LASIK -- is it safe?

[Darren Dirt]

a well-known "alternative medicine" guy shares his opinion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lk_xD_0wPg

I guess that's my fear, not that the surgery will fail, but that a few years later something else will be required to "maintain" the corrected vision. He apparently has had personal success with non-surgical solutions to restore poor vision. His website seems to have lots of articles discussing the dangers of going the surgical route... with a link to a LASIK horror stories site 



Still sucks going swimming and not being able to see well



PS: btw apparently "the flap never heals"  ...more warnings/horror stories here.

[Tonnica]

There's risk related to eye surgery? It doesn't always "cure" vision, and when it does it may not be permanent? There's a risk you could lose your vision if the procedure goes wrong? Gasp.

I could not have ever imagined that was ever a possibility! (except when it was explained at length by my doctor because it is in fact a serious procedure with equally serious risks. That's correct, the previous statements were sarcastic)

Back in my day eye surgery wasn't half as casual as it is nowadays. Your eyes are small, delicate, and squishy. The rods and cones in the back of your eye are smaller than the head of a pin. Someone goes around whining that the incision isn't healing as quickly as they wanted? Oh please. From my perspective getting a year of "good" vision is worth it even if it requires follow-up treatment. I'd be willing to drop a mint and go into debt if it meant I could see well enough to drive a car legally. Can't manage the risk? Don't take the treatment. Can't manage the follow-up? Don't take the treatment. That being said I wouldn't go to Lasik for sugery myself. They have too much of a "body shop" feel to their operation. Sure it's a regular procedure but I'd rather have technicians and specialists at the UofA do it.

NOW GET OFF MY LAWN Y'DARN KIDS! WHEREVER YOU ARE!

[Darren Dirt]

NOW GET OFF MY LAWN Y'DARN KIDS!

Well, fellow curmudgeon, I was just mentioning the above cuz all the local radio stations seem to have some of the DJs recently undergoing LASIK and saying how awesome it is -- notice the surgery was RECENT -- and of course it's easy to identify the cutting of the "flap" as the really dangerous surgery, but all the marketing of LASIK procedures in the past 15 years have focused on how the lasering ITSELF is uber-safe... no mention of long-term re-correcting needing, or the fact that the "flap" doesn't ever really fully heal (I mean, an open wound on the hand heals cuz there's lotsa blood flowing to rebuild new tissue and/or "glue" the separated tissue back together -- how does the eye flap work exactly? :p )

Anyway, you and your brother are probably especially annoyed by all those ads on the radio (and in the newspapers) that imply "get your eyes fixed over lunchtime and be NORMAL and LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST" (implying ... well, you get the drift)

WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Geez, 2 minutes after posting and I *just* got the joke. 

[Lazybones]

It has been on my watch list for years now as the cost has come Dow and the tech improved.

I fear being awake for the procedure and loosing night vision as I drive after dusk often.

Depending on your vision problems there at now techniques that shape the outside and don't require the flap.

There is also the possibility of better than 20/20 vision.

The radio here blasts those ads as well, there is even a clinic in my building.

No matter what as you age your vision will likely degrad and ad some point require corrective measures again.

[Mr. Analog]

Here's the thing I don't get, if you have to wear glasses but you see well enough not to be considered "impaired", why risk what you have?

[Melbosa]

Here's the thing I don't get, if you have to wear glasses but you see well enough not to be considered "impaired", why risk what you have?

A couple of reasons IMO.

Costs.  My 2 pairs of glasses cost me $800 this year, and due to wear and tear I replace them every 2-3 years (regardless of prescription changes, which hasn't changed for me in the last 4 years).  I have no eye coverage at NAIT, so that comes out of my pocket.  If the surgery lasts 10-15 years that is a significant savings. 

Clarity.  Anyone who has tried glasses to contacts knows the difference.  Glasses just aren't as clear, contacts better, but you still get that ring or glow on street lights at night, distances with focus aren't fantastic, etc.  So corrective lenses bring you to 20/20 but with exceptions IMO.

There are different types of surgery.  I cant's speak for LASIK as I don't know anyone whom has gone through their procedure.  But a friend at work here went through another procedure that is a scrapping instead of cutting.  Takes longer to heal, but in medical terms is less evasive surgery.  He has had it for 3 years now, and swears by it.  He was an advide contact user before, and says his clarity now is way way way better.  Even has me considering it.

[Mr. Analog]

Here's the thing I don't get, if you have to wear glasses but you see well enough not to be considered "impaired", why risk what you have?

A couple of reasons IMO.

Costs.  My 2 pairs of glasses cost me $800 this year, and due to wear and tear I replace them every 2-3 years (regardless of prescription changes, which hasn't changed for me in the last 4 years).  I have no eye coverage at NAIT, so that comes out of my pocket.  If the surgery lasts 10-15 years that is a significant savings. 

What are you doing to your face that would make replacing your glasses necessary every 2 years?

Either way, I don't see $800 every two years as a back breaker.

Clarity.  Anyone who has tried glasses to contacts knows the difference.  Glasses just aren't as clear, contacts better, but you still get that ring or glow on street lights at night, distances with focus aren't fantastic, etc.  So corrective lenses bring you to 20/20 but with exceptions IMO.

Is it really that detrimental that you would risk the ability to see altogether? Seems more like a minor annoyance.

There are different types of surgery.  I cant's speak for LASIK as I don't know anyone whom has gone through their procedure.  But a friend at work here went through another procedure that is a scrapping instead of cutting.  Takes longer to heal, but in medical terms is less evasive surgery.  He has had it for 3 years now, and swears by it.  He was an advide contact user before, and says his clarity now is way way way better.  Even has me considering it.

All surgery involves risk. Accident, error and even just the fact the everybody is different can impact success and recovery. Chances are really good that nothing will happen, but it's still a chance.

It's a big consideration, not to be taken lightly.

[Lazybones]

I don't spend $800 but I do spend around $400 to $600 every 2 years, I have partial coverage but I haven't always. I don't see it so much as a cost savings as probably costing similar to what I spend now but over a longer period of time with the benefit that if it works 100% it will be far more reliable.
- Lenses get scratched and anti glare coatings wear down preventing requiring me to replace the lenses to drive at night
- Sports, I have been hit in the face damaging my glasses beyond repair more than once.
- My daughter destroyed my last pair by grabbing them off my face
- My prescription shifts dome times by just enough over 2 years to require me to update it to reduce glare at night or improve the distance I can see.

I can't wear contacts anymore, or at least for more than a day at a time. I find them very freeing, accept when swimming as I have a tenancy to loose them or they roll up into my eyelid if I get splashed.

Glasses allow me to drive a car, I can't without them, there have been times where my glasses have been damaged or I have lost a contact while out and it has jeopardized my safety or ability to drive when I was already away from home. Driving personal watercraft also has issues, shot of getting prescription goggles that I might use for a few months a year I am at risk of loosing might sight while engaging in the activity.

[Lazybones]

Wikipedia has descriptions for all the major options out there
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refractive_surgery

[Mags]

Another reason I'm considering it as well is, that my eyes are so bad I'm almost as far as you can go with disposable contacts. Lasik, if I can get it, probably wouldn't even get me 20/20 but it should be safely to a point that I can keep with disposables the rest of my life.

The other option is to switch to just glasses and/or old style standard contacts. And the risks with standard non-porous contacts can be very bad by themselves. And glasses at my prescription tend to be huge, and very subject to scratching/scrapping, so on the farm they are not a good option.

[Mr. Analog]

I guess I've been luckier with eye wear. Both my current frames I've had since 2000 and though I've gone through some lenses since then (and been punched in the face, stepped on, dropped, scratched with keys, etc) I've been able to get the frames repaired without spending a lot of dough.

Maybe the surgery is perfectly safe and will have no long lasting problems but for me unless something is a "life or death" situation I would prefer to avoid undergoing radical surgery

[Lazybones]

At only a 3% risk of complication, compared to lets say condoms that have a 12% failure rate it sounds fairly safe.

One of my co-works had it done a few years ago and has had no issues.

[Mr. Analog]

At only a 3% risk of complication, compared to lets say condoms that have a 12% failure rate it sounds fairly safe.

Really? Is that a Canadian stat or worldwide? Was the percentile of all surgeries or just a subset? Basically [[CITATION NEEDED]]

I am actually interested in the source of that information and not being a dork (for once).

One of my co-works had it done a few years ago and has had no issues.

I know similar people, but like I said this is radical (meaning "new") non-lifesaving surgery. All I'm saying is, is it worth the risk? If people are ok with it that's fine, but really consider the implications of what might change if you happened to be in the unlucky percentile. Having grown up in the CNIB system you see that people with congenital vision problems adapt to life much easier than people who gain blindness later in life, some don't recover from it very well, some bounce back but it takes a superhuman amount of work (which I have a lot of respect for!).

Think about spending a whole day blindfolded, everything you do would change.

Everyone is capable of risk assessment but not everyone understands the risk as well as Tonnica or I might, so consider it privileged information when making that decision. Your life will become a lot more complicated even with just "legal" blindness B-)

[Lazybones]

The source was the wiki link.

Doing more searching the FDA puts it in the 1 to 5% risk range for complication, http://www.docshop.com/education/vision/refractive/lasik/statistics/

[Mr. Analog]

Thanks!