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Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

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Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#51

Post by lockem »

tocomment wrote: post #28
pingswept wrote: post #18

I worked on the redesign of a Lasik machine in 2005. As part of this work, I spent a few weeks just watching lasik operations in various locations around the US. I saw several events that made me very wary of the procedure-- specifically, a technician accidentally setting a microkeratome to the wrong size and thereby detaching the corneal flap. I also talked with several patients who were back for 3rd and 4th session…

Is PRK better?

The difference between PRK and Lasik is in the way they reshape your cornea.

In Lasik they create a flap by cutting the cornea and then they use a laser to reshape it, then they reposition the flap back in place.This way the flap acts as a bandage on the wound and reconnects with the cornea. The Flap is never actually healed and may be dislodged even years after the surgery - Although will need significant force like a direct poke in the eye, severe car accident etc.

In PRK a flap isn't created, the laser reshapes the cornea directly (After removing a small epithelial layer) and then a special bandage contact lens is applied to the wound. This is generally considered safer (Nothing to be dislodged), But the healing process is much slower and the time it takes until your eyes are at their best capacity is much longer. As i previously wrote, I was back at work the next day and my sight was almost perfect after 3 days. My cousin had PRK, the total healing time was around 2-3 weeks, and in the first week she could barely open her eyes.

PRK is also considered a little less accurate, but i am not sure why... For a nice comparison see: http://www.lasereyefacts.com/prk-vs-lasik.html

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#52

Post by tworats »

Had lasik 6-7 years ago. Went wonderfully well, easy recovery, my only regret was not doing it sooner. I was 20/20 after the surgery, not quite as good now.

Here's how I found the doctor: I asked a bunch of other doctors who'd done theirs. Most of them had gone to the same guy. I booked him, paid a bit more than I might have paid to someone else, but I went it in with confidence.

Overall highly recommended.

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#53

Post by LogicHoleFlaw »

peteforde wrote: post #38
portman wrote: post #15

I had LASIK in the summer of 2002. (Wow, hard to believe it's been more than 8 years!) No problems to report. I do experience the so-called "halos" while driving at night, but it's not a problem and hasn't impacted my night driving. Furthermore, a few of us got LASIK that same summer: - My mother, who was 51 at the time - My wife - My best friend All three of us have had no problems. We all used the same doctor, Dr.…

I've read a few claims like that. Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic, but assuming he started when the procedure became FDA approved in 1995, doesn't that imply that he does 4.5 operations a day, 365 days a year?

That doesn't seem too unreasonable. The actual procedure itself, where the doctor was actually involved with me as a patient, took about 15 minutes.

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#54

Post by drothlis »

LogicHoleFlaw wrote: post #53
peteforde wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read a few claims like that. Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic, but assuming he started when the procedure became FDA approved in 1995, doesn't that imply that he does 4.5 operations a day, 365 days a year?

That doesn't seem too unreasonable. The actual procedure itself, where the doctor was actually involved with me as a patient, took about 15 minutes.

Yes. When I had mine done, it took 10 minutes at most, and there were 15-20 other patients scheduled for the same day.

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#55

Post by [deleted] »

peteforde wrote: post #38
portman wrote: post #15

I had LASIK in the summer of 2002. (Wow, hard to believe it's been more than 8 years!) No problems to report. I do experience the so-called "halos" while driving at night, but it's not a problem and hasn't impacted my night driving. Furthermore, a few of us got LASIK that same summer: - My mother, who was 51 at the time - My wife - My best friend All three of us have had no problems. We all used the same doctor, Dr.…

I've read a few claims like that. Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic, but assuming he started when the procedure became FDA approved in 1995, doesn't that imply that he does 4.5 operations a day, 365 days a year?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#57

Post by dennyferra »

Programmer, 26, had it done less than a year ago. Great experience, had no issues and no touch-up needed. I had night time halos but they would go away after a few minutes of my eyes adjusting. I saw halos for a few months but as my eyes healed they eventually went away. During the day I never had any issues. Glad I did it.

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#58

Post by toddn »

weaksauce wrote: post #45

Has anyone done Orthokeratology? It seems cheaper than lasik and still fairly effective in what it does. Any thoughts on this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthokeratology

A friend likes his Ortho-K lenses very much. He got used to them pretty quickly. The worst experience he's had was losing a lens on a red-eye flight -- he spent a few days with deteriorating vision before returning home to get a replacement lens.

Re: Ask HN: experiences with Lasik eye surgery (programmers especially)?

#59

Post by drothlis »

I had Lasik on both eyes in 2005. Before that I had ~6 diopter short-sightedness in both eyes, with slight astigmatism. The difference is magical and 5 years later it still amazes me. At a check-up one year later I had 20/20 vision, and haven't noticed any degradation since then. I never particularly noticed the halo effect at night. I did have very dry eyes for a year or so, but nothing that artificial tears couldn't fix.

That's not to say the procedure is without risks; but it worked out very well for me.

The reason for the dry eyes, I was told, is that the cut in the cornea kills some nerves, reducing sensitivity, so you don't _know_ your eyes are dry (and hence don't blink enough) until they are _really_ dry. The nerves eventually grow back.

I stare at computer screens for 12+ hours a day, and I do get dry and irritated eyes -- but I think that has more to do with the staring at computer screens, and not blinking enough, than the Lasik.

I had my operation done in Colombia, a country with strong expertise in Lasik (the microkeratome, the instrument used to cut a flap in the cornea, was developed in Colombia). At my one-year-post-op checkup (in New Zealand) the doctor recognized the name of my Colombian surgeon from journal articles. At the time the operation cost US$1000 (for both eyes), less than 20% of what it would have cost back home, and probably better quality.

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