Lasik Eye Surgery

[HUBER]

Heading to Commonwealth Eye Surgery tomorrow for a consultation on getting Lasik surgery. Was wondering if anyone here had it and had anything good or bad to say about the surgery. Also was hoping someone maybe had been to Commonwealth and could give me a review. I figured if I could go through a vasectomy, I could handle some Lasik. Go.

 

[Beavis606]

I got mine done at Commonwealth 14-15 years ago. Dr. Ferguson was great. He did LASIK on my left eye but thought PRK would be better for my right eye. I went from being 20/400 to slightly farsighted. Best thing about it was a smoking hot blonde out front. I'm sure she's been put out to pasture and replaced by now.

 

[HUBER]

How bad was the procedure? Quick and relatively painless. Would you do it again?

 

[Beavis606]

No pain at all. And they put you on valium before the procedure, woo hoo. It only takes a few minutes. If I could have both eyes done with LASIK I'd have been back to normal the next day. With the PRK eye I had to put some kind of BS salve in it 3 times a day and then it got some kind of infection that was a pain in the ass. They give you some kind of sleeping goggles you have to wear for a couple of weeks or something. Other than that, no hassle at all.

But yeah, I'd do it again for sure. Best $$$ I ever spent getting rid of contacts.

 

[Beavis606]

I don't know how expensive it is now, but Commonwealth was considerably higher than a lot of other places back then. I paid $2100 per eye. I don't know how much Abel or other good docs were charging, but there were all kinds of commercials on tv advertising for less than half that. I asked my regular doc who the best in the state was and she said Ferguson, so I was happy to go there.

 

[argubs2]

Honest question for those who have had it done - is it true that you can smell your retinas burning during the procedure?

 

[Beavis606]

Yes. It was the first time I'd been on valium. I started smelling something and I was like, "wow, somethings burning. Oh, it's my eyes. This is so cool."

 

[Deeeefense]

I did some research on this several years ago and the critical thing to look at is the experience of the surgeon. Problems occur more frequently with less experienced surgeons. The level to look for is 500. If they have that many or more then you shouldn't have a problem, less, use caution.

 

[Beavis606]

And if cawoodsct is

this thread, he's still a mommy part for not getting it done.

 

[Geese Feeder]

My wife had her Lasik performed at Commonwealth a couple years ago and she raved about them.

No issues so far.

 

[buckmaster022]

I just had PRK done a few weeks ago. I was uncomfortable and had a little difficult seeing for about a week, since then it's been great. A little dryness, but I'll trade some eye drops for my glasses & contacts any day. I had to have PRK done because my cornea was thin, probably due to wear from my contacts.

My wife had lasik done a few years ago and it was incredible for her. She went from almost legally blind to seeing 20/40 in one day, then about a month later was 20/20. Her correction was slower due to extreme dryness. It's a common, but not serious problem.

We both had ours done at Lasik Plus. Highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[Insurance Junkie]

Since you mentioned your vasectomy, I am having mine this Friday. Get to watch games all weekend on the couch. Went the No Scapel method. We shall see...

 

[sluggercatfan]

Originally posted by HUBER:
Heading to Commonwealth Eye Surgery tomorrow for a consultation on getting Lasik surgery. Was wondering if anyone here had it and had anything good or bad to say about the surgery. Also was hoping someone maybe had been to Commonwealth and could give me a review. I figured if I could go through a vasectomy, I could handle some Lasik. Go.

Had my Lasik done about 3 yrs ago...I have mono-vision ...My left eye was left untouched for far away vision and my right eye was set for reading only...The valium was cool and my wife and SIL said I was very funny!!!

...My biggest draw back with it is in driving and I'm still not use to it totally even after 3 yrs...Sometimes can be aggravating when driving and at night...Don't really know if I would have it done again if I had it to do over...Also , If you are a golfer the mono-vision will hurt your golf game with depth perception ...No problem with the surgery and the staff where I had mine done was great...

 

[maverick1]

Huber email me at tangozulupapa@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to talk to you about LASIK.

 

[ukalum]

Originally posted by maverick1:
Huber email me at tangozulupapa@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to talk to you about LASIK.

Are you knowledgable in this field? If you are, I have a question. Is there an age limit (generally speaking) where it is no longer warranted or worth it to get Lasik or PRK surgery? For example, someone in his sixties.

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by ukalum:

Originally posted by maverick1:
Huber email me at tangozulupapa@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to talk to you about LASIK.

Are you knowledgable in this field?

Not really, I just enjoy taking a personal interest in the private lives of my Wildcat internet friends.













Kidding. From a physiologic standpoint, there's no reason a person in his 60s can't have LASIK. However, a major consideration for patients in this age group is the additional correction for reading (usually reading glasses) if they get both eyes corrected for distance vision. In other words, unless you have one eye lasered for distance and the other eye lasered for reading (this is called monovision and it has about a 50% success rate), you will definitely have to wear glasses for reading even after having LASIK.

A second consideration is the potential development of cataracts for patients in this age range. If a person is going to need cataract surgery in the relatively near (3-5 years or so) future, then most would opt out of LASIK beforehand. Why? The surgeon will put an intraocular implant in following removal of the cataract, and this implant will be customized to (hopefully) take care of any residual prescription. Most patients wouldn't be willing to spend 4 grand on LASIK only to turn around in a few years and have cataract surgery that (hopefully again) eliminates glasses itself.

 

[BBUK]

I am not scared of anything I know of except losing my family but I have been scared to even consider any type of eye surgery though I am sure sick of glasses I need to read with since I was about 40.

I've always said at lest I can see. If somethings done wrong I may not be able to see period....which has kept me from even considering it. Am I nuts?

I had that feeling about mushrooms and toadstools for decades but I can scarf some mushrooms but my eyes are not food.

Sigh...I wish I could decide. The wife needs it too. Not even sure of the cost or how long it lasts or anything. Not trying to hijack anything but any info is appreciated. Thanks

 

[KyFaninNC]

Had it done 6 years ago,and happy I did. I have to wear reading glasses,but I made that choice.

Have an eye exam, if you have any noticable cataracts, you might want to hold off.

You will have dry eye after lasik.

You will have halos.

My sight flunctuates.

DO NOT go to a cheap lasik provider, you only have 2 eyes.


Consider having implants instead of lasik,as lasik destroys tissue.

 

[LadyCat92]

Had it done in 97. Finally went back to contacts earlier this year. They will put you on valium. The only issue I had was after the first eye was done, they paused for a minute or so and that allowed just enough time for the valium to wear off and I got all jumpy since you can see them cutting into your eye.

I'm not going to bother with having it done again, but for the $250 I paid because the company insurance covered it at the time and that was my deductible, it was well worth it.

 

[DoubleSecretProbation]

Had it done just over two years ago. Surgery was relatively easy. I can see pretty well but not as well as I could in contacts or with glasses. I squint a fair amount but not enough to justify going back to contacts. Eyes are definitely dry frequently.

 

[ukalum01]

Wife had it done 10+ years ago and loved it. Now, her vision (especially at night) is getting worse and she's back in glasses most of the time.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[maverick1]

OP, if you check the thread before your appointment tomorrow remember to give Dr. Ferguson shit for being a Duke grad, both undergrad and led school if I remember correctly. I did a rotation at Commonwealth in 1990 and talked a lot of ball with him (I'd tell you my name but he wouldn't remember me anyway lol). He's a great surgeon and a good guy and I'd bet he's still a huge basketball fan.

My earlier offer still stands if you wanna talk about LASIK.

 

[HUBER]

Originally posted by maverick1:
Huber email me at tangozulupapa@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to talk to you about LASIK.

Email sent. Thanks.

 

[JHB4UK]

I copied this from a post on here a couple years back on the subject, whoever it was from did a good job explaining eye cuttin'

"The difference is probably standard LASIK versus what's loosely
called customized LASIK. Standard LASIK is a remarkable procedure and with a
good candidate it usually gives awesome results. However, customized LASIK is
even better and is well worth the extra cost (typically $500-800 per eye). It's
like this: just as we all have different fingerprints, we all have uniquely
shaped corneas (the clear part of the eye). With standard LASIK those
differences are not taken into account, but with customized LASIK they are.



First, just a little background. LASIK works by re-shaping the cornea in order
to re-focus light onto the retina (think of this as like the film in a camera).
Now when light passes thru any clear media, whether it is a cornea, camera
lens, windshield, etc... some degree of distortion inevitably takes place.
However, it is possible nowadays to measure both the amount, and type, of
distortion using what's called "wavefront analysis." (A detailed
explanation of this is far over my head but suffice it to say it involves
higher-order mathematics to analyze and quantify images. It's the kind of math
that egg-head physicists use to clean up the images from the Hubble Space
Telescope.)



So what customized LASIK does is this: First a precise map of the cornea is
generated using a device called a topographer. This lets the surgeon know the
exact shape and curvature of, say, between 8,000 - 12,000 points (depending on
the topographer) on that cornea. Next, a wavefront analyzer sends an image into
the eye, and by analyzing the degradation in the reflected image as it bounces
back off the retina, it is able to precisely measure the amount and type of
distortion in that individual eyeball. In essence, these devices are
"fingerprinting" the eye.



Now the real magic comes into play. The computer in the laser unit takes the
info from both the topographer and the wavefront analyzer and basically
"tells" the laser how it must re-shape that individual cornea, at
nearly every measured point, in order to eliminate as much distortion as
possible -- i.e. it "customizes" the ablation (laser treatment). For
instance, both Joe Blow and Joe Suck may have a prescription of -4.00. With
standard LASIK, the surgeon would apply equal treatment to both patients, and,
voila, both would likely see very, very well. With customized LASIK, however,
an individual treatment is tailored for each eye -- and the results in terms of
quality of vision are even better. This is where the extra cost comes in, and
trust me, it's well worth it.



As far as surgeons near Lexington, I'm sure while those that others have
mentioned are excellent, I have only dealt personally with the docs at
John-Kenyon -- and with Dr. Asim Piracha in particular. I can tell you that he
is one of the finest anterior segment (the front part of the eyeball) surgeons
in the southeastern United States. He is a fellowship-trained corneal
specialist who also sub-specializes in refractive surgery and I have sent
several of my patients to see him (I live in Paducah). You would be hard-pressed
to find a better LASIK surgeon. Good luck with your procedure.





You're very welcome. A couple of other things to consider FYI...
Others have mentioned using a laser (brand name IntraLase) to create the flap
instead of a microkeratome (basically a glorified, miniaturized door planer),
and they are absolutely correct -- IntraLase is the only way to go. One of the
biggest sources of error with old-school LASIK was a bad flap. With IntraLase
those problems are virtually non-existent -- the lasered flap is much
"cleaner" and has a much more uniform thickness, so therefore distortion
is minimized.



Also, if you are a contact lens wearer you should be out of them a bare minimum
of two weeks if you don't sleep in your contacts and a minimum of three weeks
if you do sleep in them. The longer you can tolerate staying out of them the
better. Success in LASIK depends in large part on having as pristine of a
cornea as possible. The laser works by basically vaporizing corneal tissue in a
precise fashion in order to change its curvature, which in turn changes its
focal power.



Now any contact lens -- even the ultra-breathable ones that are approved for 30
days of continuous wear -- will induce some degree of corneal edema. If this
edema has not resolved by the time of surgery then the treatment will
necessarily be off. So you want your corneas to be as stable and consistent as
possible, and the way to do that is to stay out of your contacts as long as
possible. In this case more is definitely better. The wavefront profiles of
corneas before and after contact lens wear can be dramatic indeed.



Also, if you have chronically dry eyes to begin with then you should have that
treated before surgery. At its core, Dry Eye Syndrome is an inflammatory
process, and this inflammation can have profound effects on corneal topography
-- again, anything affecting the cornea will affect the outcome of LASIK. Any
surgeon worth his/her salt will examine you for dry eye as part of the pre-op
process and will treat accordingly. If whoever you go to doesn't mention it, or
worse, blows it off, go somewhere else."

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by JHB4UK:
I copied this from a post on here a couple years back on the subject, whoever it was from did a good job explaining eye cuttin'

awww shucks

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by HUBER:

Originally posted by maverick1:
Huber email me at tangozulupapa@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to talk to you about LASIK.

Email sent. Thanks.

Cool. I just sent you my phone number. Give me a shout when you can.

 

[JonathanW]

Had LASIK done about 12 years ago here in NC. One of the best choices I've made.
No pain. Just an odd experience. The Valium they gave me made me nauseous, that was the worst thing, pretty minor compared to being able to see again.

 

[KyFaninNC]

Originally posted by JonathanW:
Had LASIK done about 12 years ago here in NC. One of the best choices I've made.
No pain. Just an odd experience. The Valium they gave me made me nauseous, that was the worst thing, pretty minor compared to being able to see again.

Did Lori travers do yours? She was suppose to do mine when she was at Lasik Plus, but she went out on maternaity leave right before mine, so they got a DR, from Charlotte to fill in for her. I hear she is really good.

 

[KyFaninNC]

Originally posted by JonathanW:
Had LASIK done about 12 years ago here in NC. One of the best choices I've made.
No pain. Just an odd experience. The Valium they gave me made me nauseous, that was the worst thing, pretty minor compared to being able to see again.

Did Lori Travers do yours?

 

[Louis_Skunt]

Anyone find it insanely uncomfortable as you watched them cut your eyeball, then flip up that top layer, and start the process?

 

[JonathanW]

Originally posted by KyFaninNC:

Originally posted by JonathanW:
Had LASIK done about 12 years ago here in NC. One of the best choices I've made.
No pain. Just an odd experience. The Valium they gave me made me nauseous, that was the worst thing, pretty minor compared to being able to see again.

Did Lori travers do yours? She was suppose to do mine when she was at Lasik Plus, but she went out on maternaity leave right before mine, so they got a DR, from Charlotte to fill in for her. I hear she is really good.

No, but I have seen her TV ads. I think Dean Dornic is who did mine and my wife's eyes just a few months apart.

 

[ukalum]

Originally posted by DoubleSecretProbation:
Had it done just over two years ago. Surgery was relatively easy. I can see pretty well but not as well as I could in contacts or with glasses. I squint a fair amount but not enough to justify going back to contacts. Eyes are definitely dry frequently.

That is depressing. It sounds like Lasik did nothing for you if you can see better with glasses or contacts. Did you have the dry eyes before the surgery?

 

[Comebakatz3]

My younger brother had it done just this past year. He seems to like it a lot. I hadn't considered it before he did it, but now it is at least in my mind. My vision isn't bad, but I do grow weary of glasses and contacts. My worries, however, are that he now has to consistently put special eye drops into his eyes. I don't know that there is a time frame where he is able to stop this, but he made it sound like it was permanent. I personally hate eye drops so that is a pretty big downfall for me. Second, I don't know that I wouldn't panic when my vision in one eye goes black. He didn't mention any valium for his, but I didn't specifically ask if they gave him anything like that. For those that have done it, was this a scary moment for you or was it something so brief that you didn't really have any time to worry about it?

 

[ukalum]

Originally posted by Comebakatz3:
My younger brother had it done just this past year. He seems to like it a lot. I hadn't considered it before he did it, but now it is at least in my mind. My vision isn't bad, but I do grow weary of glasses and contacts. My worries, however, are that he now has to consistently put special eye drops into his eyes. I don't know that there is a time frame where he is able to stop this, but he made it sound like it was permanent. I personally hate eye drops so that is a pretty big downfall for me. Second, I don't know that I wouldn't panic when my vision in one eye goes black. He didn't mention any valium for his, but I didn't specifically ask if they gave him anything like that. For those that have done it, was this a scary moment for you or was it something so brief that you didn't really have any time to worry about it?

I'm in the same boat as you, except I fall into the older patient category. This thread has a lot of useful information, but there is a limit to what you can learn by reading about the experience of others. Every person is different. My nephew had it done about 3 years ago, and he doesn't have to use eye drops. I'm surprised that some on here have needed to go back to glasses or contacts. Ladycat92, for example, but she had it done 18 years ago. I'm sure the technology is much better today, but maybe there is a "life span" for how long the surgery improves your vision.

If you are thinking seriously about it, you should get an eye exam to determine if you are a candidate. Use the info in this thread to compile a list of questions that you may not have thought of yourself. At least you can get an expert's evaluation on your particular case. The long post above, describing the different methods, procedures, and techniques is a very good one It will get you up to speed on what's out there.

 

[DoubleSecretProbation]

Don't get me wrong. My sight is way better than it used to be and I don't wear glasses or contacts at this point. I just can't see as well at this point as I could with glasses or contacts. I had no dry eye issues prior to surgery.

 

[HUBER]

First off, I would like to say thanks to Maverick for taking the time out of his day to talk to me about Lasik and answer alot of my questions before I even went in for the consultation. I've met some awesome people and made so many great friends from this website. Always amazes me and also scares the hell out of my wife when I talk about my Wildcat internet friends.

Anyways, got the consultation yesterday at Commonwealth Eye Surgery and after 2 and half hours of tests they determined I would be a great candidate for the procedure. I went to a discount Lasik place in Louisville a few years ago and they determined that after about 45 minutes and half of the tests. The doctor I talked to yesterday said 95% of what goes wrong with Lasik surgeries are the budget places doing the surgery on people that aren't good candidates for the procedure. Another thing the budget place did was try to wheel and deal with me like I was on a car lot, whatever it took to close the deal and get me to schedule that day.That was the biggest turn off to me and why I didn't go through with it several years ago. Dr. Ferguson's gave me the price and there was no wheeling and dealing. I'm in sales, so I tried, but no go. The other thing is Dr. Ferguson has preformed 10s of thousands of Lasik procedures in his office since the 90s and has the latest, state of the art equipment. The budget place had the machine that uses a blade, Dr. Ferguson has that, but prefers the newer laser for less op time, quicker recover, and smaller flap.

Just for information, I'm nearsighted in both eyes. My left wasn't to bad but my right was like 5 times worse than my left. They said Id be there for about an hour but my right eye may only take about 30 seconds of op time and my left eye may only take 3-5 seconds of op time. After a day I should be driving myself to my follow up appointment with near 20/20 vision for the first time since I had to start wearing glasses in high school. Those of you that have never had to wear glasses have no idea how lucky you are. I cant tell you how excited I am to go sun glass shopping and not having to worry about getting them with a prescription. $150 sunglasses > $450 sunglasses.

Thanks again for all the info and help. Will follow up after I get it done.

This post was edited on 3/18 4:55 PM by HUBER

This post was edited on 3/18 4:59 PM by HUBER

 

[BBUK]

Originally posted by HUBER:
First off, I would like to say thanks to Maverick for taking the time out of his day to talk to me about Lasik and answer alot of my questions before I even went in for the consultation. I've met some awesome people and made so many great friends from this website. Always amazes me and also scares the hell out of my wife when I talk about my Wildcat internet friends.

Anyways, got the consultation yesterday at Commonwealth Eye Surgery and after 2 and half hours of tests they determined I would be a great candidate for the procedure. I went to a discount Lasik place in Louisville a few years ago and they determined that after about 45 minutes and half of the tests. The doctor I talked to yesterday said 95% of what goes wrong with Lasik surgeries are the budget places doing the surgery on people that aren't good candidates for the procedure. Another thing the budget place did was try to wheel and deal with me like I was on a car lot, whatever it took to close the deal and get me to schedule that day.That was the biggest turn off to me and why I didn't go through with it several years ago. Dr. Ferguson's gave me the price and there was no wheeling and dealing. I'm in sales, so I tried, but no go. The other thing is Dr. Ferguson has preformed 10s of thousands of Lasik procedures in his office since the 90s and has the latest, state of the art equipment. The budget place had the machine that uses a blade, Dr. Ferguson has that, but prefers the newer laser for less op time, quicker recover, and smaller flap.

Just for information, I'm nearsighted in both eyes. My left wasn't to bad but my right was like 5 times worse than my left. They said Id be there for about an hour but my right eye may only take about 30 seconds of op time and my left eye may only take 3-5 seconds of op time. After a day I should be driving myself to my follow up appointment with near 20/20 vision for the first time since I had to start wearing glasses in high school. Those of you that have never had to wear glasses have no idea how lucky you are. I cant tell you how excited I am to go sun glass shopping and not having to worry about getting them with a prescription. $150 sunglasses > $450 sunglasses.

Thanks again for all the info and help. Will follow up after I get it done.

This post was edited on 3/18 4:55 PM by HUBER


This post was edited on 3/18 4:59 PM by HUBER

Thanks, I have all but decided to keep the glasses on for now but who knows. (That's just me.)

 

[ymmot31]

Originally posted by argubs2:
Honest question for those who have had it done - is it true that you can smell your retinas burning during the procedure?

Smells like hair burning. Even better than that is you can hear it sizzle. I had it done 12 years ago and had excellent results. There was some discomfort that night but I didn't take anything for it. Woke up the next morning seeing better than I ever had with no pain at all.

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by HUBER:
First off, I would like to say thanks to Maverick for taking the time out of his day to talk to me about Lasik and answer alot of my questions before I even went in for the consultation.

You're more than welcome brother, hope it helped. Good luck on your procedures, it sounds like you're gonna do just fine. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call or email.

 

[Chuckinden]

Wife and I had it done in the late '90's. Wife is having some vision problems due to astigmatism, but I'm 60 yrs old now and my vision is still 20/20.

My son just had Lasik surgery last month in Cincy for like $700 per eye. He had very poor visions and his glasses were like .500. Now he can't believe he can see perfectly without glasses.