Laser eye surgery.....

[Racerbvd]

I did the PRK in 08, I think, best investment I have made, my Mother hadit done when she was 60 I think, she is now 76, and still very happy..

[ddbach]

As an eye surgeon:

PRK or LASIK are both very good procedures but not perfect. They are not for everyone. If you expect to gain 20 year old eyes for life you will not unless you are Dorian Gray at 20. Sometimes you will still need glasses for select activities.

Loss of accommodation is almost universal with age and generally starts between 40 and 50 years of age. Refractive surgery so far has been unable to restore both distance and near in the same eye using laser. There are lens implants that are multifocal (clear lens exchange surgery) but these have their own set of potential issues so not everyone is a good candidate and sometimes the individual fails to adapt and they need to be removed and replaced with a single focus lens. Not everyone tolerates monovision either.

Do your research -
Who will do your pre-op evaluation? Answer questions?
Who is doing your surgery?
Who will do your post-op care?
Think hard about what you want the procedure to do for you, which is most important for what you do - distance or near? If you have worn contacts or wear them now try monovision in contacts first to see if you like it.

Get and KEEP records of what your correction is before refractive surgery, the amount of correction planned and your final results. (K card) This will be important in the hopefully far future should you develop cataracts and need surgery. The change in shape of the cornea causes the standard lens implant calculations to be wrong so the more information your future cataract surgeon has the better the result should you ever need it.

As with anything in life there is risk so make an informed decision.

Disclaimer: I do not currently perform laser refractive surgery - location, clientele, volume related

[MikeD930]

I have considered laser surgery but after exhaustive research online I decided against it due to the fact that its effect of surgery cannot be reversed!!! I get shudders thinking about those who regret having this type of surgery. Also, most of you who had it done may need glasses sooner or later for different reasons.

[Prairie Lizard]

Had mine done a couple years ago. I'm over 50 and have been near sighted and wearing glasses since 4th grade. It's awesome to go swimming or wear whatever sunglasses I want, but there is a significant down side for me.

Before the surgery I wore glasses all the time so they were always on my face. Now I have to constantly take my cheaters on and off. Makes it incredibly difficult to lay under the dash of my 73.5 911 to work on wiring. Plus it ties up a hand to hold my cheaters, which I wish was available to use for work.

Just my version. I interviewed tons of people before and no one expressed the same problem I have with this. My plan is to get cheaters with progressive lens that are non-prescription on top and just wear them as glasses.

[aigel]

I would worry about the higher order aberrations affecting my night vision significantly. This is a very common side effect. What would I do about night driving and road trips? Introducing no imperfections and minimizing aberrations probably also what separates good eye surgery from mediocre.

Aberrations of the eye - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frankly, I am very much against procedures that are avoidable. I would not have eye surgery, unless I was going blind. Sure, chances are all will be well, but the stakes are tremendous if something gets messed up. All I have to do is look at some pictures of the procedure ...

Laser Eye Surgery Slideshow: LASIK, PRK, Side Effects

G

[beepbeep]

I've done PRK 13 years ago, no issues. PRK doesn't leave scars so I have zero problems with halo in low light.

Correction was from 3.15 to roughly 0.25. They erred on the safe side so I'm still slightly short-sighted but I would do it again in the heartbeat. PRK is more or less fail-proof.

LASIK has a higher risc, as there is a cur involved.