Keep your Eye on the Ball

Cassius Rosenthal

Mon Apr 23 20:26:58 -0700 2007

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Anybody have experience with those holistic 'cure your vision without surgery' programs that advertise on the radio?

Keep your Eye on the Ball

guest

Mon Apr 23 21:03:13 -0700 2007

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If this sort of subject is interesting to you (and it is to me, too), then you simply must read Perfect Stranger.

 

A contribution to International Pixel-Stained Technopeasants day, by Amy Sterling Casil.
http://community.livejournal.com/ipstp/2018.html

Here is a direct link to the story (in pdf):
http://asterling.typepad.com/PerfectStrangerAmyCasil.pdf

A 'must read', and an example of the sort of quality work that Pixel-Stained Technopeasants produce.

In today's world of ever increasing 'augmentation', this short story should be mandatory reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep your Eye on the Ball

Richard Young

Tue Apr 24 05:23:42 -0700 2007

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Anyone here go for the surgery? Worth it?

My wife works as a nurse at a laser correction clinic.  The laser system they use is capable of tracking your eyeball in three dimensions, hundreds of times per second.

The screening process takes far more time than the actual procedure.

You can get some pretty cool high definition photographs of the inside of your eyeball!

Not everyone is a good candidate for these procedures however, so be aware of anyone telling you that anyone can have it done.

Keep your Eye on the Ball

Torrey

Tue Apr 24 11:47:44 -0700 2007

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My wife and I both had PRK laser eye surgery a few months ago.  Although we are living in the US, we had the surgery done in Canada (Vancouver BC) as it is less expensive and they have the next generation laser systems there.

We did a lot of research on the different options.  The place we went to does both LASIK and PRK, for the same price.  They recommend PRK in general unless you are in a job where you cannot take time off for recovery, which is the major downside of PRK.  They would have done either procedure, our choice, but they do recommend PRK. 

LASIK (a.k.a. flap-and-zap) has very quick recovery, but very slightly higher chance of complication, (research dry eyes - rare but scary!) and the long term outcomes are less well known because they've only been doing it for a few years.

PRK takes a week to recover, on average, but they've been doing it for years and have the procedure pretty much optimized.  The long term effects on the eye are better understood.

By the way, modern PRK is quite different than it was 10 years ago, problems with night vision have largely been eliminated due to treating a much larger area on the surface of the eye.

So for those reasons we both got PRK.  (well, also my wife had -8 or so diopters of correction to get, and LASIK wasn't actually an option for her because of the amount of tissue that needed to be removed.)

The results have been good.  I had -4.5 diopters of correction in both eyes and two months later I am already 20/20 and still slowly getting better.  However, my wife is not quite 20/20, and is just a little disappointed.  She sees well and doesn't need glasses any more.

The recovery was slow.  For the first week, we didn't try to work or read.  The second week, we were back at work.  I have a big flatscreen monitor and I just cranked the font size up several notches and managed.  Then it just slowly got better and better.  Not in a smooth curve either, it kind of came and went as the epethelial layers of the eye grew back and healed.

But for the last few weeks it has been very consistent for both of us.

I have no regrets at all, it turned out extremely well for me.  For my wife, just a little disappointment that the results were not 20/20 -- but we knew that was a possibility when we went in.  She would still do it again.

hmmm, what else can I say... the actual procedure is totally painless and very quick.  Rather weird, as you are looking through the eye as the laser runs, and you can see your vision blurring as you watch the little blinking red light and hear the buzzing of the laser.  You can smell the burning a little.  :-)  But I'd say that without any doubt, having drilling done on your teeth at the dentist is worse.

After the laser is done they put some "bandage" contacts in your eyes.  I was able to see quite well in the recovery room immediately after the surgery, which was reassuring :-)

The other thing to note is you will be putting in eye drops for weeks.  Lots of eye drops, different kinds, many times a day.  If you don't do this right, your eyes may not heal properly... so do it right!   After the first two weeks it gets simpler, as you won't be using the antibiotic drops any more, but for those first two weeks you'll need a written schedule and checklist for the drops.

Oh, in case you care - we went to Coal Harbour Laser Eye Center in Vancouver, BC.  No complaints at all, we are very satisfied customers.  When looking at the options available, I ended up choosing Coal Harbour because their surgeon (Dr. Kirzner?) did the laser eye surgeries for three other laser eye surgeons.  That was the reference that convinced me.

So that's my experience.  If you're considering it, do your research.  Don't choose the cheapest option, this is your EYES, you've only got one set!

Keep your Eye on the Ball

colin g.

Wed Apr 25 12:39:27 -0700 2007

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I'd be interested to hear what these next generation systems are in Canada.  I had PRK a couple years ago in the US with the Visx CustomVue wavefront system.  I haven't heard about improvements in the lasers since then.

I was amused at the fact I could watch the smoke from the laser vaporising tissue rising off my eye.  I didn't get any contact bandages, just an eye patch to wear for 1 day and a recommendation to not rub my eye for several weeks. 

I think I got prescribed only 2 eye drops to use for about a week.  I remember one was an antibiotic.  The other was a pain killer that I was recommended to use as little as possible as it slowed healing.  Fortunately I was able to not use it, as the oral vicodin I was also prescribed kept me comfortable for the several days it takes for the pain to abate.

I was told to take 1 gram of vitamin C per day for several months, and to religiously wear sunglasses outside for a year.  Apparently there has been research to suggest laser eye surgery patients in places with long dark winters tend to have fewer visual anomolies.

Anyway I had 20/20 for about a year, and it has regressed to about 20/30.  But as I was legally blind without eyeglasses before, PRK is the best healthcare money I have ever spent.

Keep your Eye on the Ball

Richard Young

Wed Apr 25 17:20:23 -0700 2007

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There is also LASEK.  This seems to have more similarities with PRK.

Quote from laser correction website;

The LASEK and PRK procedures are generally used to treat the same conditions as for LASIK, but in corneas which are abnormally shaped, have a fragile surface or are considered too thin for safe LASIK. Visual results from these procedures are comparable to LASIK.

During the LASEK procedure, cells are gently removed from the surface of the eye before the laser is applied. The cells are returned at the completion of the procedure. Unlike the LASIK procedure, a microkeratome (the instrument used to create a corneal flap) is NOT used, and the Excimer Laser is applied directly onto the cornea (front part of your eye) after removal of surface eye cells.

A contact lens is then placed over the eye to protect it over the course of several days and assist healing. 

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) is a similar procedure to LASEK, however, cells are not returned to the surface of the eye after the laser is applied.