Zzzap!! I can see!! (LASIK Treatments)

Name: unknownlunatic

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Product:	LASIK Treatments
Date:	11/09/04 (2639 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Being able to see

Disadvantages: Possible risks, Cost may put some people off

I had LASIK laser eye surgery 2 months ago. This opinion is a bit about what LASIK is and how it works, but mostly about my experience of it.

What is LASIK?

LASIK stands for Laser In Situ Keratomileusis. Sounds all a bit complicated doesn't it!! It is a method of correcting short or long sightedness using lasers.

The basic method is that a flap is cut in the thin protective layer (called the epithelium) on the fromt of your eye to reveal the cornea, which is then re-shaped using a laser, thereby correcting your vision.

There are other methods that are non-surgical - i.e they do not cut a flap in the eye, but use other 'non-surgical' methods to remove part of the epithelium.

Anyway, enough technical talk and on with the details.....

Where, Who, When, How etc?

I decided earlier this year that I was seriously interested in having laser eye surgery. I have worn glasses and contact lenses for about 7 years. I became unable to wear contact lenses as much as I wanted to due to having problems with dry eyes making them uncomfortable. I also hated wearing glasses.

I started my research on the internet, looking at the websites of comanies who offer the treatment, and filling in forms to get sent information packs.

I'm not going to give much information about the different companies, and what I thought of them, as it is a huge decision to make, and what I thought was good or bad about the different companies may not be what you think. I decided to go with a company called Ultralase.

I phoned up and booked an appointment at my nearest clinic (Guildford) for a free consultation. I had to wait about 4 weeks, and was not allowed to wear contact lenses for 2 weeks prior to the con
sultation, so that they could get accurate readings from my eyes.

The Consultation Day

I got the train up to Guildford, and then a taxi to take me to the clinic. If I had left a
bit more time i could have got on another train to another station in Guildford (the London Road station) from which it is a 5 minute walk to the clinic.

I was greeted by the friendly staff and asked for my eye prescription details. They stipulate that your prescription must have been stable (so you eyes aren't getting worse still) before they will perform the surgery, so they want to check your prescription. They took copies of the prescriptions from a year ago, and the year before that.

I had to then fill in a quite long consent form with my details. This form listed the risks, and and the various optinas and asked for details such as any previous problems with your eyes.

I sat in the waiting roon on a nice comfy chair filling it in drinking a cup of tea. I always find complimentary drinks a bonus, and these ones were in propper cups and saucers, not some horrible paper cup.

Then began the examination of my eyes in great detail. First up was a test for glaucoma. You sit in front af a maching and it blows bursts of air at your eye and measures something or other!! Very wierd, and made me jump each of the 3 times they did it on each eye. Then another machine where you look at a picture of a hot air baloon and it goes in and out of focus. I have no idea what these machines do, but I'm sure it was important.

Then a short break and another cup of tea (I never turn down a cup of tea) before the next set of machines (sound like something out of the Matrix!!).

These 2 machines are to measure the shape of your cornea (the bit that gets reshaped with the laser) so that the laser knows what to do. They are
wierd machines. You have to look at a light without moving your eye and various lights flash and it builds up a picture of your eye, and prints out various information, including a 'contour map' of your eye. Like an Ordanance Survey map with the different colours indicating different parts.


Then it was on to an in depth eye examination by an optician. This included all the normal eye tests, and a few more. It included having eye drops to dilate my pupils, which meant everything was really really bright for a while.

After the eye examination and a few other tests, I was told that I was suitable for the treatment, specifically the Wavefront LASIK. Wavefront is a technology that makes the laser much more specific, and accurate. It uses Iris recognition to enable it to follow your eye if you move it even slightly during the lasering.

I then saw one of the Patient Advisors to go through the details, sign the consent from and arrange a date to have it done. We went through the consent form, and all the risks that are assosciated with the treatment. Briefly, some of the risks are that there could be complications with cutting the flap, treatment may not be 100% sucessful etc. There are others as well, but I don't think it is necessary to list them in this op. Ultralase made me fully aware of the risks, so I knew what I was letting myself in for. I booked my appointment and then waited for the day to come.

The Laser Day!

The day I had been waiting for finally arrived. On arrival at the clinic I sat down with a cup of tea and read through another consent form again detailing the procedure and risks. I was told not to sign the form at this point, but to wait until I had gone through the form with the surgeon who was treating me.

I then chose a pair of g
lasses from a selection they have. After treatment they reccomend that you wear a pair of glasses with clear lenses for 2 weeks to help protect your eyes from you rubbing them and slowing the healing process. You also have to wear plastic eye shields at night for 2 weeks, again to stop you rubbing your eyes.

Then I saw one of the nurses who ran through the aftercare with me, which involves a load of eyedrops for the first week, and future appointme
nts. Also, a list of things I couldn't do after treatment for a certain amount of time. Things like not being allowed to go swimming for 4 weeks. She gave me a bag containing the aftercare information and the eyedrops and eye shields.

Then I saw my surgeon, and he ran through the procedure with me, and went through the consent form and risks, which we both signed.

Then they ran through an eye examination again to check my eyes, and re-did the funny machines to program the laser to check and double check that the readings were correct.

Then it was treatment time!!!

The nurse cleaned around my eyes with what I think was iodine and then put anasthetic eye drops in my eyes so I couldn't peel what they were doing. Then into the laser room. It was like something out of a sci-fi film. There was the 'Danger Lasers' warning on the door, and a sign saying 'No Pacemakers'!!

I laid on the bed type thing, and was moved under the laser unit. The whole procedure takes only a few minutes per eye, with the actual lasering taking no more than 15-20 seconds. My left eye was covered up and they started thr procedure on my right eye. I was told to look up at the flashing red light above me, and to not move my eye. Firstly the surgeon clamped my eyelids open using some device. Then my eye was cleaned. That was quite wierd, as I could sense and see t
hat the surgeon was rubbing something over my eye, but could not feel it. Then they put a device on your eye that puts pressure on it. This makes your vision go black, and they cut the flap using some small machine that buzzes. When they take it off you can see the flashing light again. Then the flap is lifted and all goes blurry, although you can still make out the flashing light. Then he cleaned off the exposed cornea and dried it. All the time telling me exactly what he was doing to put me at ease. Then it was time for the lasering. It was done in three bursts lastin
g about 4-5 seconds each. I was told to look at the light, and they counted down telling me what was happening. When it was done there was a smell of burning. I was told to expect that, and I have been informed that it is the laser burning dust in the air, and not actually my eye that I could smell! Then the whole eye cleaning process again, the flap was put back, and the covering taken off my other eye. I then got off the bed thing and sat in a chair for a few minutes while the laser was re-programmed for my left eye.

Then the procedure was repeated. This time it seemed worse, and I was more nervous than the first time. They said that most people are like that, because on the first eye you don't really know what will happen next, and with the second you do, so you think it is going to be worse. Sometimes I really don't understand my brain, as I thought the second eye would be less nerve wracking!

When both eyes had been done I went and sat in a darkened room for 45 minutes, and had a nice cup of tea (I never turn down a cup of tea!!) My Mum joined me, as she had been waiting in the waiting room. She was too squeamish to watch me having it done! After the 45 minutes I saw the surgeon again. He checked my eyes, and asked me to look at a chart on the wall,
which I could read!! Everything was blurry, but at the same time I could make out things clearly that I wouldn't have been able to see before.

However, everything was really bright, so on the journey home in the car I had to sit with my head under a coat because the light was unbearable. I couldn't resist looking out though and reading car number plates and road signs though. Whe we got home I put my eye drops in, put the eye shields on and slept for a couple of hours.

The next day I could see clearly for the first time, but was still very sensitive to the light so was wearing sunglasses all day. i had to go back to the clinic for a check up, and was told it w
as all looking good. I could have gone back to work a few days later, but decided it was probably best to rest my eyes and take a whole week off!

I had a checkup after a week, and another after a month. After one month, my eyesight was better than 20/20, so for me I achieved the result I wanted, and am completely free from glasses and contact lenses, and my vision is better and clearer than it was with glasses.

The difference is amazing. Being able to wake up and see the clock on my wall on the other side of my room without finding and putting my glasses on. Looking out of the window and seeing things in the distance clearly, no more hassle with cleaning contact lenses or loosing glasses, the list goes on.

Now, I bet you are wondering how much it all cost. I paid £2500 to have it done. That may seem like a large amount, but I would spend that much on glasses and contact lenses and eye tests in approximately 9 years. And as the laser surgery lasts for life, it is a very good investment. And yes, there are places that do it for considerably less, but money wasn't the major deciding factor. I wanted the best possible service as I value my eyes. &
#84;hat was the main deciding point of who to have it done with.

My advice if you want tha have laser surgery done is to fully research it. Don't take anyones word about anything. If You have questions, speak to the clinics. If you don't feel 100% confident with one clinic or another, then go somwhere else. You only have 1 set of eyes, so it's not worth increasing the risks.

I hope you have enjoyed and found this (rather long) opinion useful.
Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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