IGX

How did it go? You happy with it? What procedure was it? Did they use the blade to cut the corneal flap or a laser? I am planning on getting my eyes done and just want to make a good choice.
Thanks

Had radial keratotomy nine years ago to correct myopia (nearsightedness) and they bladed me to get the corneal flaps. Best money I ever spent. I had zero complications/halos or any problems afterward. I was and still am one hundred percent satisfied with the surgery. Vision is paramount in my line of work, so I was pretty nervous about any screw-ups, but everything went flawlessly. I never had decent vision before the procedure and wore glasses my entire life. Afterwards, I had 20/20 in my left and 20/15 in my right.

I can only imagine the advances which might have occurred in the near-decade since I had the procedure. Probably stating the obvious here, but make sure you have vetted your doc and know/talk to people who have had the same procedure you're going to get by the same surgeon and are satisfied. I went to the same guy that a close friend went to and he couldn't sing the doctor's praises enough. Both he and his wife (a nurse) had the same procedure by the same surgeon and both were completely satisfied, so that's what sealed the deal for me.

My GF went in Wednesday. She,.. the other week, went to Millenium Eye Care in South Florida. They do the Marlins, Dolphins, Heat, etc. They examined her and said that Lasik would work but she had cataracts. They sent her to the sister company down the hall. Turns out this guy is one of the top cataract surgeons in the US. She had a lens replacement on one eye, Wednesday. Today she had 20/15 vision and it will get better from there. She will have the second eye done shortly. As an artist,.. this is huge as you can imagine. The surgeon was very, very, very, cool and informative. I watched the surgery through a viewing window and it literally took about a minute for the lens implant and astigmatic correction.

As far as LASIK,... just do your research locally and get the best of the best. Lots of surgeons use ultra sound, but the finesse of laser is great when wielded by a surgeon who has thousands of hours and good training.

Everyone who heard of this procedure from Robin concurred that LASIK was the best thing they ever did.

Lasik, 2003 or so. Awesome, completely awesome. Best money I ever spent on anything. Blade vs. cornea, as I don't think anyone was lasering the cornea back then.

Do whatever you can, however, to be asleep about 2 hours after the procedure when the anesthetic wears off but the cornea has not regenerated yet. A large # of diet cokes at lunch before the surgery overwhelmed the valium my surgeon gave me to encourage sleep afterward. Less than pleasant couple of hours. Completely asymptomatic (and perfect vision) by the next morning.

I had it done(Lasik)in Canada before it was approved in the US. Must have been around 15-16 years ago. They did the cornea flap thing. Took only a few minutes once I got in the chair. I was far sighted and was one of the first to get that procedure when it was finally developed. I had him do monovision...one eye for reading, the other for distance. The distance side can't see as far now and I need a lense for driving especially at night but I sttill read just fine without glasses. Don't forget I'm turning 80 this year.

Did not have LASIK, but I had PRK done in 2010. Basically the difference is that with LASIK they slice a flap and fold it into place, whereas with PRK they actually burn away the eye and let it grow into a better shape. The reason I had PRK done is because I am in the process of applying for SEAL officer and the doc recommended this was better. Reason being that if you ever get knocked hard in combat or diving, that flap could get dislodged and you'd be screwed; not an issue with PRK.

Got a good doctor who had operated on some Yankees and Mets; paid a lot but he also gives out lifetime warranties. The procedure itself took a few minutes and was kinda cool..you know, being able to see some dude scraping off the top layer of your eye but not feeling a thing.

However, the downside of PRK is the pain afterward. I'd like to think I'm a tough guy but man the pain was unbearable the 2 days after. I literally couldn't do anything but listen to music, eat, and sleep for 2 days. I'm told with LASIK there is almost no pain.

After that it got better and my vision has been great ever since. The only minor issue is that sometimes I get night halos. That's basically when I see something bright (like a traffic light in the distance) it will have several rings around it, but it's not much of a big deal, and the doc did tell me I would have that because I have larger, blue eyes.

Overall, quite happy with it.

I am considering it as well and have been interviewing people I know. LASIK appears to be fairly smooth though I have met a few people who have had their vision regress a bit. All had it more than a decade ago so I am unsure if it could be related to a change in technology or not.

The few people who have had PRK love the results but reported 2-3 days of laying in a dark room in pain though that could be fun sometimes.

kreator wrote:Did not have LASIK, but I had PRK done in 2010. Basically the difference is that with LASIK they slice a flap and fold it into place, whereas with PRK they actually burn away the eye and let it grow into a better shape. The reason I had PRK done is because I am in the process of applying for SEAL officer and the doc recommended this was better. Reason being that if you ever get knocked hard in combat or diving, that flap could get dislodged and you'd be screwed; not an issue with PRK.

Got a good doctor who had operated on some Yankees and Mets; paid a lot but he also gives out lifetime warranties. The procedure itself took a few minutes and was kinda cool..you know, being able to see some dude scraping off the top layer of your eye but not feeling a thing.

However, the downside of PRK is the pain afterward. I'd like to think I'm a tough guy but man the pain was unbearable the 2 days after. I literally couldn't do anything but listen to music, eat, and sleep for 2 days. I'm told with LASIK there is almost no pain.

After that it got better and my vision has been great ever since. The only minor issue is that sometimes I get night halos. That's basically when I see something bright (like a traffic light in the distance) it will have several rings around it, but it's not much of a big deal, and the doc did tell me I would have that because I have larger, blue eyes.

Overall, quite happy with it.

Getting into firefighting and was told to go with PRK for the same reason. This will probably be my birthday present to myself this year or next. My F-I-L had LASIK done 8 years ago and has some minor haloing but still loves it.