Laser Eye Surgery

[Kit]

I've been thinking about getting this done for a long time. My eyesight is extremely poor (I need to wear glasses when sitting in front of a 24" inch monitor) so I want to get a general idea of what I'm letting myself in for before I go through with it.

So, What are the risks?

What are the costs?

What operation is the best?

How long does it take to recover?

Is it a short term solution - does the correction eventually degrade?

Back in in late 90's my mum had her eyes done and she said it was extremely painful and recall her taking a month off work.

Hoping things have moved on significantly since then!

[EvilBoris]

So, What are the risks?
The main issues as a result of laser surgery are typically having dry eyes (85% of the nerves to your cornea get severed during the op and you eyes become less sensitive to knowing they need to lubricate themselves).

Higher Order Aberrations as the result of the cornea healing in a unpredictable way, this will lead to glare/halos and other lens flare type effects when your pupils are dilated, usually at night.
Although they can try and correct or this using wavefront techonology, there is still a risk of being left with this quite annoying effect.

Then you've got less common risks such as the flap they have cut away on your cornea coming away and other risks that could lead to more severe vision loss.


What are the costs?
despite being called laser surgery, part of the operation requires cutting and many cheaper packages use blades for this. This will typically be what you see advertised for ?400.

For having everything done using the best technology and equiptment you can expect to pay between ?2000-2500 per eye.

What operation is the best?
Personally if I was having the operation done I would have the top package, because you can expect the end results to be better. One thing worth researching is what equipment the surgeon is using, there are much better machines out there , but some surgeries may still be using older tech.
Blade free and Wavefront is a must.
WHat I would look at afterwards is what aftercare does the company offer, some companies will offer corrective surgery should it fail first time around as well as longer term care.

How long does it take to recover?
Most people can see the benefit immediately and you would usually be able to resume your normal life straight away, it can take 2 weeks for the cornea to firmly reattach, but you may be waiting several weeks longer before playing sports or doing anything a bit rougher.
During this period you may have to wear some eye protection whilst you sleep to stop you rubbing your corneal off whilst you sleep and you will probably have to apply lubrication drops to your eyes also (this may be required permanently see above comments about dry eyes)

Is it a short term solution - does the correction eventually degrade?
The Correction will certainly recede to some extend and as the vision isn't usually as effective as wearing glasses some people find themselves wanting a small prescription to boost up their vision when driving.
It can often be a cause of disappointment in several years time if it does recede. Although it is not likely your eyes would go back to how they were prior to the test.

I guess the other thing to consider is that it is only a distance vision correction, the human eyes start degrading and losing their sbility to focus on near objects when we reach our 40's, so at some point in the future you will require glasses at the very least for reading/computer.

What is your prescription Kit?

[CMcK]

I had laser eye surgery at Optical Express about 4 years ago. My prescription at the time was 2.5 on both eyes. Cost me ?2500 for the top package. Wavefront scanning and laser cutting rather than using a blade for the flap.
The initial consultation took about an hour or so and the surgery takes about 10 minutes. Obviously there are further checks carried out before the operation.
Recovery time was excellent. I got home mid morning and went to lie down as I was very sensitive to the light. At the back of I was making lunch starting to notice a serious improvement. Following day I drove to the clinic seeing a huge difference. I had a week off work just to be careful but by the weekend I was running about in the car roof down on the M6!
My eyes were tested frequently afterward and I ended up at 20/12 vision far better than the correction my glasses offered.
I haven't suffered with dry eyes but out of all the people I know that had laser eye correction, eight peeps, only one has had bother with dry eyes.
My sister had the ?395 per eye treatment and it worked just fine with no issues. She was back at work in a few days.

If you have any questions feel free to drop me a PM. And I might have some money off vouchers lying around as well.

[EvilBoris]

If you are looking at it I'd suggest going an having a few consultations in different places, the companies operate very differently. Optical Express's consultations are often done by unqualified staff who earn commission for each surgery that takes place and this of course has a bearing on just how much they tone down various aspects of the surgery.

[Kit]

Appreciate the info, Boris. Very helpful.

What is your prescription Kit?

Not sure what my prescription is. I've got a week off soon and was going to go into Optical Express in peterborough to get a consultation.

I had laser eye surgery at Optical Express about 4 years ago. My prescription at the time was 2.5 on both eyes. Cost me ?2500 for the top package. Wavefront scanning and laser cutting rather than using a blade for the flap.
The initial consultation took about an hour or so and the surgery takes about 10 minutes. Obviously there are further checks carried out before the operation.
Recovery time was excellent. I got home mid morning and went to lie down as I was very sensitive to the light. At the back of I was making lunch starting to notice a serious improvement. Following day I drove to the clinic seeing a huge difference. I had a week off work just to be careful but by the weekend I was running about in the car roof down on the M6!
My eyes were tested frequently afterward and I ended up at 20/12 vision far better than the correction my glasses offered.
I haven't suffered with dry eyes but out of all the people I know that had laser eye correction, eight peeps, only one has had bother with dry eyes.
My sister had the ?395 per eye treatment and it worked just fine with no issues. She was back at work in a few days.

If you have any questions feel free to drop me a PM. And I might have some money off vouchers lying around as well.

Optical Express is the one I've been looking at. What are the other decent options? Optimax is one of the top ones when I search but I've never heard of them.

[EvilBoris]

Appreciate the info, Boris. Very helpful.
Not sure what my prescription is. I've got a week off soon and was going to go into Optical Express in peterborough to get a consultation

Is it still there? It's quite a small practice that one, wouldn't surprise me if it was gone.

Ultralase are another company, a few years back they were most reputable company, they are the only one who gets externally audited. I was always quite impressed with the attitude and knowledge of the staff when I had dealings with them. They cost more though, no doubt about it.

It is worth noting that not everyone is suitable for it, the process usually involves thinning or reshaping the front surface of your eye, if you don't have the necessary thickness it may not be possible. Generally as a rule it's harder if you are long sighted ( + )

[davesol]

I had it done with Optical Express and do have an issue with my left eye being dry which i am still receiving after-care for (15 months later!). I also have some issues driving at night although not bad enough to stop me driving. I had LASEK done (which is the older, cheaper method where the surface of your eye is scraped off and then regrows) as my eye shape was not suitable for LASIK (which is where they cut and fold back the surface). I'm not sure i would recommend Optical Express TBH, I've received very mixed after-care.

[EvilBoris]

I personally wouldn't go for Optical Express, they are a horrid horrid company all round and I know this without ever having to of worked for them.

[Kit]

That is disconcerting to hear.

I spoke about laser surgery with a friend today who had her eyes done 5 or so years ago (she had lasek) and she talked very glowingly about where she had hers done; will post the name of the company when she texts back - it was in bolton I believe.

Even after viewing the procedure on youtube I'm still very keen to get this done. It's just a case of doing more research now.

Is it still there? It's quite a small practice that one, wouldn't surprise me if it was gone.

Ultralase are another company, a few years back they were most reputable company, they are the only one who gets externally audited. I was always quite impressed with the attitude and knowledge of the staff when I had dealings with them. They cost more though, no doubt about it.

It is worth noting that not everyone is suitable for it, the process usually involves thinning or reshaping the front surface of your eye, if you don't have the necessary thickness it may not be possible. Generally as a rule it's harder if you are long sighted ( + )

Just browsing the Ultralase site now. They do seem rather expensive.

http://www.ultralase.com/vites/lasereyesurgeryprices/

?995 per eye for LASEK? I've seen it as low as ?395 elsewhere.

[EvilBoris]

LASEK is still a current technique used on people with a very thin cornea, it's not a case of LASEK = CHEAP/OLD , LASIK = EXPENSIVE/NEW.

They always advertise the from ?395, but when you sit down and they tell you that they don't recommend it because you actually have the required corneal thickness for a much more effective treatment then the price jumps up straight away.

When they then tell you there is a supplement to not have a blade slicing at your eye, most people jump at that in favour of a laser, but the price jumps up again.

Then when they tell you that you have large pupils or that you may me left with these kinds of effects permanently as a result of the surgery, the price jumps up again.


You need to get lots of information to ensure that you are actually having the same operation, with the same equipment with the same level of aftercare before you can properly compare prices.

It actually looks like their prices have come down, there top LASIK package was ?2500 when I worked with them 6-7 years ago.
Worth looking into is if there are any Laser Providers outside of Optimax, Ultralase and optical express, I'm sure there are many independent practices who can compete.

[zeroboo]

I've been pondering over getting laser eye surgery for a few years now but the idea of messing with my vision has put me off.

For those who have already had the laser eye surgery, I was just wondering what are your thoughts on the operation going wrong etc Is there a possibility that you'd lose your vision altogether?

[EvilBoris]

I'd imagine at the very worst end of the scale you would require a corneal graft from some nice donor.

I can't imagine how you'd go full on blind, but it could certainly go wrong and leave you with vision that was uncorrectable with specs.


My advise for anyone who doesn't already, give contact lenses a go.

[MartyG]

I considered having LASER surgery as contacts can be a tiny burden having to clean or change them daily. My optician suggested trying extended wear contacts which you can leave in overnight, if fact I can happily leave them for week without noticing them. Some folk can't tolerate them quite as well though.

Any advice on those EB?

[Brad]

I'm up for surgery to turn my regular eyes into laser eyes. Would I have to wear a special visor to avoid accidentally killing people?

[EvilBoris]

I considered having LASER surgery as contacts can be a tiny burden having to clean or change them daily. My optician suggested trying extended wear contacts which you can leave in overnight, if fact I can happily leave them for week without noticing them. Some folk can't tolerate them quite as well though.

Any advice on those EB?

They can work well but it depends on a wearer, I had the 30 day extended wear lenses years ago and it was quite cool waking up and seeing clearly.
I switched to 1 week extended wear lenses and would wear them one week on, one week off which gave me a week of novelty and a week of glasses, I quite liked that and I don't mind wearing my specs.

The main things to consider with extended wear contacts is that with them being in constantly it isn't always the healthiest thing for you eyes, although the modern materials are very breathable it really is worth giving them a rest from your lenses.

Overwearing your contact lenses can (due to friction) wear away at your cornea and can cause almost ulcer like symptoms, also overwearing them can starve your cornea of oxygen, which over time can cause your body to grow blood vessels into the clear part of your eyes in order to keep the cells alive! Scary stuff.
Rare though! If you get good quality lenses (I recommend the Acuvue brand lenses) and you have your regular lens checks and follow your opticians advice then you will be fine.

The dryness can be exacerbated if you are a gamer or spend a lot of time on a computer, as your blinking reflex gets interrupted by all the staring at screens.

The key thing with contact lenses is to remember that you will need to rest your eyes, so you will still need your glasses.