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Thread: Vision correction surgery - DON'T

  1. #1
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    Vision correction surgery - DON'T

    Stick with glasses or contact lenses - they are much safer than vision correction surgery.

    My wife had Lasik more than 10 years ago. Yesterday, our 18 month old son accidently poked/scratched her eye. She had to go to the emergency room, where she was seen by a physician's assistant (why she was not seen by an MD and referred immediately to an eye specialist is a subject I will take up with the hospital very soon) who informed her that she had a hole in her cornea, told her to call her eye Dr. in the morning, and sent her home with antibiotic eye drops and pain medication.

    This morning, she visited her optometrist, who informed her that the injury had become worse overnight, and by that time the cornea had been essentially torn off. He cleaned the wound, applied a contact lens bandage, and wants to see her tomorrow morning. Fortunately he expects full recovery, although nothing is 100% certain until it happens. She is visiting an opthamologist this afternoon just to be sure - we conly get one set of eyes.

    She was informed by her optometrist that the Lasik surgery had weakened her cornea, and made it more susceptible to injury. In fact the injury might not have been as severe as it was but for the surgery.

    When I met with an FBI recruiter in my last year of law school (1997), he informed me that anyone who had vision correction surgery would not be accepted as a special agent. Now I know why - even more than 10 years later, the eye is more susceptible to injury.

    I have worn daily wear contact lenses for 28 years, through high school wrestling practices, traditional martial arts training, and now MMA training, with no issues. They are very tough to knock out of one's eye, although others do make credible claims of having lost them during training. Just keep a few spare pairs of disposable lenses in various places (car, work). If you prefer glasses, then get a pair with polycarbonate lenses and spring hinges, and unless/until they get knocked off in a fight, you will be wearing what amounts to partial safety glasses.

    Whatever you do, DO NOT GET VISION CORRECTION SURGERY.

  2. #2
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    I forwarded this to my wife. She's considered lasik for a while now?

    Thanks for the info!!

  3. #3
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    I would like to think when it comes to vision correction surgery, there is a huge difference on what is done now versus 10 years ago.

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    I used to wear contacts, got sick of them, and now wear my glasses full time. There are definite trade-offs, and I have been considering Lasik for a while now. What always gets me is that even the people I talk to that are "100% happy" ultimately wind up conceding that there are some negatives. Increased sensitivity to light, halos at night, etc. and I just can't deal with that kind of thing.

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    I think you're overreacting and painting with a pretty broad brush. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reaction, and in the same circumstances might react the same way, but it's still a pretty sweeping generalization to make.

    I agree wholeheartedly that we need to protect our vision, it's our most important sense. And there are definite risks and drawbacks to the various procedures.

    I've been wanting LASIK all my life, but it turns out that I am too high of a prescription for those type procedures, so I'm looking into some of the (very much more expensive) alternatives. I am completely helpless without my glasses or contacts, I'm talking literally can't see past my nose clearly. It can be worth some tradeoffs, but everyone needs to understand them upfront before making decisions.
    --Josh H.

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    I had LASIK about a month and half ago. I have not noticed any increase in sensitivity to light or halos at night.

    The ability to wake up at night not reaching for glasses or with contacts stuck to my eyes is priceless.

    It was the best grand I have ever spent.

  7. #7
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    I think you are over generalizing. There is no way to perform refractive surgery without removing tissue from the cornea. It sounds like she had an abrasion not a full thickness corneal penetration or she would have been referred. I don't know why you are blaming the surgical procedure for the abrasion. People who sleep in contact lenses have abrasions all the time.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillSWPA View Post
    Yesterday, our 18 month old son accidently poked/scratched her eye. She had to go to the emergency room...
    A poke in the eye that results in an immediate trip to the ER is probably something that isn't your "run of the mill" eye incident.

    Just sayin'.
    "I'm not saying I invented the turtleneck. But I was the first person to realize its potential as a tactical garment. The tactical turtleneck! The... tactleneck! - Sterling Archer"
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  9. #9
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    The eye being more prone to injury after is something that is dependant on the type of eye correction used.

    Some types, and I forget the particulars, will eliminate you from certian MOS within the military, airborne, piolts etc.

    IIRC, the early types which required a flap to the cut in the eye is the problem. The newer versions use a laser to re-shape the corena, and no blades/cuts are required.

  10. #10
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    As student entering physician assistant (not physician's) school.... going into EMED I feel the need to offer a defense of the hospital letting your wife be seen by a PA. ( I wont defend the treatment given by this specific PA as I wasnt there.)

    Seeing a PA does not mean you are given inferior treatment, they are trained to diagnose and treat common illness and injury. If the presentation is outside of the PAs scope they should have refered it to a specialty doc. It sounds like the pa diagnosed correctly but did not refer out fast enough? Was a specialist available at that time? That may have been part of the issue. A emed doc may very well have done the same thing and the PA may have consulted with the doc in the er on your wife's case, and quite possibly would have done the same thing/given final say on your wifes case.

    My suggestion is to ask the opthomologist what he/she thinks about the PA's treatment and go from there. It will give you more leverage when you call if the specialist is on your side.

    If you are EVER not comfortable with your provider (pa, np, doc) you can ALWAYS demand another, just understand this may mean waiting longer.

    I hope your wife gets better quickly, that is a scary deal.


    on topic: I had interlase lasik done about 5 years ago and it is the best thing I ever did. After about a month all of the issues with halos ect went away and I see better than 20 20.

    If you are nervous about the "flap" weakening the cornea check out PRK. It is lasik minus the flap. it is more painful and has a longer recovery but doesnt present the risk that caused the op's wifes problem. It is/was the only type of laser corrective surgury the military does from what I understand.


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