Laser eye surgery - pros and cons

# 1269

Posted: 20/03/2013 20:28

Ok, so I had -6.50 in both eyes and had to have surgery in both eyes 3 times! this was 3 yrs ago now and since then I suffered with dry eyes and fluctuating vision.

Now carefully think about whether or not youve got any other health issues??

Ive had graves thyroid disease for 10 yrs but was told that shouldnt affect results of eye surgery, however, in January this year I was also diagnosed with celiac disease (another auto-immune disease which is common in patients  with thyroid, crohns, rhuem arthritus etc)..

Anyway, once I went on a strict gluten-free diet (for life) and included daily flaxseed (for a month) my eyesight is now perfect and no dry eyes ...even my optician was shocked as he was going to fit me with glasses.!!

# 1268

Posted: 20/03/2013 12:46

I am long sighted...+4.00 and +4.50 with astigmatism of between 1 and 2 in both eyes.....would you recommend eye surgery.....and is there ANYONE OUT THERE WHO HAS SIMILAR PRESCRIPTION TO ME WHO HAS HAD IT DONE AND IF SO WHAT IS THE OUTCOME???

# 1267

Posted: 22/01/2013 09:33

I had Lasik surgery done twice now. I had a high astigmatism in both eyes. The first time I had it done It was unsuccessful at fully fixing my eyes. I was still left with 1.0 in both eyes. I had the surgery redone again in November, and It still hasnt worked. I was told by my clinic that my eyes were perfect , but I knew they werent. I had my eyes tested at the local optician and they said that both eyes are at 0.75 ??? I cant understand why the clinic would lie about this. Twice now I have had this done, and tomorrow I am going to the clinic to see what they say. I am going to keep quiet about my local optician testing my eyes as I want to hear what drival they will come out with. All in all I do not trust these companies/surgeons. They will say anything to get you out the door. I am now in the position as to if I am offered again do I go through with this ?

# 1266

Posted: 12/01/2013 06:00

Hi,

I had lasik surgery in 2003 almost ten years ago now , my advice to anyone that is thinking about the procedure is to get one eye done first it saves a lot of hassle and it was standard procedure when my operation was performed, it was't straight forward for me as i had a re-op but 10 years down the line it was the best discion i ever made, i can get slight glare from streetlights but it is not an issue for me as my sight was so bad pre-op

# 1265

Posted: 08/01/2013 11:31

Been thinking about doing laser eye surgery some time.  My mum had it done and I know many others who did and are very happy with the results.

I've found this discussion very useful, I'm wondering if any of the people suffering dry eye syndrome are atopic? I.e. have asthma, eczema, allergies. It seems that atopy might increase patients risk of dry eyes. Any opinions?

# 1264

Posted: 30/05/2012 13:41

From the one side, laser eye correction is a great option to forget about glasses and contacts, from the other - it is still a huge risk. Check this info, for example: LASIK side effects. My husband was planning on doing LASIK. A few of his friends did it and are very happy with their results but after reading more about the procedure he decided to wait.

At the moment reading LASIK blog http://lasikblog.net/

# 1263

Posted: 12/01/2012 13:18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXv70NzyAhM&feature=related

As mentioned above this is one of the victims of this industry who testified before the FDA.

# 1262

Posted: 28/11/2011 12:48

Hello all. I’ve had a quick scan through some of the comments and am surprised at the number of negative comments regarding the surgery. I had it done a few months ago with a clinic in Cork. Everything was great. The actual laser treatment is a little scary, but it only last a few minutes. I wore glasses for about 20 years. In wearing glasses and contact I was used to having perfect vision which wearing them.

After the surgery though – My eyesight is at 110% in both eyes, basically better then 20/20 and as good as it was with glasses. I’m sure there is a little of the halo effect with night driving, but it’s way less than what I was getting with contact lenses. I don’t have any dry eyes, and I haven’t had an eye infection since, was a right pain in the posterior  as they were regular enough when messing about with contact lenses.

My prescription hasn’t changed in 10+ years and hopefully it won’t change again. But if it does then yes I’ll do it all again, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Mighty expensive though. Most of the companies seem to advertise a price of 495. When I asked about that in the consultation I was told that that price wasn’t available at my prescription, and had that price option procedure described to me: Horrific, barbaric and Can Opener are what comes to mind. Least said about that the better. The option I went for was over 5 grand. But don’t let the price put you off. You can haggle. After your initial consultation phone them back and offer them half price for the top level of surgery. If they don’t move on the price then move onto the next company.

Remember you have the money so you have the power. 

# 1261

Posted: 22/11/2011 10:50

Hello everyone I'm new to this forum and it's quiet intersting to know more about lasik surgery and their benefits,cost details,complications and etc..,

# 1260

Posted: 15/08/2011 22:55

Hi, I kind of agree with John in that I wish I hadnt had surgery but mainly because I had both eyes done 3 times and the stress of this was not worth having it done!.  I think everyones results can be different in my case I am now light sensitive and have to wear sunglasses in the sun (whereas before I could cope without them).  My eyes actually work better in the dark! Because I've had it done 3 times I still get stressed in case the results change again when really I should be happy!  I still have haze or scarring as the surgeon put it which may or may not heal (when I had haze before it got worse so much so that they had to laser it !  My left eye is better for long distance but not so good at reading and my right is the opposite (this is not what was planned by the surgeon so its pretty scary what percentage is actually unforeseen....

Not worth the stress...buy some designer glasses and contacts instead...

# 1259

Posted: 15/08/2011 15:07

Hi Maemae, I am kind of glad that you decided not to go ahead with the eye surgery. As I said before, eye surgeons don't care about you and your eyes after the surgery: it's just business and making money with promises.They can be good and experienced (how many times I heard at that time that such surgeon performed thousands of eye laser operations), they can give you the 20/20 vision, but but only after receiving the surgery you might realize how poor night quality vision you have gained, how irritating is watching (and not enjoying) a film on big screen, expecially films with many scenes taken at night time. There is not coming back for that. Without talking about the floaters (they are there, even when you are not thinking about them) and the increased sensibility to light on a sunny day.

# 1258

Posted: 15/08/2011 13:57

Sincere thanks to all who have written on this topic so far. I was contemplating laser eye surgery but will now not go ahead. Having read through all the posts, I realise that there are many great success stories, but there are also really bad and scary ones, too. Not knowing in advance which category I would end up in is just too risky for me, so I've decided to wait and put my faith in future technological advances which might do away with the risks and provide me with 20/20 problem-free vision. And otherwise, my family will just have to resign themselves to putting my specs on the coffin!! Dryeyevictim, I wish you the very best of luck sorting our your problems. You're a strong advocate for not making any hasty decisions, although that's probably cold comfort to you!

# 1257

Posted: 14/07/2011 12:36

I had Lasik two days ago in the Mater eye clinic on my right eye. I woke up the next day with 20/20 vision (my prescription was - 4.25) and no side effects (dry eye, glare etc. so far). Am delighted with my experience and looking forward to having the second eye done next week.

# 1256

Posted: 01/05/2011 23:46

26 months now and still suffering with dry eyes, large floaters and night glare. I don't think laser surgeons give a damn about the level of damage this has done to me.

# 1255

Posted: 17/03/2011 22:32

Hi I am new to this website and have been thinking of laser eye surgery for years.  Really appreciate all you comments and will be thinking long and hard before I make a decision. think dryeyevictim should set up a help website and appreciate all his information. Did any of you victims have your eyes done in any of the two most recommended hosps is the country or was it done in commercial clinics. wud really appreciate this infor.

# 1254

Posted: 09/02/2011 12:02

 Silicone Hydrogel lenses you are talking about have higher modulus and not as comfortable as my dailies, and I can't sleep in any lenses. No point for me, but I like biofinity

# 1253

Posted: 08/02/2011 10:54

D1m0n, contacts used to tire my eyes out at the end of the day, but i've started to use monthly ones and I've no problems. They stay in for a month and are gas permiable. No taking in or out every day. Very handy if you're staying over in someones house or you're going on holidays. You wouldn't even know they're in. They cost me about €100 for 6 months.

# 1252

Posted: 07/02/2011 22:18

Anne-Marie, there are risks associated with lens implants although not as much as with other types of laser surgery.

Stick with contacts. I got used to them and sometimes I feel better in them then without them (LOL). But to be honest I really start to hate them after 12 hours of wear. Another factor is a price. There is no silver bullet out there. 

# 1251

Posted: 07/02/2011 12:15

Anne Marie, funny you should mention that lens implant. I was talking to someone who said their friend in England had it done, but there was problems with it and they had to go back and get it redone. Obviously you should do more research that rely on that bit of info, but as with any medical procedure, there's always risks. I would love not having to wear lenses or glasses, but I'm afraid to take the risk of laser. Like John, my Auntie had laser surgery to correct her vision in a famous clinic in dublin. She now needs 2 pairs of glasses, has trouble driving and had to go to the Mater to get it sorted because the clinic didn't want to know. I'm not sure what forms people sign when they go in, but you really have to assess the risk. On the other side of the coin, I know a guy that would walk past you in the street his eyes were so bad, and he got treatment and his eyes were perfect.

# 1250

Posted: 07/02/2011 10:54

I am very short-sighted with prescription of -8 and -10 and also slight astigmatism. I can wear contacts but usually stick with glasses for work etc. I'd love to be able to see without depending on aids, but am afraid that I would be stuck with problems afterwards (dry eyes, poor night vision and floaters). There are no guarantees. Has anyone heard of a surgery where they implant a corrective lense in the eye, I think it's called intra occular lense surgery. (IOL) I saw a programme on tv a couple of years ago. It was an american show. Is this available in Ireland? Maybe it would be safer, as you could have lense changed if vision changed?

# 1249

Posted: 02/02/2011 22:53

Hi John09

thanks for your comment I'm going to get a second opinion on this and going to bring it further.  They can't get away with this after spending all that money to have 20/20 vision and come out worse than you went in.  It's really annoying that I can't drive at night and my eye's are dry all the time and blurry vision.  Why wasn't I told about all these side affects before hand.  They will be hearing from my solicitor and I want a full refund.

# 1248

Posted: 02/02/2011 11:51

Hi Holly2linda,

I would suggest you to ask for a second opinion before you undertake legal action against your eye surgeon. It's better that the oftalmologist has really nothing to do with the eye surgery business. You may need to ask if, after you have been visited, there are any evidence of negligence caused by your eye surgeon or evidence of bad practice (if there's a damage that it has developed after your surgery). Just ask if it's ok for you to wear contact lenses (probably after only 3 months that can actually cause more dry eye symtoms). Think twice about being operated again: you eyes may be subjected again to the chance of having side effects which, like in my case, can be permanent. After my researches I realize that eye surgery carried by certain private clinics (that I cannot mention the names but please use your immagination) it's like taking a serious gamble. It's the biggest regret of all my life.

Good luck

# 1247

Posted: 01/02/2011 23:23

I had laser surgery may 2010,  I'm sorry I got it done worst thing ever.  My eye sight dropped 3 months later back wearing contacts again my eyes are so dry and I can't see at night.  The clinic want to do the operation again and they say it is alright for your eye's to get it done again.  They are pushing me into getting it done again.  I paid 4000 pounds to get it done.  Now they are telling me I shouldn't be wearing contacts because that is what's making my eye's dry.  I'm thinking about taking this further and going to a solicitor about this.  They have ruined my eye's.  Can anyone tell me if they brought there case further and got anywhere with it.  

# 1246

Posted: 30/09/2010 14:47

I'd like to reiterate what I said previously about research. What I suggest people do is read carefully the research papers provided by the Mater Private. You can walk in and collect these anytime whether you're a patient or not. Read these very carefully.

I also suggest using the Google books facility as I've mentioned before. Run a search for books on LASIK. These are written by ophthalmologists. Run a second search for various complications within these books. For example type in "dry eye" for example. Browse through some text in these.

If you are in a university or know someone in a university get them to dig out research papers written by ophthalmologists on LASIK complications. This amounts to a straightforward search of the online catalogue of ophthalmologoical journals.

I am still suffering with dry eyes, floaters and poor night vision and it's been 20 months now since I had it done.

This procedure should have been banned a long time ago. There is enough evidence out there to prove it is fundamentally harmful to human eyes and the complication rates are too high also.

I doubt my life will ever get back to normal with these eye complications that haven't gone away and probably never will.

# 1245

Posted: 31/07/2010 19:12

Hi, I had lasik in october 2008 but it wasnt sucessful and only took me to -2.  I therefore had an enhancement of lasek in march 2009.  My right eye seems fine (touchwood!) however my left seems to be really bad apparentely caused by haze (at first they said it was a stigmatism).  They are planning to do surgery yet again to get rid of the haze (as antibiotic drops didnt work).  Has anyone else had haze? it scares me of how many times they keep messing with my eyes.  Is there anything i should be doing to protect myself before the next surgery?  thanx

# 1244

Posted: 27/07/2010 00:54

I will be creating my own website to add to all the other negative websites about LASIK eye surgery.

This one will be straightforward. It will simply contain the research papers written by doctors with information that laser surgeons would not dream of telling their patients. It will also contain references to medical literature and the FDA website.

To sum up I have three sources of information. The research papers, the labeling information on the FDA website and books written by laser surgeons.

There is enough evidence out there to prove that these reckless surgeons are doing serious harm to huge numbers of people.

# 1243

Posted: 19/07/2010 15:26

In general we receive about 10-15 complaints each year to our website from  patients that have had laser eye surgery in Ireland. In most cases the problems that occurred during the procedure have been resolved. We are setting up a forum on the site next month were you can post and read information regarding LASIK and LASEK Eye Laser Treatment.

Dr Damien Lynch

http://www.lasereyesurgery.ie/

# 1242

Posted: 11/06/2010 15:45

I agree with D1m0n in that if you get "some problems" after LASIK the laser surgeon will downplay them even though they are annoying as hell and can't be fixed.

So prospective patients ask yourself do want your vision fixed with "some problems". Remember there is absolutely no way of knowing whether you will get these. I went to an experienced surgeon in a very reputable clinic.

# 1241

Posted: 08/06/2010 13:45

Hi,

I had lasik surgery in 2003 aged  24 my prescription was -7.5 and -8, i couldent see a thing without my contact lenses which were gas permeable and could get very uncomfortable to wear, 7 years on iv had no problems at all since the sugery and it was the best dicision i have ever made getting it done

# 1240

Posted: 08/06/2010 10:37

D1m0n - That's fine if you can wear contact lenses, but I couldn't. I wasn't as high a prescription as you and Lizzie but I definitely couldn't function at all without my glasses. I needed to wear them from the moment I got up in the morning until the minute I went to bed. On the couple of occasions that I needed to have them repaired, I had to sit in the shop waiting as I couldn't step outside the door without them. Dryeyevictim, there is no way in hell I would go to the swimming pool with my nephews and nieces wearing prescription goggles or on holidays! I stopped doing aquarobics because it wasn't practical to wear my glasses in the pool and I couldn't see the instructor without them. I understand where Lizzie is coming from. I did a lot of online research before I had lasik and even though I was fully aware that there were risks, I felt at the time that for me the quality of life benefits outweighed the potential risks.

# 1239

Posted: 05/06/2010 10:56

I have higher prescription than Lizzie and prefer contact lenses but not consider myself blind without them. I wear daily lenses from Acuvue and only hassle I have is 20 sec. to put them on in the morning and 5 sec.to take them out in the evening. 

# 1238

Posted: 04/06/2010 22:02

Hey Lizzie could you not see with your glasses on? I play a lot of sport myself and I wish I had got those prescription goggles for swimming and prescription comfortable wraparound goggles for football. That way there would never have been a need for contacts. People wear contacts for sport and cosmetic reasons. But for sport they can the goggles I mentioned and well the other reason is just vanity. So there it is. One need never have the discomfort of contacts and therefore there is absolutely no reason why people should damage their eyes with a laser. The other I've noticed is there are thousands of different styles of glasses now and I must admit some look really cool.

I feel stupid for having done laser and I deeply regret it. I'm still paying the price with dry eyes, floaters and night glare. It's been 15 months..

# 1237

Posted: 04/06/2010 19:28

RE:" I knew the risks but I would prefer to see and have some problems then not be able to see at all." The only problem is when you put your glasses on you would see perfect but after Lasik no glasses will help you if you will get "some problems"

Also you said "I am glad I didnt listen to the comments on this forum." You've been on this forum for the last 2 years and if you didn't ' listen to the comments' - what is the point?

# 1236

Posted: 03/06/2010 15:51

At the moment the situation regarding LASIK is this - there are good cases, bad cases and mediocre cases. However for an unnecessary surgery should there be bad cases at all and should they be as high as 5%? I would say no but maybe a laser surgeon would disagree.

Also here's two more facts based on medical reports written by ophthalmologists on the subject:

Corneal nerves never return to full pre-op levels after LASIK

The cornea is biomechanically much weaker after LASIK

What I'm saying is common sense really. That slicing the eye open and then removing more tissue with a laser is obviously damaging to the eyes.

You know it's ironic really. The labelling information for lasers on the FDA website advises surgeons and medical personnel that "the laser can do damage to skin and eyes so avoid direct contact". So a surgeon who reads this label then proceeds to put the laser directly into patients' eyes.

# 1235

Posted: 02/06/2010 09:44

I had the Lasik procedure last week and it was the best decision of my life.  I had a -7.5 prescription so couldnt get out of bed without glasses.  I have recovered well and I CAN SEE which is amazing.  I am glad I didnt listen to the comments on this forum.  I made my own decision.  I knew the risks but I would prefer to see and have some problems then not be able to see at all.

# 1234

Posted: 22/05/2010 07:12

Hi Everyone.  I just read through many of the postings.  I was all set to go to my Lasik consultation next week, but I will cancel that plan for sure.  I was not aware that there are so many possible risks, complications and uncertainties associated with this procedure.  The unknown long term consequences of this procedure bother me the most (besides getting my corneas sliced off).  I have decided to continue wearing eyeglasses.  I feel more at peace now after reading your comments.  I don't know why I was even considering getting this done (peer pressure to have it done?, vanity?, convincing marketing ploys from Lasik Clinics?).  My circle of friends (many of which just got Lasik done without doing any research) are really trying to get me to do it, but my gut feeling tells me otherwise.  Thank you for providing this helpful site.  God bless you all.

# 1233

Posted: 13/05/2010 20:11

For pinkmonkey (and everybody undecided) Is it worth the risk? you know that I'm going to say no? Ok, I can say yes to you if you really like the risks. Check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDWH2Tye7dQ 

Please also search in Google for "the lasik report", print it and read it all. I choosed to receive the Wavefront option for reducing the risks and paying an extra €1000. Check in this report what it says about wavefront: it is true believe me, and there is no comeback. You can choose Lasek or Prk, but you can still end up like me with poor quality indoor sight, starburst and glare at night, and also night scenes in films (tv but expecially on cinema screen!).

Lasik is the more dangerous than Lasek or Prk (and with these you can still suffer from drye eye for the rest of the life) but It's the one with the fastest recovery, and aso the procedure that allow the clinic to "sell" the intralase option. And don't forget that complications may occur in successful eye surgery. The surgeons know (all) about the danger but they have to find ways to make money, that's why they create new options like wavefront, that's why they hide informations that would make anybody think twice

I won't be allow to tell in this forum where I did my eyesurgery. I actually think the optitians do have a look at forums like this,  and write positive words about eyesurgery; or writing somewhere else (and I know where) wonderful reviews regarding their own clinic  

# 1232

Posted: 12/05/2010 23:53

John 09, where did you have the surgery done??

I find this forum so confusing.  I really want to get it done, yet feel very scared that i will be unlucky also.

Is there any resource that highlights outcomes in various locations so consumers can choose base on actual success rates?? Do you  ever wonder if the same outcomes were experiences by others under your surgeons?? If we knew who they were, we could stay away. It seems like people who have had bad experiences are also coming out of the "elite" clinics, and not the high street ones, so you can never be safe eh??

So confusing. There are millions of people who are happy out with no problems, but when it goes wrong it really destroys lives..... is it worth the risk?? OK i know you are going to say no........... but i am still tempted. I hate contacts, surfing is destroyed, i spend so much money on contacts, and contacts are giving my eyes little scars....................I know it sounds very shallow but it's true...agh confusion. does anyone ever get one done at a time??

# 1231

Posted: 03/05/2010 18:56

I would not use the word burn to define remove corneal tissue with the Excimer laser because there is no sign of heat after the procedure.

Please check http://lasik-secrets.com/lasik.html

# 1230

Posted: 22/04/2010 16:36

Cutting a flap in a healthy cornea and burning the underlying tissue, then putting the flap back down is a "vicious assault" on the human eye.

I have put the words "vicious assault" in inverted commas because these are the words of an ophthalmologist I saw in London for a second opinion. She sees many post LASIK patients with serious complications.