Lasic Surgery

[Ronn_Bman]

I've worn glasses since I was 5 years old. I started wearing contacts when I was 13 and have worn one or the other continuously since. That's about 32 years of bad vision.

I actually have very bad vision and can see nothing without corrective lenses. Putting them on in the morning is the first thing I do and taking them off at night is the last. I can't imagine how cool it would be to wake up in the morning and actually see clearly, or to swim in the ocean without worrying about losing my lenses, or to never crawl around on my knees looking a contact, etc.

Well, I've waited long enough, so after my evaluation last month, I've scheduled the procedure for this Friday. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

I'm just wondering who else here has had it done, how much it cost, and what your results were. I know there are some pretty low prices out there, but I'm afraid of bargain surgery.

My insurance company actually pays nothing since lasic is elective surgery, but they do have a program, Optic Blue, through which participating doctors offer guaranteed prices and services. For $1249 per eye (actually they knocked it down to $1200) I get the surgery, 1 year of follow up office visits, and a lifetime of corrective surgeries (if my vision changes). No surprise, last minute, extra charges to worry about, and the surgery is backed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In fact, if they can't correct my vision to the promised level (at least 20/35) I will pay nothing. There is a 90% chance I'll get 20/20 or better.

So has anyone had any luck with the $499 an eye deals? What did they include?

[ 08-04-2003, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]

[Paladin2000]

Good Luck on your eye surgery. I have been wearing glasses and contact lenses for ages now and the thought of a laser beam cutting into my eyes kind of scare the shit out of me. Suffice to say, I will STILL be wearing contact lenses for the years to come.

[Rokenn]

I remember reading that it worked wonders for Tiger Woods. After he had lasik his vision was better then 20-20.

Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: I'm just wondering who else here has had it done, how much it cost, and what your results were. I know there are some pretty low prices out there, but I'm afraid of bargain surgery. My insurance company actually pays nothing since lasic is elective surgery, but they do have a program, Optic Blue, through which participating doctors offer guaranteed prices and services. For $1249 per eye (actually they knocked it down to $1200) I get the surgery, 1 year of follow up office visits, and a lifetime of corrective surgeries (if my vision changes). No surprise, last minute, extra charges to worry about, and the surgery is backed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In fact, if they can't correct my vision to the promised level (at least 20/35) I will pay nothing. There is a 90% chance I'll get 20/20 or better. So has anyone had any luck with the $499 an eye deals? What did they include?

I've had it done about five years ago with a very good doctor. Word of advice: don't go to just any cheapo doctor. Its your only eyes for life. That price you quoted ($1200) seems reasonable to me. I had mine done $1500 per eye. That $499 special seems suspicious. Another advice: After the surgery, DO NOT RUB THEM FOR AT LEAST A YEAR. Well so far, I haven't and IMO it's a good habit not to rub your eys at all. I'm VERY happy with my surgery and I don't regret it at all. Great doctor. You should look for one also. Experience counts. Hope that helps.

PS - look for doctors that want to see you several times before and after the surgery. Basically, he's checking to see that every calculation is correct before the surgery and also is concern for you, not his wallet. No rush job here.

[ 08-04-2003, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: GForce ]

[Larry_OHF]

I did it about five years ago too. It has been miraculous what good it did for me!

Being close to fourty...you should go in and get a consultation first. They will just give you an examination to see if they can even help you. Lasik is not for everybody. Also, they cannot reverse any effects of old age, and the older we get, the weaker our vision becomes.

For me, there was no problem except after the operation. During the operation, the laser bit was no bigie. It just tickled and it is hard to sit still. YOu gotta use all these moisturizing and anti bacterial drops for weeks afterward. It is important, as the wetness will help ensure a perfect healing. Get too dry and you will not be doing so well.

As I said, the "aftermath" was the worst. I had to sleep with this patches on my eyes to prevent damaging the healing tissue during the night. Karen had to stop me from trying to remove that safety feature in my sleep several nights.

The cost was more then than it is now. I know that some Insurance companies "do" pay a little. Mine paid 15% back then. It was for a promotional deal. I ended up paying $3500 total. The good news is that since you are right here in NC, you can see the same doctor I went to! THey have relocated to Charlotte. The business is called TLC, (that's The Laser Center). I may be able to find out which doctor I had if you want. He had been a doctor in Canada for years and years before doing my eyes here in Winston-Salem. Lemme know what you want, and I'll see what I can get for you.

As for pricing...one final note. The doctors that lease their equipment generally charge more than the ones that own their own.

[daan]

Im quite curious about your experiences. Most of my family are doctors, a few eye-doctors, so I get to hear quite a few conversations about the subject.

To me it still seems a little dangerous as there arent really that much long-term observations yet, doctors are still not sure how exactly it will affect your vision later on. This is quite simply because they dont know how the cornea changes later on .. the only thing they know is that the cornea keeps changing all its life.
Also, the most common procedure here is to make a little circular flap, open it and then laser inside the cornea, closing the flap afterwards. This is believed to be a safer method for the cornea itself, with less risk of infection.
However, the flap isnt really attached to the cornea at full strenght anymore .. no bloodvessels ( or almost none IIRC ) run through the cornea, so the circular flap has no real chance to heal and attach to the rest of the cornea anymore.
Therefor they advise patients here to not rub their eyes anymore. That for the most part scared me actually, since I rub my eyes quite often and exercise full-contact sports ( such as jiu-jiutsu ) .. it happens that someone sticks a finger in your eyes sometimes ...

So .. did you have the procedure that way ? And if so, is it giving you any problems at all ?

[wellard]

My wife had this procedure done 3 years ago with excellant results. One eye was serverly damaged and next to useless the other was just plain bad. The final straw was when she was holding close our youngest child. She admitted that she could see nothing but a blur. You cant wear glasses whith babies as they grab them all the time.

With her eyes being so bad they had to remove a thicker layer to correct. It ment it was more painfull and took longer to heal. We used a doctor that was happy to do one eye at a time. There is no way we would have done both at the same time. The useless eye was done first in a case of "what have we to loose" When that turned out good she had the other done.

She can fully reccomend the procedure.

[mistral4543]

Reading these posts has given me a better idea of what it means to undergo lasik surgery. I am STILL wearing glasses (nope, even contact lenses are out - I can't imagine inserting and removing them) and was considering lasik, but I guess I will wait for a few more years to see if there are further developments in this area.

[Ronn_Bman]

Thanks for all the responses!

I'm in good shape heading into Friday's procedure. As I mentioned, the evaluation last month with my doctor went very well, and he took plenty of time to explain things and answer all my questions. Here's my guy. He looks like a soap opera doctor, doesn't he? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

3 days and counting....

[Moiraine]

My husband just had the myopia surgery done. Went very well ! Actually, if was his birthday present - for the part that our complementary insurance didn't refund - and he told me that was the best birthday present ever ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

The surgery cost 900 € / eye, and we were lucky that my complementary insurance refunded 700 € / eye (his insurance didn't refund anything). This includes everything - initial surgery, exams, eventual corrective surgery later on. Luc had two surgeries for each eye - all went well, but the initial surgery didn't correct enough. After each surgery, he was in some pain during the next night (which he spent sleeping anyway), mainly because just after the surgery every light is painful) and could go to work normally the next afternoon.

Since the doctor removes the "top cover" of the eye, he is not allowed to swim in salty water and must wear sunglasses (extra-sensitivity to lights stays a while), both for several months. Small price to pay for freedom of sight.

I decided to offer him the surgery two years ago, when he lost his glasses into the ocean, and we lost a vacation day finding an eye doctor who could take him immediately and going there, and I had to walk him to the place as if he was blind. "Beware, there is a step down. Stop, traffic light is green. Don't walk into the puddle. Oops ! Too late ..."

Most doctors operate each eye separately - Luc's doctor said that was in case something went wrong, better not having something go wrong in BOTH eyes. That makes sense.

Go for it Ronn ! It will change your life ! Luc is marvelling at the beauty of the world every day.

Oh, and Luc is astonished at how quickly the habit of picking up your glasses first thing in the morning disappears. He had been wearing glasses since he was 6, so during 33 years - and it took only a couple of months before the habit vanished ... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 08-05-2003, 09:43 AM: Message edited by: Moiraine ]