Laser Treatment Good or Bad??????

[optifocus]

How Safe is the Laser Operation?? One of my friend wants to go for it. But is not sure that its safe or not, as the reviews are mixed. Some say its good, some say its harmful for healthy.
What you guys suggest???

[peregrinerose]

How Safe is the Laser Operation?? One of my friend wants to go for it. But is not sure that its safe or not, as the reviews are mixed. Some say its good, some say its harmful for healthy.
What you guys suggest???

You need to be a little bit more specific here, given the dozens of ophthalmic procedures that involve lasers.... do you mean refractive surgery, if so, which one? Even with the different refractive procedures, what is great for one patient would be a catastrophe for another, which is why patients have doctors to help them weigh the pros and cons :p Tell your friend to have a long talk with his individual doctor about his individual case.

[chip anderson]

If you mean lasic vision correction. From our point of view, it's bad.

[tmorse]

How Safe is the Laser Operation?? One of my friend wants to go for it. But is not sure that its safe or not, as the reviews are mixed. Some say its good, some say its harmful for healthy.
What you guys suggest???

Last I heard, in Canada it's still considered an 'Experimental' procedure. So no Doctor will answer the patient's question, "Can you guarantee it will work for me?" without that caveat.

[chip anderson]

For what it's worth, I have seen very, very few doctors that perform this surgery that have had it done on themselves.

Chip

[Jim Schafer]

For what it's worth, I have seen very, very few doctors that perform this surgery that have had it done on themselves.

Chip

I have always wondered about that!

I would never do it for vanity reasons. Almost all I know who did it was for vanity....but I have heard some ball players did it to improve their batting.
It supposedly helped Wade Boggs at the end of his career. At what ball players are being paid, I suspect some would try anything to stay on another year...or break the bigs.

have a great Christmas!
Jim

[obxeyeguy]

For what it's worth, I have seen very, very few doctors that perform this surgery that have had it done on themselves.

Chip

The OMD I worked for in NY would not do any lasik at first. She only offered it having gone thru the procedure herself. Total class act Doc.

[optical24/7]

Ugh..........Glasses........Gooood.........

Laser..............Badddd!!!!






:D:cheers::D

[Oedema]

Last I heard, in Canada it's still considered an 'Experimental' procedure. So no Doctor will answer the patient's question, "Can you guarantee it will work for me?" without that caveat.

It is far from experimental, in fact Lasik has been performed on patients much longer in Canada than in the USA given the long FDA approval requirements.

That said, Lasik (and all refractive surgeries like PRK, Lasek, epi Lasik etc) are first and foremost SURGERY; the outcome of surgery cannot be guaranteed and never should be.

The best approach is to consult your individual doctor to consider your own unique considerations.

[chip anderson]

It's guanteed as the fee is being collected up front and all the disclaimers are being signed.
Later things can be different due to "unusual unforseen" whatevers.

Chip

[nickrock]

I think that saying a surgical procedure is "good" or "bad" is over-simplifying a very complex procedure. It would be ignorant to say a heart bypass surgery is good or bad unless looked at full circle with the patient and doctor to discuss outcomes and nomograms, side effects, complications, and most importantly, IMO, patient expectations.
I had LASIK almost 9 years ago and I am still thrilled with the outcome of my procedure. I tell patients everyday about my experience and the fact that I would do it again in a heart beat if I needed to.

[Uncle Fester]

How Safe is the Laser Operation?? One of my friend wants to go for it. But is not sure that its safe or not, as the reviews are mixed. Some say its good, some say its harmful for healthy.
What you guys suggest???

http://www.lasikathome.com/ ;)

[tmorse]

I think that saying a surgical procedure is "good" or "bad" is over-simplifying a very complex procedure. It would be ignorant to say a heart bypass surgery is good or bad unless looked at full circle with the patient and doctor to discuss outcomes and nomograms, side effects, complications, and most importantly, IMO, patient expectations.
I had LASIK almost 9 years ago and I am still thrilled with the outcome of my procedure. I tell patients everyday about my experience and the fact that I would do it again in a heart beat if I needed to.

I have read about problems with dry eye and night-time halos around lights. You experience none of this? Has your Rx stayed the same in these nine years? No enhancements required?

This one person I know both before and after LASIK... I asked him if it was 'worth it'. He paused a very long time before answering, but finally said, "yes".

[Oedema]

I have read about problems with dry eye and night-time halos around lights. You experience none of this? Has your Rx stayed the same in these nine years? No enhancements required?

Those certainly can be problems following Lasik, but this is why it is very important to have a thorough pre-op exam to rule out the possibility of these kind of problems.

Any marginal dry eye should be dealt with before surgery. PRK may be a better choice vs. Lasik since you avoid severing corneal nerves by creating the flap.
(interestingly, one of the prime reasons CL patients consider lasik is CL-related dryness...tread carefully with these ones!)
Haloes have been less of a problem with the advent of wavefront guided lasers, but could still be a concern in patients with large pupils under scotopic conditions (though this is debatable).
Posterior topography (ie an Orbscan) should be done to rule out any posterior corneal ectasia.

[nickrock]

I have read about problems with dry eye and night-time halos around lights. You experience none of this? Has your Rx stayed the same in these nine years? No enhancements required?

This one person I know both before and after LASIK... I asked him if it was 'worth it'. He paused a very long time before answering, but finally said, "yes".

Problems with post-operative dryness is extremely common, although usually temporary. A good surgeon will examine the tear film; both quantity and quality, meibomian gland function, and perform a Schirmer's test. The majority of patients with long term dry eye symptoms are patients that are usually not good candidates to begin with. Haloes/glare/and starbursts are also very common and usually temporary after surgery. Pupil measurements in mesopic and photopic conditions should be part of a comprehensive pre-op appt. Also, surgeons usually exam patients under 40yo a bit more carefully when considering scotopic pupil size.
I was 21 when I had my LASIK surgery. I had "normal" dryness symptoms for about 3-4 months post-op. I had a lot of glare and haloes at night for about 1 year post-op. It was bothersome, but not problematic noe did it keep me from driving at night.
I have never had a retreatment or enhancement surgery, and have 20/20+ OU vision to this day. I have a minimal refractive error, although I have a lot of induced HOAs. I am happy with my vision and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[nickrock]

...Posterior topography (ie an Orbscan) should be done to rule out any posterior corneal ectasia.

Absolutely! In fact it should be the standard of care in a refractive pre- operative appointment. It is a little scary to imagine that doctors do not image the posterior cornea.

[chip anderson]

Some doctors are very very concientious in pre-op eye and physical exam.
Others only do a pre-op credit check. One should choose careflully.

Chip