laser eye surgery

[TimberWolf]

my prescription is about -3.5 in each eye, pretty stable for past few years. I cant decide between UL and optical express. Which clinic did you attend?

Your prescription isn't too bad. Too bad to have just one eye treated though. First thing you need to consider is whether you want LASIK (a flap and zap, or a surface technique like LASEK). They may prefer LASIK since it's less hassle for them. LASIK 'heals' faster but has more possible complications (and the dreaded suction clamp which can play havok with floaters), the second type of procedure can be a little more painful and takes longer to heal (but heals fully). If you're over 35 you'd also need to consider whether or not to go for monocular vision (one eye left a little shortsighted). Ideally you'd want this decided before you are scheduled for surgery since things can happen fast and production line-ish later on , with whoever you go with.

With your prescription I doubt there will be much difference to choose between the clinics or the likly outcome, but there are statistically significant risks to be aware of, so why not choose the best? Ask to see the consent form early on so that you are aware of the risks long before. These risks should ideally have been calculated personal to you. A local clinic is a plus too, since many visits may be required (+1 day, +7, +3 months, etc, and more if complications arise). One possible negative with Ultralase is that you wont see the surgeon until the day of surgery (unless you specially ask like I did), which has its pro and cons. I thought with Optical express it was not the case but you might want to check it out if this is a concern. I don't think it is though.

[TimberWolf]

Ultralase will give you a free consultation incidentally and then a recommendation on the treatment type (probably LASIK). But at the end of the consultation they may try and get you to agree a date for surgery, which I refused. I took another 3 months to decide.

I think it might be worth you looking into whether you'd prefer LASIK or LASEK too, assuming you get the option.

[shoes]

Scares the willies out of me, I'd rather just continue to pop my glasses on, it's not too hard I hardly ever miss nowadays.

Seriously tho my fear is long term consequences that aren't going to be apparent for years to come since I understand this is a relatively new thing. Eyesight is so important, Im not keen to mess about with it based on the advice of those that profit from the procedure.

[HairyArsedBloke]

You are being ripped off at those prices. IIRC an ex-bird of mine had a buy one get one free from boots - about £600.

Do Tesco have a Value brand version?

[TimberWolf]

Scares the willies out of me, I'd rather just continue to pop my glasses on, it's not too hard I hardly ever miss nowadays.

Seriously tho my fear is long term consequences that aren't going to be apparent for years to come since I understand this is a relatively new thing. Eyesight is so important, Im not keen to mess about with it based on the advice of those that profit from the procedure.

Yep, and there are tonnes of other things to consider. The consent form (sometimes only seen just prior to surgery) may be an eye-opener since many of the consequences (or statistical likelihood thereof) will be covered for the first time. For instance that higher order aberrations are almost always introduced (myopia is regarded as first order, astigmatism 2nd order, and more complex uncorrectable aberrations higher order) which manifest themselves as halos around lights at night etc. LASIK (uses a flap) involves more unknowns than the surface techniques which are more benign, but all use ultraviolet light which is usually bad news to living tissue in the long term. If there were long-term side affects though, I imagine they would have started to show up by now since laser surgery has been around for a couple of decades. Many people don't realise that they will need glasses after the age of 45 anyway, so may be trading short-sightedness for at best presbyopic eyes, just when the inconvenience of myopia might have come in handy. The vast majority of people are happy with their outcomes though.

[ChimpMaster]

Had my eyes LASIK'd about 5 years ago at Ultralase Hammersmith. Eyes are OK and procedure was pretty quick. I was -6 in both eyes and used to wear contact lenses ALL the time so the convenience I've gained now is truly amazing.

I've known people who have paid a lot less in places like India and are completely happy too. Sometimes though I guess money buys you reassurance and that's why I stuck local.

A couple of my aunts got their eyes done in the late 80s / early 90s ... I think it was some diamond method back then... and they are still perfectly fine now.

What I loved most when I had my surgery done was that I was finally able to see the world as it's meant to be seen, and not through a damned lens.

[TimberWolf]

What I loved most when I had my surgery done was that I was finally able to see the world as it's meant to be seen, and not through a damned lens.

Yeah, I think anything over -5 or -6 and laser eye surgery becomes almost a no-brainer. Glasses of that power minify and distort things too much, though the brain does a great job with almost whatever it is presented with. What's your prescription now?

[Bagpuss]

The first thing I'd ask is the success rate of these operations. I suspect some people end up with worse eyesight, give me the odds!

[ChimpMaster]

What's your prescription now?

20/20 or thereabouts... last had them tested a couple of years ago but the optician was too p1ssed off at me for having had the surgery (it means less business for them lol).

[NotAllThere]

The worse your eyes, the lower the chance of success. My wife was -8.75 -9.0 and local surgeons were reluctant. So we had it done (femto-lasik) in Amsterdam for €3500 total, by a mad Dutch surgeon. The surgery is at Schiphol airport, so very useful - I think a number of surgeons use the same one.

That was six months ago. Her prescription has stabilised at +0.25 -0.25, but she suffers from dry eyes, so she uses eye drops regularly. She doesn't like to drive at night, because of star-bursts and glare. And every now and then she gets infections, because of the dryness. Other than that, she's perfectly happy, and very glad she had it done.

No way am I getting done. My view is "No pain, no pain". Glasses don't hurt, even if my worldview is distorted.