Lasik Eye Surgery

[Omaha Red Sox]

I'll be having this surgery in a month and I'm wondering if anyone else has had it done or knows anyone who has. I've never been under the knife (or laser) for anything before, so I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing.

[shpuck]

My wife did.

She had it done in San Luis Obispo. There was no knife, so you don't have to worry about that

Basically, the procedure is for the doctor to medicate you up until you're calm. I think she was given 2 valium. The doctor seats you in the chair, and props your eyes open with clamps that look like they come out of a Tool video (or Rammstein' Sehnsucht album cover). They look creepy, but I don't think they bothered her.

They then put some drops into your eye to numb/anesthetize them. From what I remember seeing in a video they showes us the day before surgery, one laser is used to cut a flap on your cornea and the doctor lifts that away. Then, the laser used for the procedure is used to ablate some of your corneal tissue. She had the custom lasik done, which locks the laser onto your pupil so if your eye moves, the laser moves with it. The doctor then puts the flap back down with some drops and then repeats on the other eye (if you get both done).

The procedure itself takes about 24 to 30 seconds (per eye), but she was in the prep for one to two hours (since there were a number of people ahead of her).

After it's all said and done, they give you goggles to sleep with for a week, and you go home and keep your eyes shut for about 8 hours. Fortunately, you're so medicated with valium, this isn't a problem.

From what she told me, it was a snap, and I believe the procedure itself feels like you have something in your eye, but there is no pain whatsoever.

The next morning, she woke up and tried to take her contacts out, her eyes were so clear

You'll have a couple of checkups, and the only problem she had was one eye dried out a bit so it was blurry. Her vision went for 20/300 (before surgery) to 20/25 in about a week, and the doctor thought it would continue to improve.

Don't worry about it, it seems to be a great procedure, and the eye surgeons have developed excellent protocols.

If you have any more questions/concerns, PM me with an e-mail you can be contacted at, and I'll put her in touch with you.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[dannyolbb]

I had it done in 2000, and I agree with what shpuck says. It was easy, mostly painless, and not too bad. I had trouble with the goggles for that week, because I apparently move around a lot while I sleep.

Anyway, here's the bad part. My eyes regressed to pre-surgery levels after about a year. My eyesight is as bad as it ever was.

[Coppermine]

I'd really like to get this done as well; how much are they charging for this procedure these days?

[shpuck]

Hey dannyolbb, one of the requirements was for my wife to have had her prescription not change for one year. Was that a requirement for you, or had you had to upgrade your 'script just before the procedure? This is mainly for my info to log in my memory bank.

Coppermine, I think the total was around $4k for both eyes, but I don't remember the exact breakdown. I know it was $500 per eye for the custom view (the contour mapping to make the best shaped corneas), and then $2k for the basic procedure with around $1k added in for the use of the facility.

[Omaha Red Sox]

I'd really like to get this done as well; how much are they charging for this procedure these days?

Total in Omaha, it's $3500, but I'm going to KC where it's $2200. Now it's slightly different for everyone, but that'll give you an idea.

Thanks for the great info shpuck.

[GreenFish]

I don't want to discourage you as this procedure has been very successful for many many people but I have a friend who nearly went blind from this. She has had "corrective" surgery since then and is doing better now but for over a year she was legally blind. If I were to get it done myself I would want to do my eyes seperately and not at the same time starting with the worst eye. Again, odds are that this is not an issue so don't be discouraged.

[shpuck]

I don't want to discourage you as this procedure has been very successful for many many people but I have a friend who nearly went blind from this. She has had "corrective" surgery since then and is doing better now but for over a year she was legally blind. If I were to get it done myself I would want to do my eyes seperately and not at the same time starting with the worst eye. Again, odds are that this is not an issue so don't be discouraged.

That's actually a good point. For anyone researching this, look for a doctor that has done many SUCCESSFUL procedures (for the obvious reason). My wife's surgeon has had over 20,000 successful surgies over his 20 years of practice. I don't remember how many unsuccessful surgeries were at his office, but he only took the "perfect" candidate (thick corneas, healthy eyes, stable prescription), so that probably has a role in the high success rate.

[dannyolbb]

Hey dannyolbb, one of the requirements was for my wife to have had her prescription not change for one year. Was that a requirement for you, or had you had to upgrade your 'script just before the procedure? This is mainly for my info to log in my memory bank.

Coppermine, I think the total was around $4k for both eyes, but I don't remember the exact breakdown. I know it was $500 per eye for the custom view (the contour mapping to make the best shaped corneas), and then $2k for the basic procedure with around $1k added in for the use of the facility.

My eyesight was 20/200 from the time I was about 10 until I had the procedure at 21. For a year or so, I had 20/30 vision. It's right back to 20/200 now, though.

[RyanK]

im 18.. i plan on getting it at somepoint.. just im curious as to the say 10, 20 years after surgery... cause we havnet hit that point yet.. so i think if i wait another 3-5 years it should be better.. and hopefully covered by insurance