How long after LASEK to shoot?

[jvencius]

Are you having LASIK or LASEK?

I'm actually having Advanced Surface Ablation which is pretty much the same thing as LASEK or custom PRK but w/an alcohol solution instead of the brush to remove the epithelium. The doc's office I'm going with said that since the epithelium is devitalized once they take it off the corneal surface, replacing it doesn't really help recovery so they just remove it completely instead of setting it to the side and replacing it once the ablation is done.

On a side note, they said (and quite a few of the other surgeons I spoke with as well) that they're trending away from doing LASIK towards ASA. ASA's slightly longer recovery time, in their opinion, is offset by the safety that comes from not having to cut a LASIK flap and the fact you can do it on thinner corneas.

[rjacobs]

Yea they didnt replace the epithelial layer on my eye when they were done. Simply let it grow back. That was the reason for only doing one eye at a time since while the layer is growing back you cant see well at all through it, sort of like a scab on a cut.

[Captains1911]

I wish I could afford Lasek

[jvencius]

I wish I could afford Lasek

If I kept up my previous patters of pissing away money in little stuff (i.e. buying a couple mags every time I went to the gun shop) then I wouldn't be able to afford it but once I made the decision to get laser-zapped, it was pretty easy to give up those little luxuries. It's still a whole wheelbarrow of bucks and I'll have to save for nearly a year, but with that long of a timeframe to prepare, I'll be able to afford it.

[12glocks]

The Ophthalmologist who performed my custom LASIK is a competitive shooter. I asked him when I could shoot sporting clays again, typically 100 + rounds. He said I could do it the next day.

Of course with LASIK, they cut a corneal flap (~ 12 mm) and ablate below the flap to remodel the corneal contour. The corneal flap coming of is the risk with this procedure (infections are extremely rare). Corneal tissue is perhaps the most rapidly healing tissue in the body.

With procedures like PRK, they rough up the surface of the cornea and it remodels itself. You don't have to worry about a flap coming off. I doubt corneal remodeling would be harmed by recoil. It will take longer for your correction to come in with your proposed procedure, I'd say a month at the outside.

I had LASIK and have been 20/15 since the day after. I had a friend get PRK and he had a couple of rough weeks, required oral steroids for weeks, but he is a solid 20/20 now.

[Preferred User]

The biggest issue is forgetting to blink. It does not matter if you are staring at a computer screen, staring down the road driving or staring through a scope, you have to blink and keep your eyes moist following either procedure.

[JSantoro]

Ahh, the steroids. I had drops of some sort, in addition to some normal wetting drops.

Took them like a good little boy, but it was a bit disconcerting to plop them in my eyes and have this gawd-awful taste crop up in the back of my throat.

[MSP "Sarge"]

Had it done on a thursday and was shooting precision rifle on saturday. Best $3900 I ever spent. I was able to see better as soon as I got up off the table. I use the SYSTANE Preservative Free Drops 3-4 times a day.

[justin_247]

I had custom Epi-LASIK with the Star S4 laser system used by the USAF... it's a version of advanced stromal ablation, like PRK and LASEK. With PRK, they use an brush to remove the epithelial cells on the surface. In LASEK, they use alcohol to create a sheet and then after they hit your eye with the laser they slide it back across the eye. In Epi-LASIK, they use a dull blade called an epikeratome to remove the cells and then when they're done they slide it back like they do in LASEK. After all of these procedures they put in a soft contact lens until all the epithelial cells have regenerated. Some studies have shown that Epi-LASIK kills less epithelial cells than LASEK and that this results in slightly faster healing times. It's debatable... either way, these procedures take slightly more time to heal and get your best vision other procedures, usually about a week for the initial healing and then between one and six months for your eyes to reach their maximum potential.

LASIK is a form of intra-stromal ablation, and they use a microkeratome or laser to slice a sheet which they fold over. At this point, they ablate the eye and then fold the sheet back over. Since they damaged very few epithelial cells, you tend to recover more quickly and less painfully. However, there is always the danger that the flap can come loose again since it never heals, which is why many military specialties don't allow it, yet. It's a small chance, but it's still there, and that's why I stayed away from it. Regardless, you'll get as good of results with LASIK as you would with some form of PRK.

I spoke with the director of the Navy's program, Dr. David Tanzer, before I had surgery, and he recommended that I get a prescription from the doctor for Neurontin for the pain and take one pill before the surgery and then keep taking it for five days past the surgery. The stuff blows opiates away! I didn't feel *any* pain at any point in my recovery, except for one time when I slept too long and the Neurontin had worn off and it felt like I was getting stabbed in the eye. I highly recommend you get a prescription for this if you get PRK/LASEK/Epi-LASIK.

I was driving short trips within 3 days of the surgery, but not well until about 7 days. You should be able to shoot in about the same time, but don't be surprised if your vision hasn't fully improved at that point. Give it a month and wear really good sunglasses when you're outside (like Oakleys).

It was the best money I think I've ever spent and I would do it again.

[jvencius]

I'm excited--I just got off the phone with the surgeon's office and I'm on their for-sure surgery schedule for 9 September! Fortunately I was mistaken re: the costs and I'll "only" have to spend $4,500 to get zapped, not the $6K I anticipated so that means I'm quite a bit closer than I had anticipated to having enough dough saved. I've been waiting on this for what seems like 1/2 of forever so knowing that I'm <6 months from not having to wear glasses again is incredibly exciting.