Laser Eye Surgery

naughtybish

Thriftysolo wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend the Optimax forum

Neither would i , i was pointing out their once a month
Question and Answer sessions at their practices.
where one can talk to REAL people.

Anyways , are you an American ? if not why the obsession with their FDA ?

A lot of the bad press is eminating from a handful of people
one of whom has been prosecuted for it.

Stick to European based facts .

Speaking for myself , its the best money i have ever spent.
It takes a while to get out of the habit of reaching for ones
glasses in the morning. went skiing last month
nothing can describe the feeling ,taking in the views .
i would not of normally given it a second thought
but i can honestly say its fantastic.
also a bonus is i can get things straight without need
of a spirit level ( plastic lens glasses are crap for eyeing up )

But i must admit i would not tell someone to go do something, its
their lives they can make an informed decision.




Quote:

wrote:

Lasik is here to stay .

Quote:

Thriftysolo wrote: »

Sadly, you are probably
right.

what is sad about it ? one should open ones eyes

Lasik has improved millions of peoples lives.
Don't box yourself in Craig ( after all we spend our whole lives inside
boxes anways , unless one has an outdoor profession.

Bishmena

Thriftysolo

Neither would i , i was pointing out their once a month
Question and Answer sessions at their practices.
where one can talk to REAL people.

I stand corrected. I was confused due to the link to the optimax forum you posted.

Anyways , are you an American ? if not why the obsession with their FDA ?

No, I'm not American. What obsession? I just see it as significant that a former branch chief that was partly responsible for giving the approvals for LASIK would call for a withdrawal of the procedure. This is a rare occurrence.

Stick to European based facts .

Why? What's wrong with US facts. Or non-european facts.

Speaking for myself , its the best money i have ever spent...

I'm very happy for you. I know people like yourself who are pleased with their outcome, but also people who are not.

what is sad about it ? one should open ones eyes

Well, this is just my personal opinion as I think that LASIK is a fundamentally flawed procedure. I would like to see LASIK stopped until a safer alternative can be offered.

Lasik has improved millions of peoples lives.
Don't box yourself in Craig ( after all we spend our whole lives inside
boxes anways , unless one has an outdoor profession.

I'm afraid that if anyone is boxed in it's you. Your opinion of LASIK seems to be that it is a wonder procedure without flaws, and that anyone who disagrees with your opinion is being an hysterical band wagon jumping 'flip lid' (as you called me on the cost cutting thread.)

Craig.

naughtybish

Thriftysolo wrote: »

Well, this is just my personal opinion as I think that LASIK is a fundamentally flawed procedure. I would like to see LASIK stopped until a safer alternative can be offered.

Dear Shiftysolo's ( The scaremonger of MSE )




UK Facts.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists



What experience have you had and how can you demonstrate results?
In general, the more operations a surgeon has carried out the higher the success rate. In some of cases, sight without glasses might not be as good as sight with glasses before the operation. The difference is usually minor, but find out what results your surgeon has had. Also check how many patients have had to come in for further treatment to improve on the initial results. Bear in mind that one in three people will still need glasses for some purposes, such as night driving. Laser surgery will not be able to cure age-related presbyopia and the need for reading glasses in your mid 40's.

What risks are there and what is your complication rate?
Complications occur in less than 5 per cent of cases, but make sure your consultant outlines all the risks. Flap complications with LASIK arise in 0-4 per cent of cases, but can usually be corrected with little or no loss of vision. Some people have a problem with dry eyes in the months after surgery and artificial tear supplements might be needed in the long term. Many patients have experienced glare or halo effects when night driving, particularly just after treatment. This is more likely the higher the correction that has been made, but is rarely severe. In rare cases, excessive thinning of the eye wall can cause the shape of the eye to be unstable after treatment. Severe loss of vision is very unusual, but some patients could require corneal surgery or hard contact lenses to restore vision. You should find out exactly how frequently your surgeon has experienced complications and why.

thank goodness the likes of Tiger Woods never listened to Shifty


Also Shiftysolo has been going on and on about lasik flaps literally flapping in the wind so to speak.

Well ,that may have been true with the thick "cumberland sausage" like flaps cut with a blade in the USA . circa 1991

( 20 yrs ago ) this is where Shiftysolo's hero "Waxler" based all his findings






There appears to be a fundamental difference between LASIK flaps cut either with a blade or created with a laser. Laser created flaps mean a safer surgery as the results are more accurate, so fewer enhancements needed, and the eye is left stronger.


We know that thicker flaps cut with a blade do not fully heal and can be lifted up surgically even many years later. Traditional blade flaps are thicker and cut deeper into the cornea. However laser flaps are thinner and leave the eye stronger afterwards.

However a key difference highlighted by Professor John Marshall in London is that because these very thin laser flaps pass through near the surface of the cornea where the collagen is different from deeper down, they actually heal down and are NOT able to be lifted later on. This means the eye regains strength again with a laser flap, but not with a blade flap.

=================================================


Now this part is ONLY for those serious about getting lasik.
An update
I am now 8 months post lasik op.
and have to say everythings brilliant , no halo's ( they just gradually went over a 3 months after the op) i also have fantastic night vision .
and no dry eye problems , use to need the drops throughout June,July, every couple of days in August , one or two times during Sept and not since.
been away on holiday twice october and skiing last month
thinking that aircraft may be a bit dry i had them with me in case
but turned out never required them even on the october trip :j


only issue i had during the first month , my left eye which has/was a stigmatism had poor distant vision in certain types of fluoresent lighting.

ie , it was ok and middle vision. ( it was great outdoors and with incandescent lights indoors ,the miniture low energy pl's fluoresents
they where all fine ,only certain strip lights seemed to effect detail at distance)
i worked it out , in my own garage with the twin lighting on ( it was bright enough ) a poster at the far end of the garage was not clear , but when i opened the side door and let daylight hit it it was crystal clear. my right eye
was never a problem.

Anyways ,surgeon told me at the time it was not unusual differant lighting has differant light waves , and it was simply down to the eye still healing.

however after a month it was fine and has not troubled me since.
as the eye is still healing for several months it is normal.
so a heads up anyone having that kind of issue.;)


I did ask the question of flap healing
the surgeon said that on blade free lasik's where he has had to perform an enhancement 'he can usually relift the flap up to about 10 months maximum. with a flap lift device.

however several patients at just 6 months have proved impossible to lift the lasik flap.

As i said i cannot say enough how happy i am and everyday i still have the wow factor

I just need to make an appointment around 12 months time
just to look at the overall health of my eyes

Bish

ps: Lets get this thread back onto local money saving tips on laser surgery between people who have had surgery and those who are looking for it .
and who can share money saving tips and referral vouchers.

the scaremongers can go and do one.:mad:

fredy34

naughtybish wrote: »

Dear Shiftysolo's ( The scaremonger of MSE )

I did ask the question of flap healing
the surgeon said that on blade free lasik's where he has had to perform an enhancement 'he can usually relift the flap up to about 10 months maximum. with a flap lift device.

however several patients at just 6 months have proved impossible to lift the lasik flap.

As i said i cannot say enough how happy i am and everyday i still have the wow factor

I just need to make an appointment around 12 months time
just to look at the overall health of my eyes

Bish

ps: Lets get this thread back onto local money saving tips on laser surgery between people who have had surgery and those who are looking for it .
and who can share money saving tips and referral vouchers.

the scaremongers can go and do one.:mad:

thanks for that. You have for now put me off laser eye surgery. The surgeon saying that the flap can usually be lifted up to 10 months proves how slow it is to heal. Sorry at the minute for me my eye sight is too precious to take a risk.

Inteterstingly my mum goes to the RVH for an eye condition every 6 months or so and the surgeon that sees her wears glasses. The same guy does laser eye surgery. Interesting that he didnt have the surgery and obviously wore lenses when i went to visit him for a consult for surgery and yes i guess he may be unsuitable but its still enough to put me off.

goingreen

ossie wrote: »

i wonder what happens if you get it done when you already in your sixties?

I am 62, and I had the surgery done just over 8 months ago. When I had it done the first month of recovery was difficult and I really had to pace the number of hours I spent in front of the computer or reading a book, but slowly my vision became clearer and now I have 20/20 vision. Being able to see without glasses has been amazing. I never thought that eye surgery would help me, especially after wearing glasses for over 40 years, but I was wrong and am completely delighted. I had my surgery done at Accuvision, and they did a superb job and both my treatment and my recovery couldn’t have gone better. I would highly recommend them.

naughtybish

goingreen wrote: »

I am 62, and I had the surgery done just over 8 months ago. When I had it done the first month of recovery was difficult and I really had to pace the number of hours I spent in front of the computer or reading a book, but slowly my vision became clearer and now I have 20/20 vision. Being able to see without glasses has been amazing. I never thought that eye surgery would help me, especially after wearing glasses for over 40 years, but I was wrong and am completely delighted. I had my surgery done at Accuvision, and they did a superb job and both my treatment and my recovery couldn’t have gone better. I would highly recommend them.

Hey fair play.

what swung it for me in my thinking to have laser surgery
was that i would in the end , require vari focals sometime in my
40/50s etc ( knowing that having worn glasses all my life i would need bi-focals for the latter was the final straw ! )

so by having got my eyes done now i will have a good few years
glasses free and prob just need reading glasses
this i can handle ( plus reading glasses are inexpensive , the rate
i use to break or lose my old specs would have been cost an arm and a leg with varis !? )

an alternate to laser surgery is lens replacement ( as they do with cataract removal ) although it is a bit more expensive.
as the lens is replaced with an artifical one that corrects your
vision. i believe it is faster healing times as well.

Fredy , life is full of risks , if we think too deeply about anything & everything, then we would never even leave the house .

i like to try new things , been skydiving , rockclimbing , hiked across
south America in my younger days (mind you i wouldn't do that again in a hurry )
although now i have my own family i have slowed a bit :money:

Cool_Mint

I'm looking into getting intralase done at Optical Express, I've read a few unfavorable reports about OptiMax and I suspect the prices are broadly much the same despite their "£500 discount" and "half price" deals; if it sounds too good to be true it usually is.

I'm prepared to pay up to £3000, I hope it costs closer to £2000 but whatever price they quote me I'll be more interested in getting the best surgeon than getting a discount; the one thing I will absolutely insist on is that the procedure is done only by a fully qualified and well experienced surgeon otherwise I'll walk.

naughtybish

I don't blame you Cool_Mint

as i mentioned . my decision was made that i would ultimately
end up with bifocal or varifocal glasses
i mean haven't we who are inflicted with long or short sighted eyes
been made to suffer enough without punish more in later life:mad:

those born with perfect sight , hope they know just how lucky you are!
(lucky people) years of poking ones self in the eye with contacts
then getting drunk and losing them , breaking glasses on holiday
and the like .

after i had my eyes done , after years of perfect vision close
up without specs the nextday after surgery in the mirror
i could not focus close up !:eek: ok up until about a foot away.
As i wanted to have a close look at my eyes etc ( her in doors said it looked
like i had slept in my contacts ) as the suction ring
makes red marks all around the eyes .

after a few days my eyes got use to having to use the muscles to
focus close up after years of not having too !
and my near vision returned and i can still see very close up
for fine work .

so a heads up :j

Bish

Cool_Mint

I do not believe that laser eye surgery is wholly safe, it's just that for me, on balance, the risk of damage to my eyes is worth the risk. A comment under this article in The Guardian summed it up rather well:

I went in for a consultation at Ultralase once.
The first person you meet is neither an optician or an optometrist; it's a spotty, untrained know-it-all teenage oik who thinks "vision consultant" is a meaningful job title that imbues his scripted questionnaire with particular authority. He was a vision consultant like my binman is a refuse consultant. I had to correct him at one point as he was entering my prescription into the computer incorrectly.
Anyway, after getting through that, I met with the surgeon who would be performing the surgery. He was wearing glasses. I did not keep my second appointment - I found his lack of faith disturbing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/mar/26/laser-eye-surgery-risks-consumer-affairs


Any surgeon in the UK can claim to have expertise as an eye surgeon even if they have never done it before, which is worrying. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists will issue a "certificate of competence" to some surgeons but how many surgeons even have that certificate? The RCOphth advises patients to seek a surgeon who has had at least 3 months of formal training in laser eye surgery, which if you think about it isn't much training at all.

Either laser eye surgery is so simple that almost anyone could do it ( and I don't believe that) or most of the surgeons working for laser eye surgery clinics are performing operations in which they are not fully skilled.

goingreen

I completely understand questioning the process of laser eye surgery. I think people rush to a decision all too quickly and the results are not always as strong as they could be.

I think one of the key misconceptions surround laser eye surgery is that all clinics are the same and it is only the price that varies. The most important thing when deciding on your clinic should definitely not be the price – these are your eyes you are dealing with and so extremely important.
There is a lot to think about and the first thing to consider is that not all laser eye clinics are the same, the optometrists have varying experience and most importantly the technology that each clinic has available, varies dramatically.
Some clinics will only have the facilities to treat a small prescription, others much larger. For example when I went to Accuvision they explained that they can treat prescriptions ranging from -14 to +8, a massive range – this is due to their Wavelight allegretto laser platform, the most advanced technology available. I had many consultations, but I choose Accuvision for their expertise, technological advances and comforting staff.


I learned that the first thing you should expect from your consultation is a thorough examination from a highly experienced optometrist. Once this has been done they should be able to advise you on the best course of treatment for your eyes.


Often surgeons agree to treat people they shouldn’t because they don’t have the experience or the technology available to do a completely satisfactory exam and therefore, job.

My top tips would be to thoroughly research all three areas – diagnostics, consultation and the technology to see which surgery can provide the best in all three. Talk to as many other people that have had the surgery as possible, finally go for a consultation. At the consultation don’t feel pressured to sign up for the surgery, ask as many questions as possible, and if you don’t feel completely confident after this, then look elsewhere, that's what I did and it has worked out brilliantly thus far.