A few weeks ago I had lasik done so I can stop it with the contact and glasses. It got to a point that whenever I would fly overnight I would have very dry cloudy, uncomfortable contact lenses when I arrived at my destination. I also have two friends that had it done a few years ago and they cannot say anything bad about it.
The doctor I chose was recommended by a co-worker who, despite a small complication, has perfect vision and no problems today. Plus it is not too far from my house. The doctor does not advertise on the radio or TV for discount lasik. When it comes to my eyesight, I'm not looking for the lowest cost provider. I'm looking for someone with a lot of experience and a good track record. When my coworker told me about the problem she had and that the doctor required her to visit every day for a couple weeks until the issue was corrected, it made me feel good. Her issue was the flap did not lay down smoothly after the surgery. So she went in every day and had the doctor work on smoothing it out until it laid flat.
The procedure consists of cutting the cornea and creating a flap that is peeled back. Then a portion of the rest of the cornea is lasered away depending the prescription being corrected. Then the flap is placed back down and smoothed out.
Before the procedure, you must sign a paper that lists all the possible problems that could happen. All the problems have a less than 1 percent chance of happening. According to the doctor none of the serious issues in the literature have happened. But I could always be the first. (So far so good, I'm not the first... yet)
One of the more serious complications is obviously blindness... and there are various infections and other complications like: the laser machine could break and fall down crushing your head against the table you are laying on causing certain brain damage and quite possibly leaving a mark. I think the chances of that are very low... surely less than 1 percent.
Pepe recommended that I take a nap after the procedure to help let my eyes heal, especially since I might not be seeing well. So I took the day off from work. I went to a one hour spinning class in the early morning. A couple hours later, I went for a run and did some speed work with the total run being about 5 miles. I originally planned to swim after the spinning class but I grabbed the wrong bag of workout clothes and didn't have goggles or a swimsuit. The goggles were more of a problem, I could swim in my bike shorts if I needed to, I have done it before. Anyway, I did my best to make myself tired before the surgery. I did a good job.
The doctor gave me some Valium to calm me down and help me relax during the surgery. I don't really remember feeling too different after taking the pill. It kind of made my stomach a little upset. It did take my mind off the upcoming procedure... I guess that was the point.
I go in for the procedure. I lay down and they cover me up with a sheet. Cover up one eye and put in some numbing drops. Then they take a retractor and hold the eye lids open. Next a small suction cup like thing comes down onto the cornea, a laser makes a small incision around the suction cup, but not all the way around. The suction cup is removed, the flap is peeled back, and the layer under the flap is reshaped using another laser. There is some cleaning and disinfecting thrown into the mix as well, but that is the basic idea. Then the flap is replaced and smoothed out. Then I lay there for about 5 minutes while it sets and starts to heal. Then the procedure is repeated with the other eye.
The entire procedure took about 30 minutes from the time I entered the room, until the time I left the room.
The Chief was in the lasik waiting room watching the procedure on a television monitor. She took some pictures with her phone. The pictures are somewhat graphic, don't look if you are not comfortable, I won't judge you. The first picture is my eye with the eyelid retractor. The picture is here. The second picture is after the flap is cut and peeled back. It shows a rough surface with the flap folded down. I figured the flap would be smooth on both sides, I was wrong. When the flap was peeled back it looked like I was looking through very rough glass. The picture is here.
After the procedure, it felt like I had sand in my eyes, but I could not rub them. It felt better with my eyes closed so sleeping was a good idea, thanks Pepe. I did sleep for a couple hours after the surgery. When I woke up I could see, not perfectly, but definitely better than before.
The next morning I drove myself to the eye doctor for the first followup. My left eye (originally the weak eye) was pretty clear, the right eye was fuzzy like I had in dry contact lenses. The eye doctor said there was a small wrinkle in the flap. He numbed my eye and asked a nurse to hold my head into the eye-checker-thingy. He then took a small needle and squirted some fluid in and around the flap then he smoothed it out. Again it felt like I had sand in my eye. I slept for another couple hours, then both eyes were the same, 98% of where they were with contact lenses in. I went in the next day and this was confirmed, I had 20/25 vision in my left eye and 20/30 in my right eye.
The next week's follow up I was 20/25 in both eyes. The only issue I have encountered is dry eyes. But I have some drops that help. There is also a little bit of a halo when driving at night, but it is no worse than driving with dry contact lenses. Barring any problem my next appointment is at the end of March.
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