Laser Eye Surgery

[Azat]

I hear Dr. C.F. Icare is not that good and should be avoided

[SanVal]

Well, my optometrist says I'm a marginal candidate for the surgery: it's not for people who are as nearsighted as I am (-9.75 and -12) because you'd have to take out too much of the cornea, and that might not be safe. I'm still gonna see a specialist about it, though.

 

There's this new procedure where they insert a lens in your eye, but it's still new. But if it works and is safe, that would be great.

[Anoushik]

There's this new procedure where they insert a lens in your eye, but it's still new. But if it works and is safe, that would be great.

Wow, that's a great idea. Like permanent contacts!

 

Edit: PS. Is it cheaper than Lasik?

Edited November 8, 2006 by anoushik

[SanVal]

Don't know about the price, but here's some info:

 

Study ‘eyes’ alternative to LASIK

 

November 19, 2004

 

 

by Lisa Peper

A new investigational procedure could provide clearer vision for those who couldn't see LASIK surgery in their future. Instead of altering the cornea with a laser beam, the new procedure is intended to correct vision with a surgically inserted lens.

 

“For many patients with severe near sightedness, their only option is to wear glasses or contacts, because their corneas are too thin for LASIK surgery,” said Jeffrey Horn, M.D., assistant professor for the Vanderbilt Eye Institute and surgeon for the new clinical study. “We hope this procedure will give these patients another possibility.”

 

Patients enrolled in the clinical study of the Acrysof phakic intraocular lens will have a small lens surgically inserted into one eye. Because the investigational lens is pliable, the surgery requires a very small incision similar to the size used in today's cataract surgeries and most likely will not need stitches. In about the same time it takes to perform LASIK or cataract surgery, the investigational lens can be placed in the eye in front of the iris.

 

“The investigational lens is made from a soft, gentle acrylic material. This same Acrysof material is also used in lenses that treat cataracts and was implanted in approximately 175,000 patients nationwide who underwent cataract surgery last year. Close to 20 million of these cataract lenses have been implanted globally since it was first developed for medical use,” Horn said.

 

“Because we are not altering the corneal curvature, as is done with laser vision correction, but rather inserting a new investigational lens into the eye, the quality of vision should be preserved and in some patients in the study, it has even improved,” Horn said.

 

Recently the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a similar type of lens and will review the performance of this investigational lens at the conclusion of this clinical study.

 

The recently approved lens requires a 6 mm incision, stitches, and the eye must be anesthetized with an injection for the procedure. The Acrysof lens requires a relatively small incision and can be inserted under local anesthesia in the form of eye drops.

 

“I am very proud and excited to be in this study,” Horn said. “More so, I feel being chosen to participate in this clinical study is further evidence that the Vanderbilt Eye Institute is one of the nation's premier eye and refractive surgery centers.”

 

Healthy patients, age 18 to 49, with stable, severe near-sightedness, and who can tolerate their contact lenses are being recruited for this clinical study. Participants will receive the consultation, lens and follow-up visits free-of-charge, but will be responsible for certain operative fees. The study will last about three years.

 

For more information, contact Sandy Owings or Genise Mofield at (615) 936-3465 or e-mail: sandy.owings@vanderbilt.edu or genise.g.mofield@vanderbilt.edu.

[SanVal]

My sister had it done about a month ago. She was concerned about the fact that she was very nearsighted (-10 in both eyes), so she went to this very expensive lasik place where they do the surgery for 7k. Her eyes felt dry at first, but now she's very happy with the results. Perhaps it pays off to pay as much as 7k.

[Anoushik]

Wow, 7k is a lot! It's good to hear that everything went well. But you didn't specify, did she do LASIK or the new procedure where they insert lens into the eyes?

[SanVal]

She had the lasik surgery. I should mention that they asked her several times whether she wears contacts in addition to glasses. She only wore glasses, so her corneas were in good shape. They say that wearing contacts does damage to them, so it's worth cutting back on the number of times one wears them.

[Stormig]

You are required to stop using contact lenses at least six months prior to surgery, if I remember correctly - though that depends on the doctor as well, I suppose.

My eyesight won't stabilise - it keeps going up and down, up and down, over the years. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if they just change my prescription for the heck of it, though it does help when I get my new spectacles. Not sure if they would still want to look at my history - but I've made peace with my frames. In fact, I must admit I like the look. (Mine is nothing near the 11's and others mentioned, though - a measly 2.5-3.0 is more like it.) Still, I keep going back and forth in my head - as in, what if years from now I develop a condition whereby it becomes impossible for me to get the surgery and I can't use contacts, either, and I'm stuck with glasses? That would suck when, say, scuba diving. Would I regret it then? etc...

I have heard from someone I know who likewise did some research on this topic. His myopia was around 8 for both eyes, I think. He says that he wound up asking his neighbour, a doctor who does laser surgery himself, why he of all people on earth didn't get one himself. The answer was that he had decided to wait out to see what the consequences of such practice would be in years from now. Now I don't know what they're talking about and what kind of research is missing after all these yeasr, but it makes me shudder.

[SanVal]

There's always an advantage to waiting, and in your case it seems like you can afford to wait. I think pretty much all doctors stop doing it once your eyesight is -13, but if you're nowhere near that, there's no need to worry.

 

But there's a limit to how long one should wait; at some point the advances in technology for any given procedure are minimal. Just look at breast implants...they sometimes still mess it up even after decades of practice (Tyra Reed is a good example).