Lasik surgery, yea or nay? What do you know about it.

[Obsoleet]

I'm signed up for Lasik next month, and before I actually do it I'm doing all the research I can and asking a lot of people what they know. My boss said his wife works for an eye surgeon, who doesn't support or like the procedure. I've read a lot of good things about it, and a girl at my eye doctor is very glad she did it herself.

What do you know about it, would you do it?

 

[kranky]

My wife had it done 3 years ago. She had terrible vision and had thick glasses her entire life before Lasik.

She has some "starburst" at night and uses eye drops for moisture from time to time, but overall she'd do it again in a second.

 

[jonks]

yes 1000x. literally changed my life. choose a good, reputable surgeon who's performed thousands of operations. I had it done in 2002, and the tech's only gotten better.

my brother and my 2 closest friends all had it done also.

 

[senseamp]

I'm signed up for Lasik next month, and before I actually do it I'm doing all the research I can and asking a lot of people what they know. My boss said his wife works for an eye surgeon, who doesn't support or like the procedure. I've read a lot of good things about it, and a girl at my eye doctor is very glad she did it herself.

What do you know about it, would you do it?

All my friends are saying it's the best money they spent, though some complain of dry eyes.
I went in for a free consultation with a top rated Dr, and he said I am not a good candidate for Lasik or PRK due to thin cornea, high RX and large pupil, so no I would not do it

 

[KillerCharlie]

I want to do it, but how do you find a reputable surgeon?

 

[lokiju]

Yes, I did it back in 2003.

Best money I ever spent I always say.

Cons: Dry-er eyes and might have made my night vision worse, though it's hard to say since it was easily worse with the contacts I was wearing prior to the procedure.

Pros: no more corrective anything. 20/20 vision. Can go swimming and to water parks with no fear. etc.

 

[Gothgar]

I've been wanting to do it...

I have bad eye sight, but not terrible, so for now I am okay...

Maybe in this next yaer...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Here's a recent thread on it
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=252266

After seeing some of the non-correctable issues that can arise from it, I would be worried about it personally since I'm prone to worrying about things. I'm just fine wearing glasses, so seeing stories like these are enough to dissuade me...

http://www.lifeafterlasik.com/

 

[TechBoyJK]

I had it done back in 2004. The tech has improved dramatically. WHen I did it, they still needed to cut the flap..

Best money I ever spent. I couldn't drive, or even see the the time display on my alarm clock by my bed without glasses.

I didn't get quite 20/20, but close enough. I have an astigmatism and some other factors outside of what Lasik can fix that distorts my vision.

I also get halos at night, which makes lights look like sparkly. It actually helps with depth perception though, so that might actually be a plus.

 

[brblx]

nay.

the tech is not old enough yet. we've yet to see if people's eyes are gonna fall out after twenty years.

 

[coloumb]

Everyone I know has no regrets getting it done.. I watched my wife's eyeballs get lasik'd and it was pretty damn cool. They gave her some really cool looking reflective pilots goggles to wear for 24 hours after the surgery. She has no regrets whatsoever.

As for issues - there are issues with any surgery.

One important thing to remember - lasik isn't going to fix normal wear/tear aging puts on the eyes - so [almost] everyone has to wear glasses at some point [usually for reading/up close viewing].

 

[KillerCharlie]

If laser surgery just gave me even 20/100 vision I would do it. I'm more like 20/1000 right now.

 

[brblx]

i'm pretty sure that makes you blind. not just 'legally' so, but way beyond that.

 

[lxskllr]

I've thought about it, but I don't completely trust it. Here's how I break it down...

Pros
No more glasses

Cons
Expensive
You may need to have it done again as you age
Sometimes the surgeon screws up. It's not common, but it does happen. You only have 2 eyes. Screw them up, and your seeing days are over.

So for me, I'm sticking with glasses. I know they work, and they're fairly cheap. I would love to not need glasses though, and I'd like to be able to buy drugstore sunglasses when I need something quick and cheap.

Edit:
Expanded on a negative

 

[CPA]

Fortunately, even at the age of 40 I have perfect eyesight, so no need to get it done. However, my wife's eyesight is horrible and she had it done about 5 years ago. I got to be in the room and watch the procedure. It was awesome. Sadly, the correction only lasted about 2 years (it's not permanent) and she was back to glasses and contacts. She has been told that she doesn't have enough of her cornea left (thickness) to do another operation.

 

[Spydermag68]

I had PRK done just 6 months ago.

Pros: My eyesight is almost 20/20

Cons: If you get PRK take the next week off. You will not be able to see very well that first week. Healing time for PRK is way longer than LASIK. I was very light sensitive for the first 3 to 4 days after the surgery.

 

[seepy83]

Stay away if you have a family history of Glaucoma.

 

[frostedflakes]

I'd like to get it done eventually. Of course there are potential side effect and complications, but wearing contacts can cause problems as well (dry eyes, infection, all that fun stuff). I think the risk is pretty small, though.

 

[KK]

had it done a few years ago, no issues. would do it again A++++++++++

 

[PaNsyBoy8]

Fortunately, even at the age of 40 I have perfect eyesight, so no need to get it done. However, my wife's eyesight is horrible and she had it done about 5 years ago. I got to be in the room and watch the procedure. It was awesome. Sadly, the correction only lasted about 2 years (it's not permanent) and she was back to glasses and contacts. She has been told that she doesn't have enough of her cornea left (thickness) to do another operation.

I thought they recomend that you wait till your vision stablizes before you have the operation, so you don't run into this problem?

 

[Bacstar]

I'm already legally blind in my right eye, and I'm only near-sighted in my left. I only need to wear glasses when I drive at night or need to see street signs, so I'm not taking any chances for the surgeon to screw-up.

 

[KillerCharlie]

I'm already legally blind in my right eye, and I'm only near-sighted in my left. I only need to wear glasses when I drive at night or need to see street signs, so I'm not taking any chances for the surgeon to screw-up.

You're corrected vision in your right eye is 20/200? That's pretty extreme.

 

[Adrenaline]

Tiger got it done. It helped him identify several women that weren't his wife.

 

[country2]

My wife had it done about 12 years or so back when only a hand full places did it in the southeat and it was $2500 a eye even at that high cost back it was well worth it to her and thats what matters.

 

[Kelemvor]

If it becomes covered by insurance some day, I'll be first in line. My brother had it and said it's great.