This topic is not for people with 20/20 vision. You don't know what it's like. I've worn glasses/contacts since I was 10. Lasik eye surgery, I believe costs $1000 to a maximum of $2100 dollars per eye (based on the experience of the surgeon and your eye prescription and condition). In that case I would go for it. After wearing contacts and glasses for so long, I can only imagine what it would be like to see well with the unaided eye. That would be simply incredible. I was wondering if anyone here has gone through the procedure or were also considering doing such an operation. Supposedly, it's a three step surgery and your sight is restored in full the next day. The doctor advised me that 95% of the surgeries go free of complications. What would you do given this situation? I've made up my mind to do it because of the tremendous benefits. Any additional information on this surgery or experiences I would appreciate. ------------------ [This message has been edited by rock (edited October 03, 2000).]
I don't have corrected vision at all(yet) but the only negatives I've heard are that a) long term consequences unknown b) sometimes you see "spots" at night time c) Still have to wear glasses to read d) will require repeat surgery as eye continues to grow/deteriorate ------------------ Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
Rock -- I had RK surgery (the predecessor to Lasik) in 1992. At that time they were still using knives to cut the cornea instead of lasers. I'm not a big fan of doctors, surgery, etc...but the results were fantastic and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I had worn thick glasses for ten years prior to the surgery. Contacts were difficult if not impossible for me to wear because my eyes were very dry. The surgery itself took five minutes and I was up and out of the office in less than an hour. The difference in my vision was apparent immediately. My eyes were fairly sore for the next couple of days (although I understand that time is drastically reduced now with the use of lasers). But two weeks later I was on an Alaskan cruise and my vision was 20/20. It was amazing to be able to see the scenery without a piece of glass between me and the world. I always recommend the procedure to people who are fed up with glasses.
Some people have said that it's worked out great. However, you continually read reports about people who have had trouble after the surgery. I use glasses/contacts myself and I don't mind using them. Granted, it would be great to see the world with the naked eye but I would rather wait a little longer and see what most have to say about it. I usually go for the suggested "waiting period" if my life or health is not being thratened at all. ------------------ Nederland 2002 Qualifying Campaign (Damn those penalties!!!) Houston Rockets Space Center- Not just another ClutchCity.NET clone. We're that and more!
My friend is in his final year of optometery school so I have talked to him several times about it. Biggest thing is their is no guarantee that you won't have to wear glasses afterwards (no guarantee of 20/20) but they will correct your vision. For me it doesn't make much sense to have surgery and potentially still have to wear glasses or contacts. ------------------
I interviewed an opthamologist for a report on RK about 12 years ago, when the surgery was just starting to catch on. At that time, he said they experienced a 95% success rate, meaning better than 20/40. He pointed out that even a "failure" can be much better than the origional vision, and close enough that the person can live a normal life without really noticing. Even then, it can be followed up with a follow up surgery. He also said that the failures were often in cases with extremely bad vision, where the improvement was still dramatic, and allowed them to wear thinner, more normal glasses. And they've gotten much better since then. ------------------ Stay Cool...
According to Ned Flanders, your eyes fall out after 10 years. ------------------ Cheerleaders are just dancers who've gone r****ded. visit www.swirve.com
That is all good, and great, but they say the surgery is not for everyone. My question is who isn't it for? And is that me? That's what I'd like to know because if I'm going to trust someone with my eyesight then I want to be absolutely sure I don't have an eye disease that is going to have implications (present or future). Thats my concern. One doctor said I had a disease that causes your eye to slowly form into a cone. Another Doctor said I didn't have that disease. Now you tell me? Who do I trust? And what else might be wrong with my eyes that could cause a problem. I'm for the surgery, but I want a guarantee. That's why I'll wait like an old fogey dinosaur. Or I'll go to like five doctors to verify its ok. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Rock, I had the Lasik surgery done over a year ago at Mann/Berkley, cost about $1750 an eye. It was the greatest thing I have ever done and well worth it. I was 20/400+ going into the surgery, basically couldn't see anything without my glasses. Afterwards, I am seeing better than 20/20, just like the doctor said during the pre-exam. If I were you, go to the doctor, they can tell you if it will be a sucess or not. It is so great, especially playing sports, being able to read the alarm clock, and so on without the use of contacts. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.....
Thanks Rocketball. That is reassuring. I have heard a lot of good things about Lasik, and the price seems right for the benefits I would enjoy afterward. I talked to my eye doctor about the procedure and he said that I was an ideal candidate for it. I read an interesting article (by Jim Shahin, Texas monthly Nov. 1999) on the surgery. Here is an excerpt: I lie back in the reclining chair, and a technician puts a few numbing drops in my eyes, the only anessthetic necessary. I'm told to stay as still as possible. After a few minutes a speculum is inserted to keep my right eye open. The speculum feels a little weird in my eye--not painful, but like something I might want to scratch. Perhaps because my mind is concentrated on the surgery about to take place, the inability to blink doesn't register as a sensation, only as a fleeting thought. The laser looms above me, and I stare into it, at a blinking red dot. The microkeratome is fitted over my eye. I'm told that everything will go black for a few seconds. A technician steps on a foot pedal, and the microkeratome's tiny blade cuts across my eye, making the flap in my cornea. Despite the Valium, I feel myself tighten with a slight panic, caused not by pain--there is none, only a slight pressure on the eye--but by having been plunged into pitch darkness and by my Un Chien Andalou imaginings. The top of the cornea is peeled back. Then Walters fires up the laser, which makes a clicking sound, and alters the curvature of my eye. He then puts the flap back down and smooths it into place. The speculum is removed, and a few drops of solution are put into my eye to prevent infection, swelling, and pain. The procedure is then repeated in my left eye. Again, there is a little discomfort but no pain. When the procedure is over, half an hour later, I sit up and look at the clock on the wall. "Six-o-three," I exclaim. I'm beaming with wonderat my ability to see without glasses. Amen. ------------------
I would love to do it, but I heard about someone getting blurred vision after doing it. ------------------ "Only Hakeem Olajuwon is a better athlete." Dick Versace, when referring to Antonio McDyess before the draft.
I know what you ar saying PSJ. I'm very hesitant to let someone shoot a laser beam into my eye and not promise that I'll be able to see afterwards. I'll still probably get it done though. ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
Rock Here is a discussion on this topic from a few months ago. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum7/HTML/001203.html ------------------ I am the thread killer
