Trevor Snyder wrote:
I did it in 1999 at a place called LASIK Plus. No problems, other than my eyes are drier than they used to be. I went from 800/20 and 900/20 (maybe that's reversed, but I was blind) to 20/20 and 15/20. I had a month of really bad night vision and halos. Then it went away.

I had mine done at LASIK PLUS in Atlanta Dr. Eugene Smith and staff was great.I only had a couple weeks of halos

Lee Dowse wrote:
Whoah!!!!  Where did you get your information from????  Yes you may still need glasses for reading over the age of 40 (there are options to avoid this), but I'm afraid you are seriously misinformed.  Our retinal surgeon HAD IT DONE... there goes that theory.

Keratoconus is an ABSOLUTE CONTRAINDICATION for LASIK.  I'm also a clinical photographer for our office, and I have zero photographs of bad surgeries.  It's not about the money, I promise you...

You are either poorly informed or you have a really bad LASIK practice near you.

See the lady who is your counterpart at hte clinic near me told me that its not uncommon for loss of contrast.  She was the one who suggested that I don't proceed with the treatment because of how dependant I am of my vision.

Lee Dowse wrote:
There are horror stories out there if you look hard enough (as pointed out earlier).

Of course.. but you dont have to look hard.. there are quite a few websites dedicated to deter people fro mthe procedure.. (just as there are of the opposite) but I am smart enough to know that complainers make the most noise. 

I want real information.. from the individuals.  I will trust that you're own procedure was sucessfull.  however, I can not accept the statistics that you are giving me at face value, because stats are so easliy thrown around.  I prefer to hear from the people themselves.  Its not that I do or don't trust you, this is more like a controlled questionaire where there are no biases.

Leighi123 wrote:
im getting it in a few weeks - YAY -  ive had glasses/contacts sence 6th grade and they have been such a pain  -  the best part is my parents are paying for it -  happy 21st bday to me.... 

That's wonderful!  Come back to this thread and tell us how you feel about it after.  Hope it goes quite well for you!

Mercy Studio wrote:
See the lady who is your counterpart at hte clinic near me told me that its not uncommon for loss of contrast.  She was the one who suggested that I don't proceed with the treatment because of how dependant I am of my vision.

LOL... there is always the "realistic expectations" clause.  We use this to discourage patients who have expectations that are too high or are too demanding.  No one wants to operate on anyone who says "I want to you to guarantee me results".

I can't say it's not a possiblity... it is... so is the possibility that you could develop an infection and lose your eye.

It's also a possibility that you could develop an infection and die from an adverse reaction to anesthesia during your enucleation (removal of eye).

You could also get hit by an airplane while driving down the road.

Point is... nothing in life is guaranteed.  LASIK is surgery... there are known "potential side effects and/or complications".  I guess the question you have to ask yourself is... how much risk am I willing to take... If it's not worth it to you, don't have it done.

Habenero Photography wrote:
I had lasik done 4 years ago.  I went from 20/950 and bad astigmatism, to 20/10 and hardly any astigmatism.  Had halos for 3 days.  No problem with double vision, colors, contrast or brightness.  For best results, do your follow up care.  Keep your eyes wet using artificial tears for at least a month after the procedure to promote healing.  Mine was done at the Nationwide Vision on 21st St. and Camelback in Phoenix.

That's pretty typical.

Mercy Studio wrote:

Of course.. but you dont have to look hard.. there are quite a few websites dedicated to deter people fro mthe procedure.. (just as there are of the opposite) but I am smart enough to know that complainers make the most noise. 

I want real information.. from the individuals.  I will trust that you're own procedure was sucessfull.  however, I can not accept the statistics that you are giving me at face value, because stats are so easliy thrown around.  I prefer to hear from the people themselves.  Its not that I do or don't trust you, this is more like a controlled questionaire where there are no biases.

Fair enough!  If you do decide to have it done, let me know and I can give you some inside scoops and possibly even check the circles for information on your sugeon.  Good/bad/indifferent.

Lee Dowse wrote:
If you have specific questions or concerns... message me.  I'll give you whatever advice I can.  I have nothing to gain or lose if you do or don't have surgery.... Makes no difference to me.

I apprecaite your expertise in this matter and I will take you up on that.  However I'll post my concerns here publicy so that everyone can benifit from the conversations and your experience, or perhaps ask further questions that I may have missed, or even counterpoint it if necassary.  I find that PM's greatly narrow ones range of input.

Not to worry, I am intelligent enough to sort through what I need to know and weigh important details and true facts objectively.

Lee Dowse wrote:

Fair enough!  If you do decide to have it done, let me know and I can give you some inside scoops and possibly even check the circles for information on your sugeon.  Good/bad/indifferent.

Here is the place that I was looking at:  http://www.clearvue.ca/
I would appreciate any information you can find for me.  If you feel uncomfortable posting anything about this clinic publically because of your job, feel free to PM me.

Lee Dowse wrote:
Point is... nothing in life is guaranteed.  LASIK is surgery... there are known "potential side effects and/or complications".  I guess the question you have to ask yourself is... how much risk am I willing to take... If it's not worth it to you, don't have it done.

Very true.. you can also be hit by lightning in a thunderstorm.. but is unlikely.. What I want to know is will Lasik be putting a lighting rod in my hand in said thunderstorm..  thats why I'm asking here for as many opionions as possble.

Believe me, I love taking risks.. surfing, handgliding, bungee jumping, cliff diving, skydiving - I like watching all of those things on tv

Lee Dowse wrote:
You honestly should be more afraid of potential intraoperative flap complications.  Those can be the most vision threatening and in some cases can cause permanent damage to your vision and loss of BCVA (best corrected visual acuity).  I would ask specifically how many flap complications your surgeon has had.  We've had 2 in nearly 10 years.  I would also ask how he would treat a flap complication... if he isn't real sure.... walk!!!

You also may want to consider checking into "Advanced Surface Ablation" or CustomVue PRK.  It's safer than LASIK and in some studies is getting better results.  Depending on who you talk to, some surgeons actually prefer PRK.  The recovery period is longer and it's more uncomfortable post-op recover, but it's a very good procedure to have done.

SEE THIS is exactly the kind of information I want to know..  and the right questions to ask the right people..

Mercy Studio wrote:

Here is the place that I was looking at:  http://www.clearvue.ca/
I would appreciate any information you can find for me.  If you feel uncomfortable posting anything about this clinic publically because of your job, feel free to PM me.

Well... questions I would ask.

Who does the follow-up?  They have an optometrist on staff.  If the optometrist does the pre and post care, I would be hesitant to go there.  An optometrist is not a medical doctor.  They can not do surgical procedures and do not have the same training and experience as an ophthalmologist... In short, they are more likely to miss some of the subtle things that can present during the post-up course.

Ask them if they've ever had any occurrences of DLK... diffuse lamellar keratitis.  It's a mild post-operative infection that can quickly turn bad.  DLK is an indication that things are necessarily as clean as they should be in the OR.  We've never had any cases of DLK (knock on wood) to give you a reference point.

They use a Hansatome microkeratome which is good.  That's the same one we use.  Another good microkeratome is the Amadeus.

The "EC-5000" laser they are using is a Nidek laser.  It's less common than the Visx S4 and has historically been about 1/2 step behind Visx technology.  We started with the Nidek EC-5000 years ago but moved away from it in favor of the Visx which had more flexibility (at the time).  We worked closely with Keith Thompson, George Waring, Doyle Stulting, and other guys at Emory during that time period while they were working on the technology that would eventually become custom LASIK.

I honestly can't speak about the Nidek technology today, but one reason we moved away from it is because Visx had wider treatment parameters and better results at the time.

Lee Dowse wrote:

Well... questions I would ask.

Who does the follow-up?  They have an optometrist on staff.  If the optometrist does the pre and post care, I would be hesitant to go there.  An optometrist is not a medical doctor.  They can not do surgical procedures and do not have the same training and experience as an ophthalmologist... In short, they are more likely to miss some of the subtle things that can present during the post-up course.

Ask them if they've ever had any occurrences of DLK... diffuse lamellar keratitis.  It's a mild post-operative infection that can quickly turn bad.  DLK is an indication that things are necessarily as clean as they should be in the OR.  We've never had any cases of DLK (knock on wood) to give you a reference point.

They use a Hansatome microkeratome which is good.  That's the same one we use.  Another good microkeratome is the Amadeus.

The "EC-5000" laser they are using is a Nidek laser.  It's less common than the Visx S4 and has historically been about 1/2 step behind Visx technology.  We started with the Nidek EC-5000 years ago but moved away from it in favor of the Visx which had more flexibility (at the time).  We worked closely with Keith Thompson, George Waring, Doyle Stulting, and other guys at Emory during that time period while they were working on the technology that would eventually become custom LASIK.

I honestly can't speak about the Nidek technology today, but one reason we moved away from it is because Visx had wider treatment parameters and better results at the time.

Very good, I will call them on monday with those questions and more..
In the mean time I am kicking off for now, but I will be back often to check this threat all weekend and later tonight

thank you

Mike Colwell Photograph wrote:
I had it done about six months ago. It is the best money I have ever spent. I do still have to wear my cheaters to read very small print.

Ditto... . I had it done when it was first approved by the FDA. Had it done in 1997.
Yes, there are some side effects(mine is ghosting) but it was worth it to me because my prescription was close to -9 (ie thick glasses)
The technogloy has improved over the years.  The op has to get a consult FIRST to determine IF he is a candidate. Always look for the best surgeon and NOT by the best price alone !

Mercy Studio wrote:
In the end I found there were too many risks of negative after effects which ultimately led to my not getting the surgery.

Whenever I am tempted to explore it, the scene from the Simpsons where Ned Flanders had it done comes to mind, and I decide I'm not interested.

For those of you not familiar with the scene, the episode takes place in the future: Flanders comes to the door after someone knocks and his eyes are burned-out pits. He comments, "I only wish I hadn't got that gosh darned laser eye surgery done. It works out great for ten years and then your eyeballs fall out."

M

Le Beck Photography wrote:
The only people who should contemplate this are the extremely near sighted, those with keratoconus (a pyramid shaped cornea) or those with astigmatism so severe it cannot be corrected easily or at all.

I thought it was contraindicated for keratoconus patients. I've had one corneal transplant so far (my non-dominant eye), and my dominant eye is still getting worse--but since I can see via my other one, I'm not high on the list for another one.

Has there been a change in recommendations?

Kevin Connery wrote:

I thought it was contraindicated for keratoconus patients. I've had one corneal transplant so far (my non-dominant eye), and my dominant eye is still getting worse--but since I can see via my other one, I'm not high on the list for another one.

Has there been a change in recommendations?

It's still contraindicated.

Modern Amazon wrote:
Bill Gates is the Worlds richest man and can have what he wants, he wears glasses, doesn't that say something for these bargain offers for Lasik, steer clear it wrecks your eyes and when its done it is too late

It's also quite telling when you look at how few opthomologists who do the procedure will not have it done on themselves.  Tim

Mercy Studio wrote:
I hope this works:

Lasik Zone test

Dont cheat!  It's not a contest.
Anyone who has had lasik (or not had it for that matter), can you honestly find the blackest square?  And to be fair, I can't tell the diff between a few (might be my monitor).

Post the number and if you have or haven't had it

5 looked the blackest to me (on a laptop) but 4 and 5 were very close. I've thought about the procedure also because I am 20/15 in my right eye but 20/800 or higher in my left eye due to an astigmitism.

I've heard mention of insurance. Does health/vision insurance cover LASIK?

Edit: Do people have the procedure done in one eye only? Or is that a very stupid and obvious answer?