LASIK Eye Surgery - Don't Be A Wuss! It's A Piece of Cake!
Nov 14 '02
The Bottom Line Best surgery I ever went through. Over 2 1/2 years later, I still highly recommend it.
Note: This was originally published in K&F in 2000. Moved to reflect the new category in Health. Updated too!
History
When I was eight years old, I started noticing how I was losing the ability to see things that were far away from me. Over the next two years, my eyesight went dramatically downhill and I was one of those lucky individuals who got to wear glasses. Eventually, I got to make my rounds through all sorts of contacts – hard, gas permeable, and then finally soft. With soft, I tried everything from toric lenses to disposable lenses.
I had heard about laser eye surgery about ten years ago. It sounded promising but I always figured I had the type of vision that wouldn’t allow for the procedure. If you can read the big E on the eye chart, your vision is 20/400. I couldn’t read the big E on the eye chart so I couldn’t even begin to tell you what the measurement of my vision was! I also have horrible astigmatism in both of my eyes.
Then, this past year, I started to have to make several visits to my eye dr. My allergies were wreaking havoc on my eyes – so much so that I was having difficulty wearing my contacts. My glasses are the size of coke bottle bottoms and they just plain made me look nasty in public. That’s when my eye dr. mentioned LASIK. He thought I would be a candidate for the procedure.
My eye dr. was very familiar with the process and was able to describe the procedure in great detail. He even mentioned that my insurance – VSP – paid for a portion of the costs. I didn’t think I had anything to lose, so I made an appointment.
Pre-Op Visit
I made an appointment with TLC in March 2000. My eye dr. and insurance carrier have a partnership with this facility. During my pre-op visit, I was given a thorough eye exam. A computer map was generated of each eye. We did the usual exam of looking through the machine and telling which is better or worse.
An anesthetic eye drop was administered to each eye for another type of test – one where they measure the pressure and thickness of your corneal flap. I was told that these drops were very similar to the ones used during surgery. When the woman was poking around in my eyes, I couldn’t feel anything.
Based on the test results, I was told that I was an excellent candidate for the procedure. Although I could have scheduled immediately, I just wasn’t ready to mentally. The thought of going from years of glasses and contacts to surgery was a little scary for me.
The price of getting both eyes done is $4800 without the VSP insurance. With the VSP insurance, my total would be $3600.
Description of LASIK Procedure
LASIK (Laser-In-Situ Keratomileusis) is supposed to be one the most frequently used vision correction procedures in the world. A flap is made into your corneal area and lifted so that a laser can reshape the cornea. The laser is calibrated to the proper level needed to correct your vision. After the laser does its job, the flap is replaced and it bonds right back to the eye.
TLC tells you the following. First, complications are 1 in 400 for their patients. Most of these complications are traced back to the flap not being in a good position to go forward with the procedure. Should that occur, they close the flap up and you can come back another time. This was a big fear of mine because I did NOT want to have to do this more than once! The other item termed a complication is that approximately 8% of patients will come back in for an enhancement. There is always the possibility that you could be over or under corrected. Enhancements usually occur at the Three month mark.
Bottom line is that with this surgery, they leave you no worse off than when you came. My eye dr. told me this also.
Oops, I’m Not Supposed To Have Pre-Operative Complications!
But I did. My allergies in combination with the antihistamine I was taking, was causing me to have dry eyes. I’m on an antihistamine virtually year round so going off of the medication is not an option. My eye dr. informed me that LASIK surgery would make my eyes even dryer. When I thought all hope was lost, he indicated that this was just a mere ruffle in the plan. Because my eyes don’t hold tears very well, I just needed a procedure to take care of it. There’s a long term and short-term procedure. At this writing, due to scheduling conflicts, I had to go with the short-term procedure. In about three weeks, I’ll be getting the permanent fix.
The short-term fix is having collagen plugs inserted into the tear duct area. Sound gross? Yah, the thought did to me too. They’re these little, pipe like things that look to be about 1 inch long. They help plug up the area that hold the tears in your eyes, thus assisting your eyes in keeping moist. The procedure is easy. Your eyes are numbed with the aesthetic drops and the collagen is inserted. This didn’t bother me a bit.
The long-term fix is called punctual occlusion. This where a silicon-like chip is placed in my punctum area (that round looking thingie at the inner edge of your eye) to hold my tears better in place.
Pre-Surgery Instructions
If you wear hard contact lenses, those must remain out of your eyes for two weeks prior to the procedure. If you’re a soft contact wearer, you must leave them out of your eyes three days prior to the procedure.
There was a lengthy consent form that I had to read through and initial and sign in multiple places. Reading through this the night before the surgery was a little bit intimidating! The document goes through and describes in minute detail every little thing that they do or the worst possible things that can happen. They even make you write something like “I understand that there are no guarantees”. Hilarious!
A friend of mine told me to not to go to bed too early because it might be more difficult taking a nap the next day after the procedure if I was well rested. I got about 5.5 hours of sleep.
They also tell you to eat a light breakfast.
Warning: This Section Might Contain More Details Than You’re Ready to Read
Actual Day of Surgery
My appointment was at 7:30 a.m. I arrived and immediately, I was whisked off to a room to take care of paperwork. They reviewed my consent form and took payment. Soon thereafter, I was taken to another room where my laser Dr. went over the surgery with me again. Thoroughness is not an issue with this facility. Right after, I was given the anesthetic drops and the collagen plugs were inserted.
I went to the waiting area where a nurse gave me some medication – a form of valium – to take the edge off. That was a nice bonus. She also went over instructions for post-operative care and answered any questions I had. My hair was tucked into a blue surgical cap and my feet were covered with the blue surgical booties.
She administered some more anesthetic drops and then swabbed my eye lids and lashes with a betadine solution. A few minutes later, another nurse came out to get me and I went into the laser room.
The laser room kind of look like the set up you see at a dentist. The chair you lay back in looks exactly like the one you sit in when you go to the dentist. I layed back and the dr. and nurse talked to me. The dr. gave me the 50,000 ft. view of what was about to happen while the nurse actually talked to me the entire time of the procedure, describing every little detail of what was going on.
The dr. had me look up at the ceiling. He applied some sort of stretchy fabric to hold back my eyelashes on the top and on the bottom. Then, he inserted more eye drops. The last step, the one I found the most irritating – but not painful – was the insertion of some metal thingie that holds your eye in place. Yuck! I didn’t like it. It was very distracting for me! I then had to look at a bright, blinking red light. I could see activity going on above my eye, but felt nothing and really couldn’t tell what he was doing. The best news – and something that we all fear – is that the flap isn’t in the right shape to proceed with the procedure. He remarked that everything looked good and that we could continue the procedure. Even though I was under the influence of a mild drug, I breathed a major sigh of relief. I remember not being able to see at all for a few seconds – lots of sparkly like lighting going on where normally I would see then, I saw again and noticed how clearer things became. The dr. kept me focused on the red light for about 45 seconds on each eye. I remember feeling a water sensation and then that irritating metal thingie was pulled out of my eye.
The same process was used for the other eye.
After the procedure, I sat up for a few minutes, and even though my vision was blurry, I could see things I hadn’t seen before!
I went out to the waiting room and laid back in a chair for about 20 minutes. They want to keep your eyes open this entire time. I wanted to sleep so this was somewhat a struggle for me. More eye drops were added to keep my eyes lubricated.
After the 20 minutes, they take you back into the examination room to take a look at your eyes. They want to ensure before you go home that the flaps are properly in place. Mine were. I was released to go home for a good afternoon nap.
Follow-Up Care
They give you a nice one-page document that tells you some things you should expect.
· It is normal for your vision to be blurry and to fluctuate for the first few days and to gradually improve over the next four weeks. Complete visual recovery takes at least 3-6 months.
· Your eyes may sting and tear for the first day. Take Tylenol. Advil, etc… for pain, and use lubrication for eye relief.
· Your eyes may be red with spots of superficial blood which will disappear in 2-4 weeks. Your lids may be slightly swollen.
· Reading may be difficult initially.
· Normal healing may involve some regression. A disposable contact lense or glasses may be worn if needed, after one week following LASIK until the time is right for enhancement.
Activities – You’re to avoid eye makeup for 4 days, no swimming and sports for one week, avoid dirty environments for 4 days, and no driving until permitted by your dr. Usually, driving restrictions are lifted in 1-5 days following the procedure.
Eye Protection – You are given these nifty little goggles to wear for the first five days. Anytime you sleep, nap or otherwise, these must be worn. They have you tape them to your face – the tape is very sticky and can pull out gobs of hair if you’re not careful. You’re also given a pair of these nifty Star-Trek looking glasses (called Solarshields). Your eyes will be sensitive to the sunlight for a few days and these do a great job of blocking lots of sunlight out.
Eyedrops - You are given two sets of antibiotic-type eye drops. On the first day, they are to be administered every hour until bedtime. Thereafter, four times a day. You are also given lubrication drops to use as needed. I used mine a couple of times a day due to my dry eye issue.
Visits – I saw my regular eye dr. the next morning. My left eye was a bit scratchy and swollen (although a normal person couldn’t tell) which made my vision a little more blurrier than I had expected. Overall, my eyes were already up to 20/40 vision. The power in my right eye was less than one and the left eye was a little more than one. Wow! What a difference. Although I’m excited about the changes, I was a bit disappointed that not everything was perfect. The dr. indicated that by one week, I would still see a drastic improvement.
Other visits include:
1 Week to check vision
1 Month to check for enhancement
3 Months to perform enhancements if needed
6 Months to check visual stability of eye
12 Months to perform final checkup
Conclusion
Although it’s only been 36 hours since my procedure, I’m very happy with the results and would highly recommend anyone with the same vision problems to explore this alternative.
Post Script – More Information on TLC
While I’m not trying to put in an official plug for this place, I find it interesting that they offer something called, “The Lifetime Commitment”. You get it whether you ask for it or not! Basically, the purpose of this program is that they will offer re-treatment to you if needed, at any time in your life, free of charge. I think it says a lot about a company that will do this. Your commitment is to follow through on all of the follow-up exams (as I listed above). For more information about TLC, visit their website at http://www.tlcvision.com/hp4.htm
What's Happened Since 2000?
I ended up going back in 1 year later to get an enhancement done in my right eye. The same process was followed and immediately, my right eye went from 20/60 to 20/40.
Occasionally, I have issues with dry eyes but this only seems to occur during the worst of allergy season. If I put moisture gel in my eyes at night, I have absolutely no issues that night or the next day. Allergan puts out something that does a great job of keeping your eyes lubricated.
Do I regret having this done? Absolutely not!!! it's incredible freedom not having to put my contacts in every morning and not having to worry about whether or not my eyes will tolerate them.
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kristinafh
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Member: Kristina Frazier-Henry
Location: Indiana
Reviews written: 1344
Trusted by: 1168 members
About Me:
Cannot breathe. Missing Barbara.
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