Lasik: What to do?

[Beasho]

I am committed to doing this in the next 2 months.

I have worn glasses for 25 years.  Contact lenses for 20 years.  I am currently wearing the same glasses I have had for 10 years.  My contact lense prescription is roughly -200 right, -250 left.

Contacts significantly improved my sporting life allowing me to see waves in the distance and fish on the horizon.

I want to know any general recommendations on Lasik:

• I Live in the Bay Area - Doctor with good recommnedations?
• Cost???
• Best way to pay 1) out of Pocket 2) HSA 3) Other?
• Other Considerations?

[hbsteve]

Our Dr. Friend that was Pres. of Marin General, and still works there say Dr. Robert Anderson in Greenbrae is the best at cataracts.  Call and ask.  415-461-8200.  he is doing cataracts surgery for my wife Elaine Macy. 

[freetobeme]

THE BEST THING I EVER DID FOR MYSELF WAS GET LASIK in 2002. $800 per eye in Montreal QB. At that time the doctor I used had done the most LASIK surgeries of any doctor and the hospital/clinic had done the most procedures.

I grew up wearing glasses. Age 5-25. I could not wear contacts due to having a severe astigmatism. LASIK gave me 20/20 in my left eye and 20/10 in my right eye and corrected my astigmatism.

In the past year I have been experiencing loss of vision. I need to go to an eye doctor and also research redoing LASIK. I want another 10 + years glasses free.

Good luck.

[PDLSFR]

Beasho, I had Lasik done on both eye's back in 1998 in Boston when the procedure was not widely available or cheap. It was the best thing I ever did for myself (besides building a large quiver of SUP's). I am going to be 44 and after 17 years I still have perfect 20/20 vision in both eyes. I wore glasses almost with the same prescription as you and I recall a few days after the surgery waking up in the middle of the night and clearly seeing the alarm clock time across the room (I'll never forget it) and could barely get back to sleep as I was so excited I could see without my glasses or contacts. Obviously the world of Surf and Skiing changed completely after that as I was amazed at what I was missing.

In regards to cost now, still not cheap but worth every dollar (if you can afford it do it, if not most places also do financing), again it's worth it, your life will be changed for the better !!!

Sorry cannot help with the Bay Area but I recommend speaking with several different providers to get costs and what their success rates are.

[Glowmaster]

Make  sure you don't have presbyopia, i.e. need reading glasses, especially if over 40.

Lasik has no progressive type alternative. I tried contact lenses with one set at distance and the other at close.  This is called "mono vision"

I found it unacceptable, so am now doing one distance contact, and one multifocal contact for closer.

It is still a compromise, but the modern silicone hydrogel contacts are so comfortable.

[TallDude]

Had both my eyes done back in 99'. Over the past 5 yrs or so I've started wearing reading glasses. Drawing in AutoCAD for hours on end will do that to you. I had an Astigmatism and wore glasses a good part of my life. The Lasik was amazing. I could see everything so clear, near and far. I did both eyes. I had a top doctor in La Jolla do mine. I was building him a custom home, and we did a little bartering:) He got a custom spanish revival ceiling, and I got my eye's done. What I have now is Presbyopia. As Glowmaster said, it's constantly changing and not really correctable by Lasik. They do have a procedure, but it requires operating on a muscle in the back of your eye. I'll just wear glass when I'm reading, thanks.
 
Something to know, not all Lasik machines are the same. The budget ads you see are typically doctors or technicians using older equipment. The laser array is smaller meaning less passes and more heat per area. When I did mine, they were still using microkeratone blade to cut the flap, then laser it, and lay the flap back in place. Now they have bladeless Lasik.  http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/intralasik.htm

I'm glad I had mine done, specially because of the time I spend in and on the water.

Good luck...

[PonoBill]

Lifechanging. I had mine done at Casey Eye Institute in Portland, OR. I recommend you dig carefully to find the best pre-operation evaluator and the best operator. My late friend John Karamanos did the research for himself and shared the information. I had the microkeratome flap-type Lasik, which is still done, and some people consider it still superior. http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/blade-vs-bladeless.htm

The quality of the work depends on the people. Get the best you can find. My results were spectacular. I needed reading glasses initially since my near-sightedness was over-corrected. I had 20/10 vision in both eyes and zero astigmatism. Pre-surgery I was 20/200 and 20/400 with lots of astigmatism. Mine was regular, there used to be some complications with more irregular astigmatism that appear to be not so critical anymore. prior to the surgery I was wearing trifocals to read at two distances and see at distance. The presbyopia wasn't a big deal, I didn't mind the thought of reading glasses, I just didn't want to need coke bottles all the time.

I rarely need reading glasses now. My vision seems to be relatively stable at about 20/20 but sometimes one eye goes a little wanky, especially if I've strained my vision somehow. When you don't wear glasses your presbyopia gets better. You tend to look through the optical center of a lens, which means you turn your head to see things. When you stop doing that your eye muscles get more exercise and strengthen.

Besides all the usual benefits I've also noticed my depth perception is much better. I raced motorcycles and cars with glasses prior to my LASIK and was always amazed at pro driver's ability to navigate a corner with repeatable precision, lap after lap. Post surgery I have that ability too.

[Glowmaster]

I am an Optical Scientist by education.  If I were to get Lasik, I would get wavefront Lasik.

It makes a map of your cornea to design cuts that correct for spherical, and all other aberrations that detract from the perfect image.

There are also two ways to make the "flap" to expose the cornea to make the laser cut.  One is a blade, the other a super short pulse laser that makes air bubbles under the flap to separate it from the cornea. 

I knew the Scientist at IBM that shot the first UV lasers at tissue.  His name was R. Srinivasan.   He theorized and showed (first on turkey cartilage) that excimer UV lasers could sculpt tissue by "photo ablation" without the typical thermal damage by lasers.  Mid 1980s

He was a smart and cool guy. It is mind blowing how far this technology has come.  or eye-blowing at the least.

I used to have a warning sign in my laser lab that said   "Dang!  Do not look at the laser with your remaining eye"



 

[PonoBill]

If I were doing it now I'd probably consider wavefront Lasik as well, though it tends to cost more and has fewer practitioners and less experience since a lot of people want cheap. It's at least $1k more expensive.

The LASIK mills tend to have good results because they see more patients in a week than some sole practitioners or clinics see in a year. I saw a place in a shopping center in BC that had a line outside the door. The line was moving slowly but steadily. I thought people were buffering into a waiting room, but they had a big window you could watch through. There was no waiting room. Eight operating bays, no waiting. Eight hundred bucks a head. Wow.

[Beasho]

Great stuff.  Thanks for the information.

1st Google of Wavefront Lasik led me to Stanford Eye Laser Center.  How bad can that be?

Just called them:  Dr. Edward Manche.  Over 40,000 procedures completed.  $2,950 per eye.  No insurance coverage but you can pay with HSA $$$.

Free consultation, then 1 week no contacts prior to Pre-Operation.  This will screw up my wave count.  Procedure is in / out should be good the next day.

http://eyelaser.stanford.edu/procedures/wavefront-2.html

Good thing it's pre-April 15th.  Looks like I may still be able to max out the HSA account.

Am I correct to assume this is the way to go?

[PonoBill]

It helps that it's Stanford, but I doubt they provide any oversight over the operation. Nice though. Price is a bit steep, but not ridiculous for Wavefront. Average for Wavefront is about $2200 per eye.

Get 'er done. It's 95% likely that you'll be thrilled with the outcome.

[Glowmaster]

the final call is up to you.

That is the same as the price here in Boston.

The other funny calculation is payback time compared to contacts.

My contacts are $75/ 6 months, $150/year.  $6K/ $150= 40 year payback.  at 56 I would need to get to 96.

On the other hand if you are 30 it is a no brainer.  Lasik wins.

This analysis doesn't compare  the not having contacts advantage, just stupid pay back math.

your math may vary.  YMMV

look sharp


ed

[OCsurf]

I had Lasik about 10 12 years ago and I am still 20/20.  One of the best things that I ever did.  I now need reading glasses and sometimes wear one contact lense in my non dominant eye for reading.  I do not like to wear a contact lense for surfing because it effects my balance.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

I'm too blind for any type of surgery. I wear contacts on the water. Fortunately the contacts still correct to about 20/30.

[Bean]

I had Lasik in 2004 with mixed results; better than 20/20 in the left and less than 20/30 with the right.  I still consider this one of the best things I've done for myself. 

As time went on, the right eye weakened in distance and became my reading eye while the left eye covered my distance vision.  Sort of, an unintended mono-vision.  But recently, the right eye had become useless at any distance and so I had cataract surgery.  I went with a Crystalens which is an adaptive IOL and my vision is now better than 20/20 in both eyes.  Time will tell what kind of range I will ultimately have with the new lens but it's looking very promising. 

The day after surgery, I was sitting in my living room face to face with my dog and realized that was the first time I had seen her in 3D.