Lasik
 

Hi All

I am looking into getting LASIK done as I don't like glasses. I am just wondering if anyone on here has had it done and if so what do you think and what did you think of the whole process. Tell me anything I should know before going ahead with something like this. I know you only get one set of eyes and I would hate to end up with less vision. I would also like to know what centre you used to get it done.



I did do a search and found a thread on here form 2006 but I though as the thread was so old I would start a new one.

Hey my girlfriends father owns/runs Perth Laser Vision.. I can ask for you if you like :-)

I'd be interested as well Mitch.

Glad to see you got out of bed ;)

I had it done about 7 years ago. I was very short sighted and also had astigmatism. To give you an idea, if I squinted I could read the big A on an eyesight chart.

For me it took about 6 months for my vision to come good, my eyes were overcorrected due the way the eye heals (this was explained to me). Since then good vision, and only now looking at getting my eyes rechecked.

Down side, for about a year I had problems with dry eyes at night, the cornea would stick to the inside of my eye lid, then the top layer was ripped off when I woke in the morning, but some lacralube helped here. No issues now.(for last 5 years only once or twice a year, in winter with the aircon on at night)

Don't watch the video of the op.

Interested as well how they go with astigmatisms these days.

The main thing that concerns me is they only do one eye at a time in case you go blind. This does not give me confidence!

[QUOTE=Kato;609357]Interested as well how they go with astigmatisms these days.

The main thing that concerns me is they only do one eye at a time in case you go blind. This does not give me confidence![/QUOTE]

+1 to the above. It's the astigmatism repair and "one eye first" that put me off of it years ago.

I'm also not blind enough to need glasses for driving or much else bar reading or TV watching.

[QUOTE=Jeckle;609356]Don't watch the video of the op.[/QUOTE]
One of the first things I did when I was thinking about getting my eyes fixed!
It is an interesting proceedure none the less.

When I did my research a couple of years ago I found that there were two different types of eye surgery available, LASIK and PRK.

LASIK requires a flap to be made on the outer cornea, something I'm not too keen to have done, where as PRK doesn't require a cut to be made to the cornea.
However the healing times for the eye can be a big longer than LASIK, a friend of mine had the PRK and endured two weeks of discomfort and slight pain due to going down the PRK pathway, they do give you pain medications to help ease the discomfort :D

[QUOTE=mitchwnz;609353]Hey my [B]soon to be wife's [/B] father owns/runs Perth Laser Vision.. I can ask for you if you like :-)[/QUOTE]
Fixed and also keen to hear his perspective on the matter :D

[QUOTE=speedy;609340]I am looking into getting LASIK done as I don't like glasses. [/QUOTE]
I don't like them either, but since getting some very light weight frames I don't mind them as much as I used to.
Might be worthwhile looking at lightweight frames if you don't want to go down the laser eye surgery path.

My friend ( in fact most peoples friend on here ! Carlz) had it done and got someone to take photos and put them on facebook... lol.. she hated wearing her specs but she suited them !!! she rated it highly and she's never looked back...so to speak....

Unfortunately they cannot discount the surgery... something about losing a license haha..

Tony.. was reading the website but have asked for clarification.

PRK
Photorefractive Keratectomy
PRK differs from LASIK in that it involves the complete removal of the surface layer of the cornea (epithelium) before the laser correction begins. The Excimer laser is then applied directly to the underlying cornea to smoothly reshape this surface and correct the refractive error. After the surgery a contact lens is placed over the eye to assist with healing and comfort. The surface layer then heals over several days to cover the treated area. Medication and eye drops are provided to the patient over this time to help with any discomfort and irritation. Useful vision in PRK occurs when the epithelium has regrown, usually within 4 to 7 days. Corneal haze is a significant side effect with PRK as the eye heals; haze can cause or exacerbate symptoms such as glare and haloes. However, PRK continues to be an effective treatment for low refractive errors.
LASEK - Laser Assisted Epithelial Keratomileusis LASEK is a slight modification to the PRK procedure. After the Excimer laser treatment the thin layer of epithelial cells are placed back into position and a contact lens applied to assist with healing and comfort levels. This treatment has similar healing times as PRK but reduces the post-operative discomfort.

Thanks for that info I didn't know about PRK. It sounds like it would be alot worse than lasik.

I have already been watching videos on youtube. It seems that the Lions Eye makes the cut with the laser. It sounds alot better than with a blade.

I also have a astigmatism but I was under the impression that they did both eyes at the same time.

Once I have spoken to someone I will let you all know what the deal is there. If they are only going to do one eye at a time I dont think I will end up doing it.