Laser

zervi2003

Hi Guys,

I am a glasses wearer.

I have been thinking about getting eye laser done.

Has anyone out there had the LASIK done? (The one where you get the flap cut in your eye, its either Lasik or Lasek).

Any experiences please share.

Also, my perscription changed in February. Would that affect when I can get the surgery? (I am 25).

Cheers!

subway_ie

I'm thinking about having the same thign done.... the only problem is the cost. I'll probably have to wait a few years before I can afford it, and hopefully by that time the technology will have improved and the costs reduced.

Kêrmêttê

If you desperately want laser surgery any optition will refer you to the surgeon but you might have to twist the surgeon's arm rather hard to make him do the procedure if your under 25. Therefore, you'd have to pay a rather large consultation fee (over €100) for being told your too young.
The laser treatment usually costs €2,000 per eye and 90% of patients need to go back for some "touch up" treatment to get rid of corneal scars a few months afterwards. So therefore going to the U.K. for cutprice surgery isnt really advisable because you more than likely would have to hop on a plane for a second time to have a 15-20 minute procedure done... a lot of hassle.

Most surgeons won't even consider treating you with laser surgery until your late 20's early 30's. That's because new research has found that the use of computer screens prolongs the degeneration of short-sightedness and a lot of the younger population have turned into mouse potatoes.

I'm now 30 yrs of age and my eyesight has changed 4 times since I was 25. By rights it should have settled down long ago but my over use of my computer has been blamed. I work 8 hours a day on a pc and then come home to play on the pc for another 4 hours. Honestly, that really can't be good for anyone's eyesight.

I enquired about laser surgery only 1 month ago from a few different opthalmic sources (cos i didn't believe my own optition). I'm sick of the the frikkin glasses and bashing into furniture on my way to the loo in the middle of the night coz I can't sleep with my contact lenses in.

P.S. Lasik surgery imo is terrible... you'd be getting a surgeon to cut into healty tissue!! Go for the other choice. The Flap that's cut from your cornea doesn't heal properly for 18-24 months and if you get a dig in the face playing sports or what ever it can be lifted and you're rightly fux0red until you can get back to the surgeon.
It's a cheaper option, but there's more chance for someting to go wrong.
Look after your eyes, pay for the best because it's difficult to repair a job if it's gone wrong!
Btw, I presume that you know Lasik is cutting a flap from the cornea over the pupil and burning off a layer of cells underneath the flap. Then the flap is replaced and you wear a contact lense to help heal the tissue for a week or so.
The other alternative, Lasek (yes they are spelled similar but they are different procedures), is just to burn off a layer of cells on the cornea using the laser without cutting the cornea. And again you must wear a contact lense to help the healing process.
Cutting healthy tissue doesnt make any sense to me.
They are both quite painful procedures and you will need to take a course of painkillers for a number of days afterwards.

check here for contact lens / laser discussion => http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=168407

zervi2003

Thanks for the input!

I have been told that the LASIK (cutting the flap) is the best option/better results -has anyone out there actually had it done?

I wouldnt mind the discomfort or what ever for a few days but what scares me is that if I do manage to scrape 2250 per eye together (it is considered for tax relief by the way so you'd get some money back) my perscription would change say a year or so after the surgery and again and I'd be back wearing glasses. Would be a waste of 2250 per eye!

Has this happened to anyone? Any experiences?

Sleipnir

can't remember which one I had done, I don't *think* it was Lasik though.

There's not really much point in getting it done until your eyes have settled down though, unless you're approaching the limit of when it can be done.
They will do it before you're 25 (I was 19) if you have good reason to but again you take the risk that your eyesight will deteriorate again.

And again you must wear a contact lense to help the healing process.

Not sure about that, surely not wearing contact lenses would help healing more than wearing them? Not to mention the danger of infection?

It was uncomfortable for a few days alright but they keep you drugged up to the eyeballs for 3 or 4 days after the op so it's not too bad.
I do remember having to wake several times a night to "empty" my eyelid when it filled up with tears!

swiss

I have been strongly considering LASIK for several years. I was planning on going abroad this summer to get the procedure done where it would be considerably less expensive than in Ireland (€1700 for both eyes compared to €2250 per eye here).

I'm 22 at the moment, but my prescription really hasn't changed in the last 3 years or so. I'm reasonably confident that it won't change very much for the rest of my adult life either. However I also spend quite a lot of time in front of a computer, and that might contribute to deterioration of eyesight.

However by far the biggest issue for me is the risk of something going wrong. From what I can tell, the risk can vary significantly from institution to institution. It depends on several factors, such as the experience of the doctor involved, the type and extent of your sight defect and the equipment in use.

That's the rub. I'm afraid I mislaid my spare set of eyes some time ago, so if something happens with the pair I'm currently using, I could be in a lot of trouble. For the moment, I will probably need to do more research into the risks and the facility in which I plan to have the procedure before I opt for it.

If anyone is interested, I started up a thread about this before here.

Man Time

Unfortunatly Kêrmêttê hasn't really said much worthwhile in his post. Lasik is the best option if you are having it done. 90% needing touch ups is a greatly exagerated figure too, I know about 8 or 9 people who have had the surgery, including meself and none of us have needed 'touch ups'. I had my corrective surgery done when I was 24, I had no need to twist any surgeons arm. I agree though that the amount you pay shouldn't determine what surgery you get. At the end of the day it's only about €4500, it's not much in the grand scheme of things but it's the best money I have ever spent on anything. You can also claim it back on your tax at the end of the year. The process itself is not painfull, you are on valium and you eye is numbed. It is uncomfortable though, that's all, but it is over really quick. It will be painful for maybe a day but you get drops that take the pain away as soon as you put them in your eye. It was only bad when I woke up from my sleep that day and the drops had worn off, so I just put more in. You do not wear a contact lens, you wear a shiled that is taped over your eye. It's there to stop you from rubbing them by accident in your sleep, you wear them for about a week. One woman I know wore them for a month.

Kêrmêttê, are you sure you don't work for Specsavers?

*edit* This is the place I had mine done at, http://www.wellingtoneyeclinic.com

RossFixxxed

My uncle got it done and everything was blurry at night. He got it re done, and it's perfect now.

A mate got it done, no bother to him at all.

My aunt got it done, there was dirt left UNDER the flap (just thinking about it makes me want to puke). It had to be reopened (at risk of it not healing back) and irrigated, TWICE!

Everyone else I've heard of has been grand.

EEP!

ravenhead

Originally posted by RossFixxxed
My uncle got it done and everything was blurry at night. He got it re done, and it's perfect now.

A mate got it done, no bother to him at all.

My aunt got it done, there was dirt left UNDER the flap (just thinking about it makes me want to puke). It had to be reopened (at risk of it not healing back) and irrigated, TWICE!

Everyone else I've heard of has been grand.

EEP!

i think the above would be enough to put anyone off getting it done!!!!

Kêrmêttê

Originally posted by Man Time
Unfortunatly Kêrmêttê hasn't really said much worthwhile in his post. Lasik is the best option if you are having it done. 90% needing touch ups is a greatly exagerated figure too

Kêrmêttê has said quite alot that's worthwhile in HER post. Lasik is a procedure of cutting into healthy corneal tissue to burn away cells underneath. There is always a chance no matter how big or small that the flap will not heal correctly and might come free later. Why on earth would anyone want to do that when you can opt for the Lasek choice which is to burn away the top layer of cells on the cornea with the same results?

Congrats to you Man Time that neither you or your aquaintances never needed any further treatment after your initial surgery. I on the other hand know of 5 out of 5 people who had laser treatment and had to return to have corneal scars removed.

The more reputable clinics will insert a contact lens after the surgery to protect the area from microscopic particles that float in the air and might get into your eye. This is only a temporary measure and is usually for only a week. And ALSO you have to wear a cup device taped over your eye to stop you doing damage by rubbing in your sleep.

Originally posted by Man Time
Kêrmêttê, are you sure you don't work for Specsavers?

Yes I'm quite sure that I don't work for Specsavers, Visionexpress or any of those chancers. Those places are just opthalmic supermarkets and just care about their balance sheets at the end of the financial year not their customers health.

I'm not pulling all my information out of thin air. I enquired with 2 optitions and 2 surgeons that do these procedures and, while I could have the choice of both types of procedures, Lasik and Lasek, all these highly qualified professional individuals leaned towards the non-evasive Lasek method, ie., NOT the one that you slice up the cornea.
I repeat... why cut up healthy tissue when you don't need to?

swiss

I'm not as familiar with LASEK as LASIK. In fact I had thought they were one and the same. According to this site:

LASEK is an “intermediate” procedure, where the outer corneal epithelial layer is loosened, reflected out of the way during laser, and then replaced. We currently primarily do LASEK in patients who are not good LASIK candidates, but otherwise good keratorefractive candidates. Post procedure pain, speed of visual recovery, and use of topical medications, are intermediate between PRK and LASIK.

On the surface, it would make more sense to opt for a non invasive procedure. However I would need more information about this particular procedure before opting for it.

Incidentally, I found a very good, unbiased resource site on LASIK here.

LegacyUser

Sorry Kêrmêttê, I don't believe you. First you said it was 9/10 and now its 10/10? Make your mind up mate. Maybe they thought you looked like you couldn't afford it? They cut the healthy tissue cause it's the best option. "Ok Mr Kêrmêttê, we could give you a brand new hip replacement but that would invole having to cut healthy tissue so instead we are giving you this brand new walking stick, it's much better, I'm sure"

Enough said

swiss

During my search for LASIK centres I found a number of clinics based in Ireland here. Although I have heard blackrock and wellington clinics are very good, they are also quite exhorbitant in their prices. However, I was looking at the Belfast clinic, and it seems to offer good value. Has anyone been to this clinic from here. If so I would like to know how much the procedure cost, and if possible the name of the doctor who performed the procedure and the specific name/model of the laser tool used (so I can assess the clinical trials for that device).

Kêrmêttê

Originally posted by Mr Time Man
Sorry Kêrmêttê, I don't believe you. First you said it was 9/10 and now its 10/10?

It's no bother to me if you don't believe me or not. It appears to me that you're still having trouble with your eyes, because if you had been reading my first post correctly you would have understood that what I had written was information that I had aquired from qualified opthalmic professionals.
The comment about 5 out of 5 people having to return for extra treatment in my second post was giving my own personal experience of people that I know who had the surgery. TWO TOTALLY SEPERATE AND DIFFERENT PIECES OF INFORMATION.

Originally posted by Mr Time Man
Maybe they thought you looked like you couldn't afford it?

That's got to be among one of the stupidest comments ever made.

Originally posted by Mr Time Man
They cut the healthy tissue cause it's the best option.

Are you a medical professional? Doubtful. I'll take the advice of my own optition and consultant thank you.

Originally posted by Mr Time Man
we could give you a brand new hip replacement but that would invole having to cut healthy tissue so instead we are giving you this brand new walking stick, it's much better, I'm sure

There is absolutely no comparison between what is regarded as cosmetic eye surgery to a hip replacement! If a person is in such ill health as to necessitate a hip replacement, the tissue is worn away and unstable. A hip replacement is a must to regain any quality of life.
Undergoing laser eye surgery to correct a person's vision so that glasses and contact lenses are not needed is deemed cosmetic surgery. You can still see perfectly well with the aid of glasses or contacts. Therefore slicing up a person's cornea is quite an extreme action especially when there is an alternative method of laser treatment available.

Originally posted by Mr Time Man
Enough said

You were obviously quite happy to have you eyes hacked up.
I agree with you... ENOUGH SAID!

LegacyUser

Kêrmêttê, you are still a knob mate

Gordon

Timer Man/Mr Time Man, you seem to be the same poster as Burger snarf who I presume is also an incarnation of Snarf Burger_ http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170221

If so then please do not post here unless you have advice.

spooiirt!!

i heard laser eye surgery is meant to be EXTREMELY painful. no?

swiss

Originally posted by spooiirt!!

i heard laser eye surgery is meant to be EXTREMELY painful. no?

Not necessarily. LASIK is meant to be relatively painless, since the eye is numbed with a local anasthetic. After the operation, some patients present with a 'gritty' feeling in their eyes and excessive dryness (which can be mediated with eye drops). However, it is a medical procedure and like all medical procedures something can go wrong. If it does then you can be in a significant amount of pain. The chances of this happening are slight, but if you are worried about small risks then perhaps you should not consider LASIK.

PRK is supposedly more painful than LASIK, and is generally considered in circumstances where there is only a slight (-0.5 -> -1.0) visual defect.

Bear in mind that I am *not* an opthamologist. This is information I have uncovered during my research of Laser eye techniques. Your milage may vary.

sliabh

I was zapped last year. There was a gritty feeling for the first evening. But by the time I woke up the following morning it was gone. There was no real pain. But my eyes were tender for a week or two afterwards. You had to be careful about brushing against them (in the shower for example) and you certainly did not rub them.

Overall its an amazing process and I would recommend it. I was lucky and ended up with 20/20 vision. Don't expect the same, but the differences are still profound.

Unpossible

is it true that the effect is not permanent (sp)? My cousin claims that the doctor told him that he would be wearing glasses again by the time he is 40 after the treatment

sliabh

No it's no permenant.

But the decline in eyesight in later years (beyond 50's) is age related. It has nothing to do with the surgery. and would happen to you anyway.

My surgeon told me to come back then and he said he may be able to fix that then too :-)

Ardent

If you're shortsighted, wait till you're 50 and your eyesight will have improved. Apparently your eyeball gets smaller with age. Problem fixed.

Seriously though, I'm thinking of getting my eyes done too but the quotes I've gotten so far are a joke (we live in such a f**king rip-off country). Has anyone gone abroad for their treatment and how did it go?

Karl Goch

The same as most people start to need glasses when they get to that age you retard.

Ardent

Karl, are you replying to me? If so, write proper english you moron. And get a sense of humour.

Beruthiel

Originally posted by Karl Goch
The same as most people start to need glasses when they get to that age you retard.

karl
please read the CHARTER at the top of this forum regarding flaming other posters,
for even easier access, click on the link in my sig below
there will be no name calling in this forum
Ardent
same applies to you
B

Karl Goch

sorry beruth, ill take heed

eth0_

Originally posted by Ardent
If you're shortsighted, wait till you're 50 and your eyesight will have improved. Apparently your eyeball gets smaller with age. Problem fixed.

Seriously though, I'm thinking of getting my eyes done too but the quotes I've gotten so far are a joke (we live in such a f**king rip-off country). Has anyone gone abroad for their treatment and how did it go?

It's true that short sightedness improves with age, but it is never 'fixed', it's not like it'll go back to 100% proper vision.

I know lots of people who've had laser surgery done in the UK, I think it's only about £1000 for both eyes, good value! Although most people go over and back twice as you have to get them done one at a time. Any reports i've heard: It's scary but you don't feel a thing.

Ardent

Originally posted by eth0_
I know lots of people who've had laser surgery done in the UK, I think it's only about £1000 for both eyes, good value!

That is really good value! I think I'd rather do that than pay some cowboy outfit over here almost 4 1/2 k to get my eyes done. I'll have to look into the tax relief situation here first though, see how works out at the end of the day...

sliabh

I think cow boys is a little strong. All the places doing it in Ireland are reputable if a little pricey. And you can claim the cost of the work back against tax so knock 22% or 42% off depending on your tax rate.

So stg£700 plus flights accomodation and regular trips back for check ups (you don't want to miss those) will rapidly bring the cost up to the €2000 you will pay in Ireland.

More seriously you run greater risks with a cheaper operation in the UK. Take a look at this report on the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2745035.stm

As they say the people doing it don't need a specialist qualification and just 3 days training.

I had it done in the Mater by one of the top eye surgeons in the country. When it's your eyes I don't think you can afford to cut corners (excuse the pun)

Ardent

Originally posted by sliabh
I think cow boys is a little strong. All the places doing it in Ireland are reputable if a little pricey.

I use the term cowboys solely in relation to the prices they charge. You have a point though about the risks associated with cheaper alternatives. Looks like contact lenses for another while! :cool:

monkeyfudge

I really don't see what the problem is with wearing glasses...?

This is a website made by people who have experienced long term complications as a result of LASIK.

http://www.surgicaleyes.org/

zervi2003

I have been wearing glasses since I was 11 I am now 25.

I dont have anything against wearing glasses. I like wearing glasses and have a nice pair of glasses that suit my face.

I would like to have the option not to wear glasses. I would love to wear a pair of sunglasses without the hassle. Also, I dont like the utter dependency I have on my glasses.

Even if I had my eyes done and it was successful, I guarantee that I would still wear glasses (as I like them so much) very often.

delly

As a glasses wearer(?), its interesting to see everybodys experience's.

I agree with the fact that most chains of 'optitions' are chancers. I went to one when my specialist was on a long term holiday. Usually when i start getting headaches non-stop, it means that i need a new prescription. But they totally messed it up, as my headaches got worse with my new lenses. When my specialist did come back and examined me he was shocked at how wrong they got it. Just a word of warning.

I never seen such a innocent question bring out such strong feelings!

monkeyfudge

actually we should have a poll to see how many boards.ie users are bespectacled...

Personally I don't see the point in putting myself through surgery when wearing classes really doesn't cause me any problems...

although it does hurt when girls say I look like Harry Potter... ha...

Kêrmêttê

Originally posted by monkeyfudge
wearing classes really doesn't cause me any problems...

although it does hurt when girls say I look like Harry Potter... ha...

I was called Harry Potter when I had short hair.
That's not a nice thing for a GIRL to hear!!
/me runs off crying

Nala

I don't really like wearing glasses cos they get in the way sometimes. Like I always wear contacts on a night out cos the place I go to is usually packed and my glasses would just steam up...very sexy!

Also when it rains, I hate having rain all over them. Plus I have pretty bad shortsightedness so even though I have big eyes they look really small when I wear my glasses. Can't wear contacts too much either.

Think I'll start putting a couple of yoyo's aside every now and then for some laser surgery...I'm not old enough yet.

Moonbeam

it would just be nice to wake up in the morning and be able to see clearly rather then search for glasses, and everyday stuff like puttin on make up would be made soo much easier.

Anyone know where they draw the line prescription wise for the surgery?

Anyone I know or have heard of that has had it done was only minorly short sighted

sliabh

I am not sure what limit (if any) there is on prescription. However a friend was told she could not have the surgery as her perscription was not stable. They will generally want your eyes to have held the same perscription for a years or so.

zervi2003

Mine changed in February 2004 (I am 25) so thats me gone then.

I work with computers alot so that might be a reason.

No point in getting them done I guess if there is a chance that after I get them done cause of computer use they might get worse again (after paying €2250 per eye!)

Kêrmêttê

Originally posted by Moonbeam
Anyone know where they draw the line prescription wise for the surgery?

Anyone I know or have heard of that has had it done was only minorly short sighted

During my research, I was told that even some people with extremely high grade prescriptions can avail of the laser treatment, but, it depends on the individual.
Seemingly certain shaped eyes and certain sized pupils are awkward.
Generally, the limit is drawn at the low end of the high grade prescription.
So, even people with thick milkbottle end glasses can avail of the surgery seemingly.
Your own optition should be able to tell you straight away if you are a suitable candidate for the procedure.

brianomc

Old thread i know but just adding my opinion. After getting it done 3 years ago, i'd recommend it to anyone. I got it done mostly because i was vain (wouldnt wear glasses outside my front door). Its a very quick and painfree operation, although each eye stung for about 4 hours after. I got them done on the same day which they dont recommend, but i insisted (i'm also stubborn, such great characteristics). By the time i woke up the next morning i had 20:20, and while its gotten a bit worse since due to college/career in front of a monitor, its still clearer than i could ever imagine.

And the story of the operation is a great one to tell to squemish people