Laser Eye Surgery - Opinions

valentino1 wrote: »

I was just wondering if anyone might have had this done or knows of anyone who had it done?

My brother got it done two years ago.

Will I be able to work on a computer, lets saytwo days after having the procedure on one eye?

Not a chance. You'll sort of be able to see but computers won't be much fun at all and you need to be staying put until your eye settles. Imagine getting dust in it on the way to work or something. Ask your surgeon really but my brother's experience was that he was essentially out of action for a week. Until the bandage contact was removed. Take as much time as you can. Work from home if you can. Prepare soups/quick food in advance, you won't be cooking...

Lasek can be inordinately irritating. Ask your surgeon if it would be a good idea to have some clean ice and a clean dishtowel handy to place over a closed eye (I'm certainly notadvising you to do that myself but that's what my brother's surgeon advised so he could get through the first night.) The surgeon then put some numbing drops in the next morning.

Hi,

I got my eyes done in the Mater Private just over 1 & half year now. I got Lasek. I got 1 eye done at a time. I had a 2 week gap between both eyes. I got my right eye done on a Wednesday morning and took Wednesday, Thursday & Friday off work. So I also had Sat & Sunday to rest. I went back to work on Monday. I also work on a PC, so am spending 8 hours a day looking at the computer screen. When I went back to work on Monday I had still wore my glasses because my left I was still weak. So I poked the glass out of the right eye of my glasses. This might sound strange but actually was fine. No one noticed I did this until I actually showed them. So I was in work for the full week working away like this. The following Wednesday morning I went back in to get the left I done. Again I took the Wednesday, Thursday & Friday off work. So also had Sat & Sun before going back to work on Monday. By that stage I was fine.

If you are getting the Lasek done then I would definitely say take 3 days off work. It does take at least 3 full days if not a couple more (i.e. the weekend) before your eyes will start to get better. I had no pain at all when I got the right eye done. Thinking back I didn't even have any real discomfort. The left eye was a tad different. I did have some pain. Well pain really isn't correct. It was just uncomfortable then pain. This lasted about 2 days. It just felt like there was some grit/dirt in my eye to try and explain it. So overall it was a pretty easy experience for me.

I can't say enough about the Mater. They were great. Made me feel very at ease. After care was great. Regular checkups after getting it done. Brilliant overall.

Let me know if you want/need any other info. Or have any other questions I can answer for you. I really hope it goes well for you. All the best.

Hi Folks,
Apologies in advance for the long post. After a long time of not really thinking about the surgery the final push came when my sister went and got her done in December and she got the wavefront lasIK done. She now has 20/20 and slightly better surgery. She got hers done in Optical express. So I booked my appointment last wednesday and the surgery I wanted to get was Wavefront-Intrlase-LasIK which is the blade free LasIK option where the use a laser to make the flap. The price on my prescription (both eye -3.5) was €4,600 without VHI discount and €3910 with VHI discount. This is a bit steep but since this is the only surgery I'd consider. Rang around a couple of places but price is still around the same. My sister-in-law had her eyes done by Optimax about 15-20 years ago in Bristol. So did a bit of research and they have a clinic in Belfast. Rang them up and asked if they can do the consultation and surgery option in the same day. They do offer this option in some of their British clinics but not in Belfast, Belfast have a 24Hr policy where you need at least 24Hrs to think about it before you can have the surgery, and I dont feel comfortable having to fly out of the country to have it dont in anyway. So booked my consultation in Belfast for this Friday 9th April and Surgery is provisionally booked for the 26th April. Once she took all my details over the call centre number this get passed onto the Belfast office. Approx 1Hr later a girl from the Belfast office and she took all my Details and all seems good. So I just chance and asked based on my prescription could I get a rough price on the surgery. She went off and after about 5 or so minutes came back and said that the surgery would cost £3770 Sterling:eek:, but they are currently doing a special and could lower the price to £2395 ( I hope I heard 2395 and not 3395) and if this is the price and the clinic checks out okay this Friday then I'll get the Surgery option done up there. Will have to stay overnight in Belfast to get the checkup the following morning but this will be no problem as there a few Hotels/B&B's locally and even referenced from their website. Anyway will post back later on with an update. Looking forward, hopefully, to having to not wear glasses for the first time in over 20 Years.
W

The reason nobody should do laser is that if the stuff on the consent happens to you then you are f*****. If the operation was safe then there would be no need for a consent form. The reason the nasty stuff is on the consent form in the first place is because people have experienced it before. The stuff on the consent form for a percentage of patients happens regardless of candidacy.

Had Wavefront Intralase Lasik done 2 weeks ago today and well,tbh,its fantastic.

I know it cost alot of money but I think it was totally worth it.

I am due in for Lasek surgery on one eye next Wednesday and the other on the Wednesday of the following week. Both ops are at 16.30 so I won't need to take the Wednesday off work as I can finish anytime after 4.
I booked the Thursday and Friday of each week off meaning I will have four days including the weekend to recover. If I feel I need to take some extra time I will.
I was just wondering, those of you who have had it done in the Mater Private, if you recieved any info in the post prior your surgery?
On the day of my consultation I was told that I qualify for both Lasik and Lasek but I was referred to another docotor for a further check up (something about the movement of my eyes).
I was only given info in the form of consent forms for both surgeries from one of the ladies in reception and my consultant said that once she recieved the report back from the other doctor she would recommend one of the surgeries. I had that second consultation on a Saturday, the doctor did her report there and then and asked me if I could drop it into the Mater Private if I was passing by. I did this but I didn't hear anything back so I called them on the Thursday to see what the story was.
They put me on to my consultant who told me that based on the report recieved either surgery was fine and it was up to me to decide.
I really didn't know but felt the consultant herself seemed to be leaning a little more towards the Lasek option so I agreed to go with this one.
I haven't heard from them since. I thought maybe I would have got some information in the post a week before my surgery. I don't know whether I should be wearing my contacts or if I should refrain from wearing eye make up etc. Will I need to go in for a check up the morning following my surgery?
I really thought I would know all this stuff well in advance. I will obviously need to organise lifts as I can't drive too!

Just got the Lasik surgery done at Ultralase in Dundrum.

The procedure was at 4pm yesterday, and I wasn't really able to open my eyes for more than a couple of seconds for a few hours afterwards. The recovery, like the procedure itself, is uncomfortable and unpleasant rather than painful. Woke up this morning at 4am with great vision, and had a test this morning that reported that i have better than 20:20 vision. It'll be a couple of days before my low light / near vision is sorted.

I'd highly recommend Ultralase, they're a very professional, very friendly team.

I had LASIK surgery done approximately 15 months ago and I'm still suffering with dry eyes and large floaters. It has been a disaster for me. I am hoping to form a group for people whose eyes have been ruined by this. So for people in a similar position my email is<snip>
Remember if the surgery was so safe then there would be no need to sign a consent form. The complications on the consent form are there because they have happened to people before.

Had it done 4 months ago. Dry eyes cleared up around the 3 month mark. No longer need the drops daily. Best decision I've made in years. Very happy with the results. Got Intralase Lasik with Optical Express in Ballsbridge

Well folks got my eyes done yesterday in Optimax in belfast. Overall very impressed with everything they did for me. Service was excellent. Had the pre-scans doe on the 9th April and doctor looked them over and wasn't happy with the right eye scan so head to redo it 2 more times until he was happy. Not sure what the problem was but there was obviously something that he didnt like in the scan. Once he was happy enough to proceed I was brought in and lay back on the chair. Had the Intralase wavefront LasIK done and the most uncomfortable part was the Intralase. They have to get you eye looking straight forward and then sucked into place so the laser can make the flap. The pressure was noticeable and felt uncomfortable. Then this was then done on my right eye. They didnt have the eye centered properly so have to re-suction it twice more until they were happy. Then was moved towards the right and the wavefront was then performed on my left the right eye. They provide a countdown for each procedure and this is something that I was going to ask for so I could concentrate fully on the time as a goal. The cornea tracker works well as I moved slightly and the laser stopped. Then they asked me look straight ahead again and the procedure carried on. All in all i took less than 15 Minutes for both procedures on both eyes. My vision was hazy post procedure as expected but I could already tell that there was marked difference. went back for checkup this morning and was given the all clear. At the moment have 20/13 in my left eye and 20/35 in my right eye and all is well so far. vision will continue to stabilise over the next few weeks. Wll check back with updates.

The_Minister wrote: »

You sign a consent form before pretty much every non-essential surgery.
Every surgery has a chance of failure or complications.

Which is why surgery should only be performed as a last resort not on a routine basis particularly if it's unnecessary.
The words of my GP not me.

arbeloa wrote: »

Well if you google "floaters and LASIK" you will see that many people experience this debilitating complication. It is caused by the suction ring used in the procedure and is more common in the high myopes.

I have similar floaters in both eyes, had Prk in one eye and lasik in the other, 16yrs and 6yrs ago respectively. Was told it was the length of my eyeball that caused the floaters. Sometimes they're worse than at other times. They sink down eventually only to be replaced by 'new' ones. Maybe the suction cup could cause a batch of them but I can't see them causing new ones over a long period of time.
I had some vision problems in one eye in the past few months, it turned out to be a little bleed caused by high blood pressure. The vision is nearly back to normal now and I'm on medication. Lucky it happened really or God knows when I'd have found out about it.
For dry eyes I can't recommend Optrex eye spray enough. I've had dry eyes since before any of my surgeries, have tried all sorts of drops. Another thing I'd recommend would be to wear an eye mask at night. I might've said this on this thread before.

Just on the whole floater discussion. I had floaters before the surgery, they were barley visible and very blurry. Since the surgery I still have these and are no more prevalent than before. I have noticed though that they are much more in focus and easier to see. As I already had them I'm not concerned about them.