Laser eye surgery

joe2008

Anyone had any experience of it?

joey54321

Can't help but eager to follow this thread. I am thinking about it myself.

bendertherobot

Wife had it. Best money she's ever spent she says.

Matthewfalle

you having your eyes replaced with lasers?

shut the front door - thats freakin' cool.

het. biggly.

Jon777

I thought about it but after someone know had a bad experience, noway. Now suffers other vision issues as a result of the surgery.

DeVlaeminck

I had it, had 20 years without specs but my eyes have got worse in the last few years so it may not be forever, for 20 years though yeah no problems.

Pross

I looked into it (no pun intended!) but apparently as my eyes are so imbalanced, I can read the whole chart easily with my left but only the top 3 lines with a bit of guessing using my right, even after surgery my left eye would do all the work.

prhymeate

Best thing I've ever spent my money on.

peat

I think it should be banned. And contact lenses.

Unless - People who have the surgery/use lenses are willing to have 'genetically defective' tattoo'ed upon their forehead.

mamil314

I had LASIK almost a decade ago, it worked very well, although had slightly dry eyes for around half a year. Recently my sight weakened some due to natural ageing. Since this was a pretty serious issue, i did a lot of research, saved up monies and went to a small clinic with high tech, expertise and track record. To this day they they claim 100% success rate, so extensive are their testing/preparation procedures. Now their price is triple of what i paid.

More recently, my brother went with newer procedure in one of big optics chains. He is OK now, but he struggled for a couple of months and needed to drip antibiotics. Good decision for both of us, and for anyone into sports.

Tashman

I know half a dozen people who have done this and all would recommend. I keep toying with the idea but the bank says no

dinyull

My wife is a nurse in a hospital eye ward.

She's talked about the subject with most of the Dr's/ Consultants and there is a reason most of them are all still wearing glasses.

FishFish

Dinyull wrote:

My wife is a nurse in a hospital eye ward.

She's talked about the subject with most of the Dr's/ Consultants and there is a reason most of them are all still wearing glasses.

Is that because they masturbate a lot?

robert88

Dinyull wrote:

My wife is a nurse in a hospital eye ward.

She's talked about the subject with most of the Dr's/ Consultants and there is a reason most of them are all still wearing glasses.

Must admit I am averse to any sort of surgery unless it's the only option. But only from a patient's perspective!

mercia_man

My neighbour had it done. His eyesight was ruined by the procedure and he is no longer able to drive a car.

Matthewfalle

I put plasters n people occasionally and say that unless you really need an invasive procedure I'd stay clear. TDV had both eyes done due to cataracts a couple of years ago and now needs glasses for reading but is like freakin' action eyes action man everywhere else.

Vanity doth make the cap inadequate, as the saying goes.

DeVlaeminck

My older brother had it done 25 years ago too and he's been ok. In fact if he hadn't had it I would probably not have gone for it but his seemed to work ok.

We both had the one where they laser away the top layer of the eye rather than the newer procedure where I believe they cut a flap and laser under that. My understanding is - which may be wrong - that the earlier procedure was actually slightly more accurate but that the newer one saves you having several days discomfort feeling like you've got grit in your eye post op.

DeVlaeminck

Mercia Man wrote:

My neighbour had it done. His eyesight was ruined by the procedure and he is no longer able to drive a car.

Best thing he can do is have some other essentially cosmetic medical procedure done as soon as possible to get over any deep seated fear that may have created.

spekky

I think I will have to out myself here - as an eye surgeon. I don't do this procedure myself any more as I concentrate on other eye disease. However. It is a great procedure carried out by the right people for the right reasons.

Which are?

I reckon more than 2 dioptres of myopia (others vary) and a dislike of glasses. Age over 21 and 3 years of stable refraction. LASIK +/- Femto remains the gold standard and is usually the least uncomfortable in the immediate post treatment period although long lasting dry eye symptoms are not rare. Risks are on a par with wearing soft contact lenses and about the same cost over time.

So why not?

Firstly, you cannot put off the march of time and the loss of focus with age. If you are a committed contact lens wearer, then you are half way there already. You will have to give up CLs or wear readers when older. A laser treatment for myopia should give contact lens corrected vision (and the need for reading glasses). Yes you can have one eye treated for near and one for distance, but try with CLs first, or you may hate it.

If your are not wearing CLs and removing glasses to read - don't have it done. Losing near vision is a big problem when older.

If your surgeon won't discuss these issues in more detail to confirm your individual needs - and this takes much longer than the treatment - then walk away.

Matthewfalle

Spekky wrote:

I think I will have to out myself here - as an eye surgeon. I don't do this procedure myself any more as I concentrate on other eye disease. However. It is a great procedure carried out by the right people for the right reasons.

Which are?

I reckon more than 2 dioptres of myopia (others vary) and a dislike of glasses. Age over 21 and 3 years of stable refraction. LASIK +/- Femto remains the gold standard and is usually the least uncomfortable in the immediate post treatment period although long lasting dry eye symptoms are not rare. Risks are on a par with wearing soft contact lenses and about the same cost over time.

So why not?

Firstly, you cannot put off the march of time and the loss of focus with age. If you are a committed contact lens wearer, then you are half way there already. You will have to give up CLs or wear readers when older. A laser treatment for myopia should give contact lens corrected vision (and the need for reading glasses). Yes you can have one eye treated for near and one for distance, but try with CLs first, or you may hate it.

If your are not wearing CLs and removing glasses to read - don't have it done. Losing near vision is a big problem when older.

If your surgeon won't discuss these issues in more detail to confirm your individual needs - and this takes much longer than the treatment - then walk away.

And here endeth the thread.

mouth

Spekky wrote:

I think I will have to out myself here - as an eye surgeon. I don't do this procedure myself any more as I concentrate on other eye disease. However. It is a great procedure carried out by the right people for the right reasons.

Which are?

I reckon more than 2 dioptres of myopia (others vary) and a dislike of glasses. Age over 21 and 3 years of stable refraction. LASIK +/- Femto remains the gold standard and is usually the least uncomfortable in the immediate post treatment period although long lasting dry eye symptoms are not rare. Risks are on a par with wearing soft contact lenses and about the same cost over time.

So why not?

Firstly, you cannot put off the march of time and the loss of focus with age. If you are a committed contact lens wearer, then you are half way there already. You will have to give up CLs or wear readers when older. A laser treatment for myopia should give contact lens corrected vision (and the need for reading glasses). Yes you can have one eye treated for near and one for distance, but try with CLs first, or you may hate it.

If your are not wearing CLs and removing glasses to read - don't have it done. Losing near vision is a big problem when older.

If your surgeon won't discuss these issues in more detail to confirm your individual needs - and this takes much longer than the treatment - then walk away.

Possibly the most sensible and responsible response to any thread on the internet. Ever.

Personally I can't imagine meddling with my eyes in what is, as others have said, a cosmetic procedure. Wearing glasses isn't really a big deal these days, to the point that my niece was disappointed when told she didn't require them. A (former) colleague had it done and it went wrong - don't know at which stage - and no longer has a driving license. Given that he was a bus driver this is somewhat of an issue for him. I know a few others who've had it done to no real issue, but any surgery or procedure carries risk. Having said that, I know people who now have problems with their eyes due to over wearing contact lenses, but that's essentially on themselves.

joe2008

Lots of great points here.

For me it's not a 'cosmetic procedure', it's a job requirement to have better vision than I have.

I've got a free consultation on Tuesday, and I'm very undecided whether I'll go for it.

I'm happy wearing contact lenses.

prhymeate

joe2008 wrote:

Lots of great points here.

For me it's not a 'cosmetic procedure', it's a job requirement to have better vision than I have.

I've got a free consultation on Tuesday, and I'm very undecided whether I'll go for it.

I'm happy wearing contact lenses.

Go for the consultation, can't hurt to have a free eye checkup. I'd also go for a second one at a different place and get a feel for both. It also helps if you do decide to do it as you can play them off against each other for a better price. If you are undecided and happy wearing contacts then I'd say maybe it's not worth it for you. Can you not get the better vision that you require for your job using contact lenses?

joe2008

Prhymeate wrote:

joe2008 wrote:

Lots of great points here.

For me it's not a 'cosmetic procedure', it's a job requirement to have better vision than I have.

I've got a free consultation on Tuesday, and I'm very undecided whether I'll go for it.

I'm happy wearing contact lenses.

Go for the consultation, can't hurt to have a free eye checkup. I'd also go for a second one at a different place and get a feel for both. It also helps if you do decide to do it as you can play them off against each other for a better price. If you are undecided and happy wearing contacts then I'd say maybe it's not worth it for you. Can you not get the better vision that you require for your job using contact lenses?

It states 'uncorrected vision'.

But, of course, sight will have been corrected

Tashman

joe2008 wrote:

Prhymeate wrote:

joe2008 wrote:

Lots of great points here.

For me it's not a 'cosmetic procedure', it's a job requirement to have better vision than I have.

I've got a free consultation on Tuesday, and I'm very undecided whether I'll go for it.

I'm happy wearing contact lenses.

Go for the consultation, can't hurt to have a free eye checkup. I'd also go for a second one at a different place and get a feel for both. It also helps if you do decide to do it as you can play them off against each other for a better price. If you are undecided and happy wearing contacts then I'd say maybe it's not worth it for you. Can you not get the better vision that you require for your job using contact lenses?

It states 'uncorrected vision'.

But, of course, sight will have been corrected

Just out of interest, what's the job? I know I got binned from aircrew selection for the RAF when I had my eye examination at Cranwell as that's when I was told I needed specs. With that even surgically corrected was disallowed as a potential weakness in the eye when under pressure.

ben@31

I had laser eye surgery about 10 years ago. My eyes weren't 100% perfect afterwards put there was a huge life changing improvement. My Prescription went from -5.75 which is so bad that I couldn't read an alarm clock next to my bed. To around -0.5 which is almost unnoticeable and I could legally drive a car without glasses or contact lenses.

Its no secret that your eyesight will still deteriorate with age. Happens to everyone. Now 10 years on, Im just starting to wear glasses again for driving at night. But the glasses lenses being a few inches thinner than what they once were.

What surprised me about the operation was how quick it was, it felt like 20 seconds per eye. I didn't feel a thing. I remember the Doctor saying the laser can track any eye movement and even if your eye moved massively half way through the procedure, the laser would turn off.

ben@31

Tashman wrote:

Just out of interest, what's the job? I know I got binned from aircrew selection for the RAF when I had my eye examination at Cranwell as that's when I was told I needed specs. With that even surgically corrected was disallowed as a potential weakness in the eye when under pressure.

The entry requirements have changed. Im sure they do allow applicants after 1 year of laser surgery. Shame Im too old :roll: But if you have a spare £70,000 you could always train to be an airline pilot

mouth

ben@31 wrote:

Tashman wrote:

Just out of interest, what's the job? I know I got binned from aircrew selection for the RAF when I had my eye examination at Cranwell as that's when I was told I needed specs. With that even surgically corrected was disallowed as a potential weakness in the eye when under pressure.

The entry requirements have changed. Im sure they do allow applicants after 1 year of laser surgery. Shame Im too old :roll: But if you have a spare £70,000 you could always train to be an airline pilot

£70k is just the initial contribution. After that you get tied in for like 10 years and pay an amount of your salary back over that period too.

FWIW eye sight is still a thing for commercial aviation. Individually, both of my eyes qualify but because of the disparity between them being too far apart I can't pass the EASA. The sad thing is that if they were both as bad as my worse eye, I'd pass. I can still fly private if I wished though, but the end game would have always been commercial so its not worth it.

mr_goo

ben@31 wrote:

Tashman wrote:

Just out of interest, what's the job? I know I got binned from aircrew selection for the RAF when I had my eye examination at Cranwell as that's when I was told I needed specs. With that even surgically corrected was disallowed as a potential weakness in the eye when under pressure.

The entry requirements have changed. Im sure they do allow applicants after 1 year of laser surgery. Shame Im too old :roll: But if you have a spare £70,000 you could always train to be an airline pilot

Cost has gone up to between £100-120k for an ATPL. My son just got knocked back on RAF aircrew selection on the hearing test. He can hear perfectly well but not at the very very highest frequency. His hearing is OK for commercial pilot but finding that kind of money at age 22 is nigh on impossible.

As for laser surgery. I've been a CL and spec wearer for 40 years. CL cleaning regime and giving your eyes a chance to breath before sleep is the key to healthy eyes.
My optician told me of a patient who stored his lenses in his mouth overnight ! Inside his cheeks.
When questioned why, he answered that nobody told him he shouldn't.

mouth

Mr Goo wrote:

ben@31 wrote:

Cost has gone up to between £100-120k for an ATPL. My son just got knocked back on RAF aircrew selection on the hearing test. He can hear perfectly well but not at the very very highest frequency. His hearing is OK for commercial pilot but finding that kind of money at age 22 is nigh on impossible.

Realistically you're either talking about either a minor lottery win or a really big silver spoon from your family. 120k plus the living expenses for two years and when I was looking at Lufthansa several years ago for a similar scheme (nothing upfront but paid a pittance for 7 or so years afterwards) as well as being unsalaried during the training period. On top of all that, there was a module taught in Arizona or somewhere else like that in the States. Guess who paid for the travel there and back as well as accommodation while there. After all that you have to go where the work is. ie to work for BA you'll need a Surrey post code, unless you wanna work for EasyJet on a bus drivers wage.

FishFish

Before I joined the army I was accepted for Royal Marines Officer Training but found, during the medical, that I had some red-green defficiency. Consequently I could not take up one of the Marines Officer career paths as a helicopter pilot so was binned at the starting line. I checked up and found the Army did a different test - the Isihara test which was a book full of blobs. I borrowed the book from the University Library and memorised it - passed the test with the comment from the doctor administering the medical that my eyesight is perfect and I could be a pilot!

Spent 8 years in the Parachute Regiment and learned that the marines are a bunch of wnkrs which I would probably not have learned had I stayed tin the Marines. Now when I'm aware that someone was in the Royal Marines I ask them what instrument they played.