there is anything you should definitely splurge on and spend top dollar it's your eyes! I personally wouldn't consider places pitching the "best price" as their only advantage and carefully scrutinize the "cheaper option" procedures. Generally I found there are two options:

The traditional procedure uses a microkerotome blade to create "the flap" which is then lifted with a suction that is part of the aparatus before your eye is moved to the "correction" laser.

The second is a bladeless procedure which uses a laser to create the flap. Both processes create a slightly different type of flap.

There are pros and cons to both procedures though it seems that the emerging consensus in the medical community is that the bladeless option offers less risks, less side effects and a shorter recovery period.

The third option for people with very thin cornea's is referred to as PRK whereby instead of a flap a very thin layer of the surface of your cornea is scratched off before the correction laser is used - this one involves longer recover as there is no flap that is then put back on your eye - rather the removed surface must regenerate the surface tissue on it's own. This procedure also involves an element of pain.

Ultimately you have to decide which one is right for you with the recommendation of your trusted opthamologist or corneal specialist.

The other thing I find is also something to consider is the qualifications of the surgeon. Some places it's a laser trained opthamologist and other places it's a corneal specialist - usually places that offer procedure's being performed by a corneal specialist are more expensive as these are doctors that have done a further specialization. Essentially if the surgery is done by an opthamologist and there are some concerns they would have to refer you to a corneal specialist. If it's done by a specialist then they are qualified to address any complications that might arise.

Another major consideration is how many procedures the surgeon you are considering has done - As I understand it, they're not considered to be "qualified" unless they've done over 200 procedures. There is a direct correlation between number of surgeries and the complications that arise - so they really do get better at it the more they do.
 
AngelEyez said:
Has anyone gotten this done or know anyone who got this done? If so I have a few questions:

1) What was your/their prescription before you/they got it done?

2) Who did you/they go with and why?

3) How much did it cost?

4) Happy with the results? Side effects? Regrets? Things that would have been done differently?

5) How long before you got back on the bike after surgery?
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I wont read the rest of the responses.

Cant recall my prescprtion at all, but had my done at the Y2K fiasco. Everyone talking about computers crashing, and here i am going in for major eye surgery.
Got mine done by a place by North York General, at an opening special of $1200 for everything!!

Next day i met the MTO standards to drive, and by the second day i was good to go. I had no side effects or such. I did have to buy lubricating drops for my eyes for almost a year afterwards though.
Now 12 years later im still good, though the doc said by the time i hit 50 i will need reading glasses as will most who get this surgery done.

The flap they make can be now done via laser, and they have reduced the side effects of the "halo" some people get as the technology has improved.
 
I got mine done at TLC in North York about 5 years ago. The technology at the time was called Custom Lasik. It took a couple weeks for the vision to stablize, and about a month before the halo's went away but they did. I don't recall my nightvision being affected. My original prescription was -2.75. I'm still seeing 20/20. At the time they had a 1/2 price special.

Am I glad I did it? 100% yes. Makes a huge difference with riding. On the hottest and coldest of days my glasses would fog up. Riding everyday I had to take my glasses off/on 2x per day which was annoying. Plus all the other benefits like playing sports, swimming, not being worried about losing or breaking your glasses, etc. In fact, I'm thinking about just getting clear glasses so I can look like a hipster!
 
AngelEyez said:
^^ Yup I agree, if there is anything you should definitely splurge on and spend top dollar it's your eyes! I personally wouldn't consider places pitching the "best price" as their only advantage and carefully scrutinize the "cheaper option" procedures. Generally I found there are two options:
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I disagree with this. I'd shop based on the acual laser being used, not based on price. I got a quote from the top place to go in Ottawa at the time for $4K. But, they were using an older laser, having been around for a while. The daughter-in-law of this top surgeon that owned that centre referred me to a discount place. It was newer, so it had the best technology/newest laser. I paid $1650 for both eyes. This was in April 2002. And I got much better care there as well. The "surgeon" basically programs the laser, and the laser does the work. Shop around based on the laser/technology.

AngelEyez said:
The third option for people with very thin cornea's is referred to as PRK whereby instead of a flap a very thin layer of the surface of your cornea is scratched off before the correction laser is used - this one involves longer recover as there is no flap that is then put back on your eye - rather the removed surface must regenerate the surface tissue on it's own. This procedure also involves an element of pain.
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You wear a bandage lense for two days - the two days it takes for the cornea to re-grow. With the lenses there was no pain, just the irritability of having the same lenses on day and night. By the second day, I told them to take them off even though I wasn't *fully* healed. I just wanted the darn things out. Eyes stung a little when open, didn't hurt when closed. I was also extremely light sensitive, but on day 5 after the surgery I was out and about and went to a concert.


My two cents:
Consider PRK. No clinic will push PRK because it costs them more in follow-up care - more follow-up visits are required. The advantages of PRK are that you don't have to worry about a flap. If you play contact sports or plan on having kids that can poke you in the eye, you risk having your flap dislodged. The flap only attaches around the edge, not the entire surface area of your eye where it was removed, so there are risks with it.

And to answer the OP's questions. I had it done in April 2002 (PRK), paid $1,650 for both eyes, ended up being far-sighted at 20/15, now I'm 20/20 ten years later, but due to my astigmatism (which couldn't be corrected in 2002) still have a +0.5 prescription (basically nothing). I was around -6 before, so blind as a bat without glasses, but after wearing contacts for 8 years, I couldn't wear them anymore. I have no halos anymore (had some the first few years). The ONLY "side effects" I have are an increased sensitivity to sunlight, so I wear sunglasses more than I used to (bonus, less wrinkling :D) AND, I am more sensitive to chopping onions. Could hurt so much after the surgery I'd be rolling on the floor in pain. Not as bad anymore though. Good thing I don't like onions.

As others have said: Best money I ever spent.
 
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^^ Dodging appreciate the feedback about PRK, some great advice. I've never spoken to anyone who went this route.

Thanks again to everyone who gave their feedback on their own experiences. It seems like this procedure is pretty common now, with relatively few horror stories. The centre that I liked the best performs approximately 20 to 30 procedures per week and its just one centre with one location. I'm sure the places with multiple branches like Lasik MD are probably performing many more - which means a lot of people are turning to laser as a solution to their vision problems, in spite of how invasive the procedure sounds (i.e. the flap creation).

I'm not sure it's true that the flap only heals around the edges, though I do understand that it takes time to heal and they can in fact even re lift the flap within a certain time frame from the original surgery - I would think eventually the flap disappears over time - and heals throughout. I was told that after time for a correction or enhancement they would have to recreate it - which to me suggests that it does completely heal.
 
I had PRK done from the bochner institute. They actually recommended PRK over any surgery for me.

I had my eyes revert back to the normal prescription after a year. It was passed the warranty coverage, but they still re-did the surgery and never had issues again. It's been 4-5 yrs now since the surgery. Worth every penny.
 
1) -4.5/-2.5, with astigmatysm

2) LasikMD. Knew other satisfied customers (mom and sister)

3) $2200 including meds. Work health plan covered 60%

4) Very happy. No side effects.. Only regret not doing it sooner.

5) I did it in February, so a few months. This is what they advise anyway, to let the eye heal and resist any wind.
 
AngelEyez said:
I'm not sure it's true that the flap only heals around the edges, though I do understand that it takes time to heal and they can in fact even re lift the flap within a certain time frame from the original surgery - I would think eventually the flap disappears over time - and heals throughout. I was told that after time for a correction or enhancement they would have to recreate it - which to me suggests that it does completely heal.
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I'm not sure about the healing around the edges bit, but when I go in for the touchup (4+ years later), there are no knives involved, they just relift the flap. It seems that there is something going on, whether it is just healing around the edges, or whether the healed tissue is weaker than normal tissue, I have no idea. If it hasn't healed completely after 4 years, I doubt it ever will.
 
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Tons of close calls, complications and side effects, and all conclude with "Best money I ever spent!"

And you still have no idea how your new eyes will hold up over time.

For what? So you don't have to wear glasses? Do you really think you're better looking without glasses? You can shave off your beard after 20 years and nobody is going to notice.

I guess it's just me.
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