Anyone ever had laser eye surgery?

[hex]

Anyone very short-sighted and had laser eye surgery. Fed up with dehydrated eyes and contact lenses at the moment which might be exacerbated by pollen. SO, if you have:

a) where did you get it done
b) how much did it cost
c) did you recover immediately - or is there a delay?
d) did you experience any problems?

[suzybow]

I had laser eye surgery three years ago for the same reasons as you and couldn't recommend it highly enough. I went to Boots Laser Eye Clinic in Regent Street, London (I don't think they still do it though). It cost about £1000 per eye and I had both done at once but I think the price has come down generally since then, I also got a 3 year interest free credit deal which made it easier.

The operation isn't the most pleasant experience but there was no pain and the sore eyes had gone by the next morning - perfect 20/20 vision ever since and no problems at all.

Do it!!

[Lemmingswife]

I had it done around 9 years ago.
I got it done in a private hospital & it cost £700 an eye.
It was very painful for around 2 days after (I had the older treatment though) & felt as if someone had scraped gravel over my eyeball.
I was given strong painkillers & eye drops when I left the hospital.
It was all worth it though, as I now have perfect vision & forget that I used to have the hassle of contact lenses!

[hunkermunker]

I haven't had laser eye surgery, but I do wear contact lenses at night that mean I can see clearly during the day. I've been blasted for putting this on a laser eye surgery thread before, but if you're interested, say and I'll post more (or search my name and ortho-k).

[suejonez]

My friedn had it done at Boots on regents St, don;t know how much it cost (will ask) she recovered within a day or two and had no problems.

[mum2sam]

I remamber seeing the operation on 10 years yonger and i must say it put me off. Im very sqeamish when it comes to eyes. But if your brave enough they go for it. What are those contact lenses never heard of them before

[Sugarmag]

Hi. I desperately wanted to have it done a few years ago. I'd been wearing contact lenses for the better part of 20 years, eyes were so dry & uncomfortable I couldn't bear them anymore and hated the thought of full time glasses. I researched all the places around and talked to a few people who had had it done and eventually went to Optimax for a consultation. The cost would have been £850 per eye and from what i understand, recovery from LASIK is very quick.

Unfortunately, I was told I as not a "suitable candidate" for the surgery and I couldn't go ahead with it. Basically, the way it works is that the laser thins out your cornea until it has the right curve for correct vision. But apparently my corneas are already thin and surgery would have caused me permanent damage. At the time I was crushed but since then I have actually gotten used to wearing glasses again and am really not bothered by it anymore.

Dont' know if that helps, but basically, if I could have had it done i would have.

[Earlybird]

Dunno if archives are working, but there are many past threads on this subject that should prove helpful.

[edam]

If you have a diagnosis of dry eye, you are not a suitable candidate. If you do want to go ahead, I would personally avoid the big chains who offer cheap surgery. Make sure you get to speak to the surgeon who will operate on you. Ask them what their qualifications are - are they a specialist eye surgeon (on the specialist register and an eye surgeon - you can be on the specialist register for any specialty and do laser eye surgery as an odd job) and are they a specialist in refractive surgery? How many of these procedures do they carry out every week? What are their results - how many patients end up with poor night vision, glare or halos or other permanent visual disturbance? Are they competent to correct any problems post-surgery?

If any of the answers to these questions don't satisfy you, or they are reluctant to answer in detail, with numbers, then go somewhere else. It's not entirely clear what the complication rate is for laser eye surgery, because the figures aren't collected properly, but around 5 per cent is usually quoted. That's one in 20 people who have problems. Some of these problems can be permanent.

[trinityrhino]

I remember seeing it done on jessica simpson

they peel back your lens which I found quite disturbing

seems that it's very good though, so I would go for it

[JoolsToo]

lots of people have had this done successfully and are happy. one of the things that stopped me doing it was hearing a few of the surgeons who perform the surgery say they wouldn't have it done themselves!

think I'll have a look at that ortho-k thread again hunker - I'd forgotten about that - thanks!

[JoolsToo]

and why would you get 'blasted' for it? [weird]

[vitomum]

my dad had this done about 3 months ago and it has been a complete and utter nightmare. His vision was so impared he could not drive for 2 months, read, see TV. He had and infection then a toxic reaction to some of the drops. He is still on steroid drops twice a day. His vision is now good and he doesn't eed glasses but he has been left with very dry eyes and has to put in drops every hour. It is still uncertain as to whether this condition will improve. As Edam says dry eye is a possible side effect of the surgery and and if you already have a history of it you should not get it done. You could not pay me to get it done having seen what my dad has been through.

[edam]

So sorry your father's has gone wrong Vitomum. Hope the dry eye improves.

Thing that puts me off is that a. people who aren't specialists in this particular procedure can still perform these operations and b. problems with night vision, halos, glare and so on can be permanent. So you might end up being unable to drive at night. And I wouldn't want to take even the tiniest risk of permanent damage to my vision. Oh and c. the number of eye surgeons who wear glasses!

[vitomum]

thanks edam. and even if there are no big problems there is still no guarentee of perfect vision. So you could end up with better vision but it may still not be as good as what you were used to when wearing contacts or glasses.

[edam]

That's true. Apparently five years ago they used to count 20/40 vision - enough to drive without glasses - as a 'good' result. But now, apparently, an expert surgeon means you should expect 20/20. Problem is it's hard for anyone not in the business to know who is an expert and who isn't. They want your money!

[edam]

And even if you have an expert with fab technology, any surgery carries risks.