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You are NOT a good candidate for refractive surgery if you are not a risk taker !
It has been almost 3 years now that I decided to
have lasik surgery and my vision has not improved at all! I want now to
share my experience with anyone else who is considering it.
First I'll give you a bit of background, I first got glasses at the age of
8, I switched to contacts at age 15 (changed my life) and have been wearing
them ever since. My eyeglass prescription was -8 & -7.25... As a
consequence, I couldn't see anything without glasses! That's the reason why
I decided to get some information concerning lasik surgery. This is how
things went…
My surgeon, who performed thousands of lasik procedures, told me I was a
good candidate and predicted wonderful eyesight. I decided to go for it.
On surgery day, I was so nervous that I could hardly eat anything for
breakfast… I just wanted it to be over.
Once at the clinic, I was taken into the waiting room with some others where
they gave us a mild sedative… Then I went lie in the "laser bed". I was
lying down and my head was in a cradle to keep me from moving it. They
adjusted the bed so that my eye was under the laser. My eye is frozen with
drops so I couldn't feel anything, and at different times during the
surgery, my eye was flushed with solutions to rinse debris and help prevent
infection.
To keep my eye open, they used a speculum which fits around my eye and
prevents me from blinking. The next step was to cut the flap. To prevent me
from moving my eye, they put a suction cup on it. All I felt was a bit of
pressure but it didn't hurt. The flap only took a few seconds to cut, then
the remove the suction cup. During the process, I didn't really see much.
Next, the actual laser. It all happened quickly. After this, they flushed my
eye out to remove the laser debris and put the flap back over. Then they did
it all again with my other eye.
Click here if you want to
watch a video of a procedure…
Click here
if you want to see some pics…
When it was finished, I sat up. I was asked to read the clock on the wall, a
mere 20 feet away and it was very blurry. Not a good sign… I would have been
more upset, but I was still under the effects of the sedative.
Today, my eyes are constantly dry and I see ghost images all the time. They
are much less noticeable in bright sunlight, but still there. My night
vision is terrible.
I need new glasses to correct the farsightedness due to overcorrection. They
allow me to watch TV in the evening without headaches, but are useless for
the ghost images.
On one of my post-op visits, I told my surgeon that I regretted having the
procedure done. He offered me an enhancement. But another surgeon told me
that a botched attempt to correct my farsightedness now could cost me my
corneas.
I wish I could turn back time and have my old glasses back, but I can’t…
If you’re considering to have lasik, please read the following information
concerning lasik, risks and
contraindications.
History of lasik eye surgery
Doctors first used refractive surgery in the 1970's to treat vision problems
using a procedure called Radial Keratonomy (RK). IBM originally developed
the excimer laser currently used in LASIK procedures to etch computer chips.
After FDA approval in 1995, doctors began using the excimer laser to correct
vision in the human eye. Initially, doctors used the laser on the surface of
the cornea, in a procedure known as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
Unfortunately, PRK procedures created a great deal of pain in a patient's
eye and required a great deal of time to heal.
To avoid the shortcomings of PRK, doctors began using the excimer laser in
LASIK procedures, which are less painful and heal more quickly. Until the
FDA approval of the LASIK procedure in 1999, doctors performed LASIK as an
"off label use" of the excimer laser. "Off label use" is the use of an FDA
approved drug, biologic, or medical device in a manner for which the FDA has
not yet approved its use. While such a use is not illegal, it does require
that the doctors inform themselves about the product, base the products use
on firm scientific rationale and on sound medical evidence, and maintain
records of the product's use and effects.
What are the risks and the contraindications of refractive surgery?
As Lasik is a relatively new procedure, it is impossible to be informed of
every conceivable risks and complications that may occur. There may be long
term effects not yet known at the present time.
Loss of Vision : Laser surgery can possibly cause loss of vision or
loss of best corrected vision.
This can be due to infection (internal or external) or irregular scarring or
other causes, and unless successfully controlled by antibiotics, steroids,
or other necessary treatment, could even cause loss of the infected eye.
Vision loss can be due to the cornea healing irregularly, which could add
astigmatism and make wearing glasses or contact lenses necessary or lead to
loss of useful vision. Irregular corneal healing could result in a distorted
corneal surface so that distorted vision or "ghosting" occurs. This may or
may not be correctable by spectacles or contact lenses.
Undercorrection/Overcorrection : It is not possible to predict
perfectly how your eye will respond to laser surgery. It may be that it will
not give you the result you desired.
Many procedures result in the eye being undercorrected. If this occurs, it
may be possible or necessary to have additional surgery to fine-tune or
enhance the initial result.
It is also possible that your eye may be overcorrected to the point of
becoming farsighted (by overtreating myopia) or nearsighted (by overtreating
hyperopia).
It is possible that your initial results could regress over time. In some,
but not all cases, re-treatment, glasses, or contact lenses could be
effective in correcting vision.
Decrease in Best-Corrected Vision : After refractive surgery, some
patients find that their best obtainable vision with corrective lenses is
worse than it was before the surgery. This can occur as a result of
irregular tissue removal or the development of corneal haze.
Excessive Corneal Haze : Corneal haze occurs as part of the normal
healing process after PRK. In most cases, it has little or no effect on the
final vision and can only be seen by an eye doctor with a microscope.
However, there are some cases of excessive haze that interferes with vision.
As with undercorrections, this can often be dealt with by means of an
additional laser treatment. The risk of significant haze is much less with
LASIK than with PRK.
Regression : In some patients the effect of refractive surgery is
gradually lost over several months. This is like an undercorrection, and a
re-treatment is often feasible.
Visual Side Effects : Other complications and conditions that can
occur with LASIK surgery include: anisometropia (difference in power between
the two eyes); epithelial ingrowth (epithelial cells growing underneath the
corneal flap); aniseikonia (difference in imaging size between the two
eyes); double vision; hazy vision; fluctuating vision during the day and
from day to day; increased or decreased sensitivity to light that may be
incapacitating for some time and may not completely go away, and/or glare
and halos around lights, which may not completely go away.
Flap Damage or Loss : Instead of creating a hinged flap of tissue on
the central cornea, the entire flap could come off. If this were to occur it
could be replaced after the laser treatment. However, there is a risk that
the flap could be damaged or lost.
Distorted Flap : Irregular healing of the corneal flap could create a
distorted corneal shape, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision.
Incomplete Procedure : Equipment malfunction may require the
procedure to be stopped before completion. This is a more significant factor
in LASIK, with its higher degree of complexity, than in PRK.
Problems with a Perfect Procedure : Even when everything goes
perfectly, there are effects that might cause some dissatisfaction. Older
patients should be aware that they can't have both good distance vision and
good near vision in the same eye without corrective lenses. Some myopic
patients rely on their myopia (by taking off their glasses, or by wearing a
weaker prescription) to allow them to read. Such a patient may need reading
glasses after the myopia is surgically corrected. Another consideration is
the delay between eye treatments. If one eye is being done at a time, then
the eyes may not work well together during the time between treatments. If a
contact lens is not tolerated on the unoperated eye, work and driving may be
awkward or impossible until the second eye has been treated.
Other Risks : Other reported complications include: corneal ulcer
formation; endothelial cell loss (loss of cell density in the inner layer of
the cornea, possibly resulting in corneal swelling); ptosis (droopy eyelid);
corneal swelling; contact lens intolerance, retinal detachment, and/or
hemorrhage.
Complications could also arise requiring further corrective procedures
including either a partial (lamellar) or full thickness corneal transplant
using donor cornea. These complications include: loss of corneal disc;
damage to the corneal disc; disc degeneration, or progressive corneal
thinning (ectasia). Sutures may also be required which could induce
astigmatism. There are also potential complications due to anesthesia and
medications that may involve other parts of your body.
LASIK is a relatively recent technique. You should be aware that other
complications may occur that have not yet been reported. Longer term results
may reveal additional risks and complications. After the procedure, you
should continue to have routine check-ups to assess the condition of your
eyes.
Contraindications :
The treatment may not be indicated in persons:
• With uncontrolled vascular disease
• With autoimmune disease
• Who are immune-compromised or on drugs or therapy that suppress the immune
system
• With signs of keratoconus (steepening of the cornea)
• With a previous history of keloid formation
• Who are pregnant, nursing, or expecting to become pregnant within six
months following the LASIK procedure
• With residual, recurrent, or active ocular disease(s) or abnormalities,
except for myopia or hyperopia in either eye
• With active or residual disease(s) likely to affect wound healing
capability
• With unstable or uncontrolled diabetes
• With progressive myopia or hyperopia
• With amblyopia (lazy eye)
• With glaucoma
10 Common Sense Reasons Why You Should NOT Have Lasik Eye Surgery
After years of dealing with the hassle of spectacles and contact lenses,
you’ve decided to reward yourself by having Lasik. You’ve read the glowing
reports in the media about the wonders of this “state of the art” procedure
and your ophthalmologist has just pronounced you “a perfect candidate.”
It is at this time, more than at any other time in your life, that you must
pause, stand back from the excitement of the moment, and reflect deeply on
what you are about to do. Lasik will permanently alter the optics and
physiology of your eyes. Most likely things will go well. But there is a
significant chance, much greater than many ophthalmologists realize or will
publicly admit, that your eyes will be irreversibly damaged. The results
could be devastating.
When considering elective surgery one must ask if the benefits truly
outweigh the risks involved. You’ve heard a lot about the benefits, no doubt
from the surgeon who stands to gain financially by operating on your eyes.
But you owe it to yourself to take a few minutes to read the rest of this
document in order to become better informed about the risks of Lasik. Once
you understand these risks, you may conclude that the prudent course of
action is to avoid the Lasik fad until the procedure has fully matured,
withstood the test of time, and been proven safe. After all, we’re talking
about your eyes.
1. The true degree of risk is unclear and is being downplayed.
2. Lasik technology is in its infancy.
3. Lasik induces optical aberrations that are poorly understood by
ophthalmologists.
4. Lasik reduces contrast sensitivity.
5. Lasik reduces the Cornea’s Structural Stability.
6. Lasik can Cause Photophobia.
7. Myopia will Eventually Be Your Friend.
8. Lasik indirectly increases the risk of cataracts.
9. Lasik causes drier eyes.
10. Lasik’s long-term Risks are unknown.
Each of these ten points should be enough to give pause to anyone
considering Lasik. Taken as a whole, they raise serious concerns about the
wisdom of undergoing this relatively new procedure. These concerns have been
raised by some ophthalmologists but have been largely disregarded by most
refractive surgeons and the excimer laser industry, which seem more
interested in maximizing profits from the Lasik fad rather than looking out
for the long-term health of their patients. All too often, well-intentioned
refractive surgeons are simply unaware of many of the problems associated
with Lasik discussed in this article.
Eyeglasses have been giving people good eyesight for several centuries.
Contact lenses have been widely used for three decades and, when cleaned and
used properly, have proven themselves to be safe. Lasik has been performed
widely in the United States for less than five years. Does it make sense to
risk your eyes on such a new procedure?
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