Looks like I'll be going in for Lasik in the next week or two

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I heard Minnesota has one of the best LASIK places in the world....but I cant keep my open long enough for them to do this!

They use an instrument to keep your eyes open

brutal :/....I could use it though, how long is the procedure?

 

[Jgtdragon]

Good luck and give us update. Mine is next Friday.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

 

[AUMM]

how do you guys pick a place to get it done? I really want to get mine done but I'm not sure how to go about finding a good doctor... I live in So Cal if anyone has any recommendations

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Chadder007

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

wrong. I had it done 3 years ago. My optometrist said you can barely see where they cut the flap. (keep in mind he has a magnifying glass of sorts he's holding to my eye while shining a bright light into it while he's saying this) It has healed quite nicely however. He said in another year or so, you won't be able to see the scar even (and this guy did not do my lasik either nor is he related or even in the same town of the guy who did my lasik).

 

[Chadder007]

Also....the two people that I know personally that have had it done have developed farsightedness a year after. (They have to wear glasses now to see close up, after having their vision corrected to see far away without glasses.)

 

[jmcoreymv]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Chadder007

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

wrong. I had it done 3 years ago. My optometrist said you can barely see where they cut the flap. (keep in mind he has a magnifying glass of sorts he's holding to my eye while shining a bright light into it while he's saying this) It has healed quite nicely however. He said in another year or so, you won't be able to see the scar even (and this guy did not do my lasik either nor is he related or even in the same town of the guy who did my lasik).

I've worked for a company that develops laser eye surgery machines and I've been told by the Dr's and engineers that the flap never heals.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Chadder007

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

wrong. I had it done 3 years ago. My optometrist said you can barely see where they cut the flap. (keep in mind he has a magnifying glass of sorts he's holding to my eye while shining a bright light into it while he's saying this) It has healed quite nicely however. He said in another year or so, you won't be able to see the scar even (and this guy did not do my lasik either nor is he related or even in the same town of the guy who did my lasik).

I've worked for a company that develops laser eye surgery machines and I've been told by the Dr's and engineers that the flap never heals.

I've had lasik. I trust my eye doctor. In fact, when I was researching Lasik and PRK he suggested I go with someone else instead of who i ended up using.

I'm happy with the results and have had no problems whatsoever with my surgery.

btw, I was wrong in my initial post.. Its been just over 2 years, not the 3 years I stated earlier.

I have no night vision problems, no irritation, no issues whatsoever. If my optometrist says the flap is all but invisible now, I believe him.

 

[Flyback]

Not to put a damper on it, but:
Doesn't lifetime enhancement only last as long as the company sticks around? I always thought that buying into such ideas (rather, paying for something up front when the company may fold in the future) are bad.

Also, why do people talk about insurance on it? What good is having insured eyeballs if they get damaged or develop defects later on--what good is money if you can't see?

That said, I'm considering lasik myself and recently heard of "prk". Not sure if I'll go for either--still trying to weigh the negatives of lasik. I'd love to have clear vision--I absolutely hate glasses (I find having them to be invasive) and contacts drive me nuts (tried all different brands, they irritate my eyes to no ends), so most of the time my vision is not as clear as it could be.

 

[slag]

Here is who did my lasik and where it was done

http://www.discovervision.com/doctors/ophthal/doane.html

He's published several journals, toured giving lectures, etc.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I want to do it someday..but i am pretty young (22) and i hear they want you to be older when they do it. I would also want to be asleep whe its done..I dont know if i could handle seeing somoene laser off my eye and then see pure black knowing that there is a chance that it will never come back(small chance but SOMEONE has to have it happen to them). In 8 years when they have ironed about all the side effects and have the error rate down i'll prob go for it.

My mom knows someone who got it done and she has chronic dry eyes now. My math teacher got it done and he used to say that he could see a slight double effect. Not much but sometimes it was like there was a small shawdow next to everything.

creepy.

 

[Jgtdragon]

Originally posted by: AUMM
how do you guys pick a place to get it done? I really want to get mine done but I'm not sure how to go about finding a good doctor... I live in So Cal if anyone has any recommendations

For me, I went to see 4 doctors and chose the one that I felt most comfortbale with. I decided on the 49ers' team eye doctor.

 

[KoolAidKid]

I just got mine done yesterday. Custom wavefront lasik with intralase (bladeless). I paid more than others, it seems, but the intrlase adds cost. I paid $4900, but my doctor has personally done more than 50k laser vision correction surgeries, so I felt that it was worth it. It was super-easy. I tested at 20/15 in both eyes this morning. Very happy so far.

 

[Reckoner]

Well I'm back from surgery. I went in at 10AM today, and left around noon. The place was packed. Apparently I was supposed to start an antibotic drop the day before, but nobody informed me about it. It wasn't a big deal though they said, since they use it before surgery. They had me wear shower caps on my shoes and hair during surgery. The whole process was very quick (I was in there for about 15-20 mins tops). The surgeon was a nice guy, and made the process go quite smoothly. They put numbing drops in my eyes and put something in my eye to keep it open. I still felt that I could shut my eyes though, it was weird Rest assured this wasn't the case.

They placed the microkeratome (blade) on my eye, and cut the flap. My vision went completely dark for 10-15 seconds (yeah I was nervious when that happened). When my vision came back, he then used the laser to begin treatment. The machine makes a loud clicking noise, and I noticed a faint smell of burning hair. This part wasn't painful at all. The most uncomfortable part of the process was the corneal flap creation. After getting through the first eye treatment, the second was a breeze since I knew what to expect.

After both eyes were finished, I sat down in a chair for a few minutes, where the nurse put in a few different drops (1 artificial tear, 1 antibiotic, and 1 to combat conjunctivitis). I'll be using these drops for a week or two, with the exception of the artificial tears (those will be used for a couple months). As expected, I've noticed some starbursts, and have light sensitivity, but these problems should get better with time. I go back in tomorrow for my next day checkup. My vision has already improved dramatically (I was a -5.25 in both eyes before surgery). I can read small text and numbers pretty good, but I anticipate there's a lot of room for improvement over the next couple of weeks.

All in all, this is probably the best money I've ever spent in my life. I wish I had done it sooner.

 

[SuperNaruto]

get a lot of rest.. i wouldn't even touch the pc now... rest those eyes !!!

btw is your eyes itching right now ?

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: SuperNaruto
get a lot of rest.. i wouldn't even touch the pc now... rest those eyes !!!

btw is your eyes itching right now ?

Hehe i'm wearing sunglasses at the pc right now

No eye twitching, although now and then my eyes will water profusely for a bit.

 

[Viper GTS]

Don't screw with your corneas, folks. 290 microns is EXTREMELY thin.

You really don't want to end up like me:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/ViperGTS/cornea6weeks.jpg

I'm scheduled for the other eye in two weeks, mine weren't much thinner than 290 at their worst pre-op.

Viper GTS

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Chadder007

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

wrong. I had it done 3 years ago. My optometrist said you can barely see where they cut the flap. (keep in mind he has a magnifying glass of sorts he's holding to my eye while shining a bright light into it while he's saying this) It has healed quite nicely however. He said in another year or so, you won't be able to see the scar even (and this guy did not do my lasik either nor is he related or even in the same town of the guy who did my lasik).

I've worked for a company that develops laser eye surgery machines and I've been told by the Dr's and engineers that the flap never heals.

^ People are just going to start concocting supporting evidence.

 

[Jgtdragon]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Don't screw with your corneas, folks. 290 microns is EXTREMELY thin.

You really don't want to end up like me:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/ViperGTS/cornea6weeks.jpg

I'm scheduled for the other eye in two weeks, mine weren't much thinner than 290 at their worst pre-op.

Viper GTS

What happen here?

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Jgtdragon

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Don't screw with your corneas, folks. 290 microns is EXTREMELY thin.

You really don't want to end up like me:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/ViperGTS/cornea6weeks.jpg

I'm scheduled for the other eye in two weeks, mine weren't much thinner than 290 at their worst pre-op.

Viper GTS

What happen here?

Cornea transplant due to keratoconus (corneal thinning disease). I was not much under 300 microns when my right eye was transplanted.

Viper GTS

 

[dquan97]

who has the link to the laser eye surgery video?

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Jgtdragon

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Don't screw with your corneas, folks. 290 microns is EXTREMELY thin.

You really don't want to end up like me:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/ViperGTS/cornea6weeks.jpg

I'm scheduled for the other eye in two weeks, mine weren't much thinner than 290 at their worst pre-op.

Viper GTS

What happen here?

Cornea transplant due to keratoconus (corneal thinning disease). I was not much under 300 microns when my right eye was transplanted.

Viper GTS

Sorry to hear about that. I know there was a risk involved, but in the end I decided to trust the surgeon. I researched it for a while, and the general consensus is that 250 microns of corneal tissue is needed for stability (unless you have an eye disease such as yours). I went to 2 different centers, and both said I was a candidate (although the other place wanted to use intralase).

 

[jmcoreymv]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: Chadder007

Originally posted by: Firebot

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I decided to go with Lasik Vision Institute. $3,000 for Custom Lasik w/Lifetime Enhancements if needed. I'm not too keen on the idea of someone opening a flap on my eyeball, but it's all going to be worth it in the end :thumbsup:

20/15 in both eyes. It still amazes me how people would rather be slaves to glasses and contact lens just to see, rather then making one of the best investments in your life.

The only reason I haven't done it is because they say the flap NEVER heals. Once its cut, its cut.

wrong. I had it done 3 years ago. My optometrist said you can barely see where they cut the flap. (keep in mind he has a magnifying glass of sorts he's holding to my eye while shining a bright light into it while he's saying this) It has healed quite nicely however. He said in another year or so, you won't be able to see the scar even (and this guy did not do my lasik either nor is he related or even in the same town of the guy who did my lasik).

I've worked for a company that develops laser eye surgery machines and I've been told by the Dr's and engineers that the flap never heals.

^ People are just going to start concocting supporting evidence.

I'm not concocting anything, just stating what I heard. I looked into it on the internet and found a number of sites (mostly sites that offer laser eye surgery) that say the cornea does heal. I also found several sites that say it does not heal. For example:

Journal of Refractive Surgery
Volume 21 September/October 2005

Pg 433

Cohesive Tensile Strength of Human LASIK Wounds With Histologic, Ultrastructural, and Clinical Correlations

Excerpt:


The clinical knowledge gained from the LASIK flap lift
retreatment cases correlated well with the laboratory
results. The tip of the Sinskey hook typically fell
into the LASIK wound margin with minimal effort
correlating with the gap in Bowman?s layer seen histopathologically.
Most of the resistance when lifting the
flap occurred at the flap margin, particularly the cases
>1 year after surgery and those with the wound in the
corneal limbus, correlating with the area of hypercellular
fibrotic stromal scarring and its greater measured
tensile strength. Conversely, the resistance to lifting the
flap in the central and paracentral regions of the interface
wound was always minimal, correlating with the
area of the hypocellular primitive stromal scarring and
its lesser tensile strength. In some eyes, after the flap
was lifted, the surface of the residual stromal bed in the
central interface wound showed visible circular zones
from previous broad area excimer laser ablation, further
attesting to the minimal healing described pathologically
in the central and paracentral LASIK bed.
This study shows that the primary structural reason
for the high cohesive tensile strength of normal corneal
stroma is the collagen fibrils from interweaving corneal
lamellae and the groups of bridging collagen fi laments
where stromal lamellae cross one another. Corneal stromal
LASIK wounds were found to heal weaker than
normal because these structures were not regenerated
during the healing response. Moreover, the central and
paracentral stromal LASIK wounds were found to heal
by producing a hypocellular primitive stromal scar
that is very weak in tensile strength, averaging 2.4% of
normal, and displays no evidence of remodeling over
time in specimens out to 6.5 years after surgery. In contrast,
the more superficial, flap margin stromal LASIK
wound, which is adjacent to the surface epithelium,
was found to heal by producing a 10-fold stronger, hypercellular
fibrotic stromal scar that reaches maximum
tensile strength by approximately 3.5 years after surgery,
averaging 28.1% of normal.

And

JRS
Vol 22, May 2006
Late Traumatic Flap Dislocations After LASIK

http://www.journalofrefractivesurgery.com/showAbst.asp?thing=12869

Excerpts from the full text:

A number of cases of late onset traumatic LASIK flap dislocations
have been reported, raising questions about the strength
of the adhesion between the flap and the stromal bed.

In this series, we report three cases of late onset traumatic
LASIK flap displacement and their management. One patient
presented 7 years after the initial surgery, which, to our
knowledge, is the longest duration reported.

A 23-year-old man with bilateral uncomplicated LASIK 7 years prior presented 2 days after sustaining a left eye injury
by another person?s fingernail in a fight.

A 33-year-old woman underwent LASIK and pre-
sented after sustaining a broomstick injury 1 year
postoperatively.

A 38-year-old woman with a history of uncomplicated
bilateral LASIK 2 years before sustained a right eye
injury when a folder fell from a shelf.

The creation of a lamellar flap results in a potential
plane of weakness in the cornea in which shearing
forces can produce flap displacement. Recent
histological and confocal studies have shown a central
hypocellular primitive scar in the interface, allowing
easy lifting of the flap in trauma.
The fact that this potential plane can be disrupted
many years after LASIK (7 years after the initial surgery
in patient 1) indicates that corneal integrity is
compromised by the surgical procedure and takes a
long time, if ever, to restore.

 

[KarmaPolice]

again...your sight going black for 15secs is just freaky ******.

Also people DO have problems.

 

[Reckoner]

Went back in on Saturday for the next-day checkup. My prescription beforehand was -5.25 in both eyes. The doctor said I was 20/30, and the only reason I wasn't 20/20 was because my eyes were dry. She told me to make sure I use the drops every hour (which I have been). The vision is better in my left eye, opposed to my right (which is blurry). It's only been a few days, so I expect it to keep getting better. It's still leaps and bounds better than before surgery. The biggest adjustment has been wearing the protective eye shields during sleep at night. I usually sleep on my side, but now I have to sleep on my back, which has been an adjustment, to say the least. Hopefully I become more accustomed to it over the next couple of weeks.