Posted on 07/13/2009 9:32:13 PM PDT by Treeless Branch
Was told by lasik surgeon today that my corneas are ok for lasik, but are too thin for a touch-up if one was needed. He recommends PRK. Based on my research, both procedures are safe and effective with some dotors even saying that PRK is more so. I'd appreciate your toughts and experiences. Thanks.
I had PRK done in Dec, 1995. Worked great for me, and 13 yrs later my vision is still very good. This was before LASIK really caught on, so PRK was the best option at the time. There are bad and good stories with both procedures. Get more than one opinion and go with the best doctor, not the cheapest.
Radial keratotomy is a different procedure than either PRK or LASIK. I’m not even sure if anyone does RK anymore.
bkmk
I had PRK done last year, the day before my 48th birthday at TLC in Rockville, Md.
I was extremely nearsighted in my left eye (good for coin collecting) and had astigmatism in my right eye. Eye glasses drove me nuts and contacts were worse.
They did a lot of testing and workups over the course of a month or so (I slow-rolled it while I got used to the idea).
The surgery itself was 14 seconds of laser per eye. Nothing hurt. They put on bandage contacts lenses, gave me a pair of dark glasses and told me I couldn’t drive for a week. Lots of drops the first couple of weeks, but that is down to Optive twice a day or so because I have dry eyes.
I went to my local associated eye doctor the next day, then a week, two weeks, a month, three (?), six and final one coming in August.
I was back on FR after a day or two. I had halos around bright light sources at first but that’s gone away.
The cost of the procedure and all workups and followups was $4600.
I need cheap reading glasses to see things up close but I can read the computer screen just fine from normal distance with regular font size.
My distance vision is amazingly good. My big hobby is photography and it’s really helped a lot. Cool shades are another plus.
No regrets (well, maybe sooner). Make sure you trust your doctors. My guys are the ones who did Tiger Woods and a bunch of other sports figures around DC. Everybody was professional and patient with all my questions.
Hope this helps.
I found it fascinating, but I can see how some would be traumatized.
That has changed for most patients with modern scanning-spot lasers. They are now able to treat a larger area, so night vision problems are *much* less common than they were 12 years ago.
The problem is caused when your pupils expand in low light and become larger than the area treated by LASIK or PRK - you end up with light entering the eye from treated and untreated areas simultaneously. With the old broadbeam (6mm) lasers, if your pupils got larger than 6mm (mine are 8.2mm), you had serious night vision problems. But with scanning spot lasers, the treatment area is limited only by the thickness of your cornea.
I had LASIK in 2003 with a scanning spot laser, and despite very large pupils I have no real problems with night vision. The technology has come a long way.
Oh, the laser doesn't cut your cornea - it just blasts away at it after they cut a flap in your cornea using a blade :)
My corneas were OK, but my lenses had become less flexible as time went by such that I could only see 20/200 at medium to far distance. I had Crystalens surgery on both eyes in late 2007/early 2008. I can see 20/15 at distance now. Still have to wear weak readers for small type, but can see great at distance.
Surgery was quite a bit more complex than LASIK requiring removal of the natural lens and replacement with the artificial ones. I don’t regret it.
I don't know how it compares, but my dad had cataract surgery. The prep time (vitals, sedation) was longer than the actual procedure. The process itself took all of about 15 minutes.
He went from wearing tri-focals to just needing reading glasses. He should have had it done years earlier.
“Oh, the laser doesn’t cut your cornea - it just blasts away at it after they cut a flap in your cornea using a blade :) “
They now have “all-laser LASIK” that doesn’t use a blade.
That was one thing I made sure of before they said I was PRK only.
I can believe it was traumatizing, I would find it the same. I need it but I am not going to do it.
My eye doctor found a problem with the pressure in my eyes (a type of glaucoma), the drain was in danger of closing up. He said he had to punch a hole, with a laser to let the fluids drain out.
Wish I could remember the medical terms but I can’t. All went well but it just about scared me to death. If I had not known the doctor for 25 years and know him to be good and careful I would have run screaming out of there.
I'll give you the rundown of my experience of the surgery itself (not including the extensive pre-op exam). I had Lasik done at Lasik MD in Mississauga (suburban Toronto), Ontario, in January of 2003.
The total surgery only took about 10 minutes; I was in the laser room for less than 15 minutes total. I went in and spoke with the surgeon for a few minutes as he looked over my exam chart; it was the first time I had met the surgeon (they have optometrists handle the pre-op exams). He had a question about the axis of the astigmatism in one eye and sent me out to have that verified, after which I returned to the laser room.
First they had me lie down on the "bed" portion of the laser, which pivots out from the foot of the bed. They put numbing drops in my eye; they continued to add more numbing drops almost continually through the process. They taped down my eyelashes, which helped hold my eyes open; they then dropped a speculum (metal ring) onto my eye, which completely prevents the eye from closing. That sounds uncomfortable, but the numbing drops, combined with artificial tears they also continually dripped into my eye, made blinking unnecessary.
They then placed another ring on my eye; this is a portion of the microkeratome used to cut the flap in the cornea. By this time my eyeball was completely numb. They then attached a vacuum hose to the second ring and turned on the vacuum, which holds the ring firmly and precisely to the eyeball; the pressure also has the effect of making your vision go dark in that eye due to an interruption of blood to the optic nerve. This is safe for the time period involved.
Next the handheld microkeratome (electric oscillating blade with handle) was attached to the ring on my eye. When he was satisfied that things were in place, he engaged the blade on the microkeratome; I heard the sound of a small electric motor operating. I felt a slight tingle in my eyeball as the blade made the cut, but no pain; the cut only takes a couple seconds. Then the microkeratome is removed and the vacuum pressure is released, at which point my vision returned, though slightly distorted.
That's where it got just plain weird. They lifted the flap that had just been cut (the hinge was at the top); that's just weird to see happen. My vision went completely unfocused, just incoherent light with no shape at all, due to the removal of the flap. Continuing to irrigate the eye, they swung me under the laser. I was told to look at the red light ("which one?"), and the laser began its work.
Two things surprised me about the actual laser portion of the surgery. First, it was loud - it made a loud grinding noise while operating. It would blast away for 6 to 10 seconds, then take a break for a few seconds; this was repeated about 6 times before it was finished. The other surprise was the smell - it smelled like burnt hair, which was sort of gross.
So after the laser was done (barely a minute), I was swung back out from under the laser. They irrigated my eye some more, then they put the flap back down and brushed it smooth. At that point they removed the keratome ring and speculum from my eye, and untaped my eyelashes. I was able to blink, and I immediately noticed that my vision in that eye was much better than it had been before, though everything I saw looked like I was looking through a glass smeared with vaseline or something.
The entire process was then repeated with the other eye, after which the surgeon did a brief exam and pronounced it "beautiful." I was taken to a recovery room where a few other patients rested; the room was darkened and I was given large, dark wraparound sunglasses. I was in the recovery room for maybe 45 minutes before they took me back out to the lobby; at this point I noticed that my eyes had become very sensitive to light (normal and expected). They did a more thorough check of my eyes and gave me all the drops I would need (steroid, artificial tears, artificial tear "gel", antibiotics), and tape-on shields to use for the first few nights.
I then walked to my hotel (across the street) and took a nap. It was about 6pm.
I woke around 8pm wanting a snack; I noticed my eyes burning a bit, much as if I had been in the sun all day without sunglasses. I grabbed a snack and went to bed for good.
The next morning I got up and my eyes felt fine - no burning, no pain, no discomfort. Maybe a bit dry, but the artificial tears took care of that. I took off the shields and could immediately tell that I wouldn't be wearing glasses anymore. Maybe not quite 20/20 yet, but close. I walked back to the clinic for the post-op checkup; everything was fine. I flew home that day and went to a party that night - very quick recovery.
My vision is now in the 20/10 to 20/12 range (much better than 20/20), and I haven't needed glasses since. I'll need reading glasses in another 10 to 15 years like everyone else, but for now my vision is rather extraordinary.
I was not sedated in any way. They offered it as an option, but I declined; I dislike the feeling of being drugged.
Everyone I've talked to who has had it done that way had a harder recovery than I did; much more pain and burning. I tell people I recommend using a blade, as long as it's the Zero Compression Keratome from Bausch & Lomb. It's a little creepy, but I'll take that if it makes the recovery easy.
My husband had PRK over a year and half ago. He still suffers from dry eyes. It’s very uncomfortable although not as painful as it was for the first year. The doctor said that this is a common side-effect with PRK. He was told that it may never go away. He does have perfect 20/10 vision.
I’ve had two family members who had Lasik. Neither had this problem. One of them had the procedure in her 40’s and now needs glasses again full-time because of age-related degeneration. The other got it in her mid-20’s and still has perfect vision 10 years later.
I’m nearly 40, very near-sighted and just got an updated exam. My vision has improved quite a bit. The doctor said that this was the blessing of being near-sighted. He said that I may never need bifocals and that I can expect my vision to continue to improve for another 15-20 years. I will have to take my glasses off to read, but it will be in perfect focus when I do.
Six in one had, half a dozen in the other. There is no perfect solution. However, because of my husband’s out-come, I’d never have PRK. Yes, his vision is great, but he’s really uncomfortable and it’s just not worth it. (He never had this problem before he had the procedure done.)
PRK also has a much longer recovery time than Lasik.
a friend mentioned the smell - how awful it was. I’ve thought I’d wait until the cost was quite low and there is rarely if ever any complications from the surgery.
I know two women who had problems. One had no night visions for months, the other had her eyes tearing constantly long after the operation. Both eventually cleared up though.
Will you please post an update when you have the surgery done? I would very much like to hear how things went.
I truly hate glasses. Anyone who does not wear them does not know what a pain they are.
I'm telling you - Canada. It's odd, but they're the pros when it comes to Lasik. And the price is much lower as well.
“Everyone I’ve talked to who has had it done that way had a harder recovery than I did; much more pain and burning.”
I wasn’t too keen on the idea of that “flap” thing, blade or laser. Maybe I was luckier than I thought having to do PRK. The recovery from PRK took a week but they gave me a little vial of painkiller drops for “emergencies.” I had to use one drop in one eye once.
They gave me one of those too - tetracaine. I never used it until a girl on a trip I was on got some ashes in her eyes from a campfire; she was in agony and I had the drops along. They helped her out a ton until we could get the stuff out of her eyes.
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