http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:44:23 GMT vBulletin 60 http://lasermyeye.org/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=92 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:06:57 GMT Hi All,

I went for a consult and was told that i'm not a candidate for lasik nor PRK but if i really want it badly, the surgeon can perform PRK on me. I was told that i have thin cornea with little spots of cataracts with astimagtism. The surgeon informed me that if i choose to do PRK my cataracts might become worse due to the fact that i will have to use steroids for 4 months. Steroids will reactivate cataracts and make my vision worse. The surgeon said he has never seen a case like mine before. I was wondering if any of you in here have a similar case like mine. I really want to have the PRK surgery done so that i don't have to wake up everyday wearing contact lenses or glasses, but after reading a lot of post regarding results after prk, i'm not sure if i want to do it anymore. i'm only 26 right now and not willing to go through halos, enhancement, dry eyes, glare for the rest of my life. Any advise would greatly appreciate.

chocolate26 ]]> chocolate26 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=92 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=91 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:42:24 GMT Hello all. Just looking to correspond with people that have traveled to Europe after unsuccessful Lasik and were retreated with iVis CTEN. I am in the heaking process and would love feedback as to what to expect over the next many months. Thank you :) Hello all. Just looking to correspond with people that have traveled to Europe after unsuccessful Lasik and were retreated with iVis CTEN. I am in the heaking process and would love feedback as to what to expect over the next many months. Thank you :) ]]> nashlou http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=91 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=90 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:21:41 GMT COMMENTS ON DR. GREG´S SCLERAL LENSES Hello to all in this precious board, My name is Eduardo from Spain, I am 35, I wore glasses since I was 3 to correct about 3-4 dioptrees of hyperobia and 2-3 of astigmatism in each eye.. I had lasik in both eyes 10 years ago and was left with strong... COMMENTS ON DR. GREG´S SCLERAL LENSES

Hello to all in this precious board,
My name is Eduardo from Spain, I am 35, I wore glasses since I was 3 to correct about 3-4 dioptrees of hyperobia and 2-3 of astigmatism in each eye..
I had lasik in both eyes 10 years ago and was left with strong HOA (higher order aberrations), startburst, glare, halos, comets. I also had dryness on both eyes and had to insert 2 silicone punctual plugs in the lower conducts.
In summary, eye fatigue every single day for 10 years.
According to the most recognized eye specialists in Spain, having a touch up has big risks, (loosing for ever at least 2 lines in the Eye chart), and there is either no guarantee half of the problem could be removed, instead they would leave me with a need of further correction.
I found in the internet that many people got help with sclera lenses. I contacted the best contact lens specialist in Spain. They all said these lenses were not prescribed for cases like mine, useless bunch of ”professionals”, not even being able to provide a reasonably well prescribed comfortable pair of contacts lenses.
I contacted Dr Greg and I visited him in March as he assured I could be successfully fitted with his sclera lenses.
After 3 month of daily intensive use of his sclera lenses, hats off!, I have to stop and publicly recommend a visit to Dr. G., for the following reasons:
• No more eye fatigue
• These lenses are very comfortable, more even than soft contacts
• Day time vision is very good, It feels as good as it was before surgery, he is got perfect prescription.
• They stay stable in the eye, they don´t move at all
• No spectacle blur at removal of the contact lenses
• Huge improvements when watching TV and reading books.
• They keep my eyes moisture
• There is no sensation of burnt after removing them
• I can wear them for 16 hours a day and end the day without any discomfort
• Heavy duty lenses, you can be outdoors even if it is windy or dusty, you just feel your eyes protected!
• For practicing sports they are absolutely brilliant
• About HOA, glare is greatly reduced.

Thanks to all who shares your experience in this forum and thanks very much to Dr Greg for his job!

Please feel free to e mail me for any questions at:

edupm2010@yahoo.es ]]> eduardo http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=90 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=89 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:46:42 GMT Hi all, my name's Brian and I had PRK done on both eyes 5 weeks ago on May 3rd. I was a -2.50 i think in both eyes and my doctor considered my correction a low one...he said i was a "mild-moderate correction"...anyways I needed to correct my vision as my final step in joining the Fire Department of New York. The surgery itself went well and I only had only a few brief moments of discomfort and excessive tearing. Its now been 5 weeks so far and my eyes feel great, however my vision has not improved consistently. I've noticed that i have brief moments of really clear vision (like i'm wearing contacts), but it disapears very fast. Although I had my bandage contacts removed on time and have used my drops diligently, I apparently am healing very slowly. 2 weeks after surgery both eyes were at 20/40 but now im 20/50 left, 20/40 right with haze and blurriness. (its important to note that my vision is alot better before my doc checks my acuity but by the time i get to the office everything gets blurry/hazy) heres a brief history of my driops. after the initial week of xibrom/vigmox/systane tears/ and pred-forte, I went from Pred-forte 4 times a day in the first week, to Pred forte 3 times a day for weeks 2-3 and then twice a day week 4. Instead of my vision improving i felt like both eyes were remained blurry/hazy. Some days it would last for the whole day, while others it was on and off. after seeing the doctor twice in the first two weeks he said i was healing nicely despite my blurriness. However when i went back to the doctor on may 28th, he said i was still healing and that he did see some "light haze" in both eyes which he said was not uncommon for PRK. I've since switched to Lotmax 3 times a day. Its been a week and a half so far since the switch and I haven't really noticed much improvement. I'm also taking 2 500 MG of Vitamin C daily for the haze as well. My vision does seem very clear and crisp in both eyes when i open my eyes after keeping them closed for awhile, but then everything blurs/hazes up eventually again. I notice looking at the computer or Tv speeds up the blurriness process. I went to see the doctor again today (June 8th) because i've been panicking and he said it should still go away eventually. He claims my cornea is still healing and that the only way to combat haze is with steroids/vitamin c/sunglasses lol... Another doctor had looked into my eyes prior to my main doctor and she said that the haze i have is not the type of haze that is permanent (whatever that means). Anyways, long story short, im to continue to be on lotmax 3 times a day, while still taking vitamin C, and i'm supposed to just be patient apparently. This has been a long and scary journey up until this point and i just hope it works out. Like i said before, i have moments of really good vision but it disapears as soon as my eyes stay open for a little bit. Its even better than when i go to the doctor and they measure me at a hazy/blurry 20/50 and 20/40...i don't know if thats good or bad. But yea, the only time i see well is when i open my eyes after keeping them closed for awhile. I don;t know how much more of that i can take lol! Hopefully my fellow Prk friends out here on this website can offer me some valuable feedback...its been really rough so far and i'd really appreciate it. Thank you guys, and i hope to hear from you all. Brian ]]> bxvigz11 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=89 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=88 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:13:36 GMT Just to add that I think that visual acuity and vision in low light is a good bit worse that I expected:) Just to add that I think that visual acuity and vision in low light is a good bit worse that I expected:) ]]> ardmore http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=88 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=87 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:13:51 GMT One eye was -4.25 and the other was -3.75. had astigmatism in both eyes. I had wavefront lasik elite at ultralase. I was to have monovision as I am 47 though I had noticed no deterioration todate. Immediately after I was expecting to see 20/20 how niave, but many friends had told me it was... One eye was -4.25 and the other was -3.75. had astigmatism in both eyes. I had wavefront lasik elite at ultralase. I was to have monovision as I am 47 though I had noticed no deterioration todate.
Immediately after I was expecting to see 20/20 how niave, but many friends had told me it was nothing short of miraculas.
My vision was blurry and variable, after one week both eyes were -0.75 and there was some discussion about getting one eye relasered.
After one month my eyes have improved and one is -0.75 and the other is -0.25. I hope that they will improve further as my distance vision is not great. The good news is that at no point did I have dry eye, and my night vision is fine but I have lost some acuity. and low light levels is not too great.
My eye sight is much better than before without glasses but not as good as with glasses. So the jury is out at present, I don't know what to think. Will my eyes improve??? ]]> ardmore http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=87 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=86 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:13:36 GMT Just returned from my 9-month follow-up. Dr. Mitchell said my eyes have healed, come back in 3-4 yrs, even though they offer follow up for 18 months. Maybe healed enough, but felt like a brush-off. Still have pain at night when I open my eyes too fast, like the eyelids have stuck to the eyes. He... Just returned from my 9-month follow-up. Dr. Mitchell said my eyes have healed, come back in 3-4 yrs, even though they offer follow up for 18 months. Maybe healed enough, but felt like a brush-off. Still have pain at night when I open my eyes too fast, like the eyelids have stuck to the eyes. He said that is just nerve sensitivity and should go away.
I had +1.5 both eyes astigmatic near sighted vision prior to surgery. Now I need +1 both eyes for far sighted. :( I expected to be able to read at 3 ft, not the 4-5ft I now have:(, but at least I can see far away now. Dr. Mitchell dismissed the lack of reading ability to my age. 49yrs & pre/at-menopausal stage.

The worst parts were the noise the machine makes when it sloughs off the top layer, kind of like a wet dentists drill. Nobody told me laser light makes noise, I tensed, tried to relax but my right eye being worked on would not relax. I'm sure this tension had an effect on the poorer outcome of this eye. I relaxed in the pause between eyes and was OK on the left eye because I knew what to expect.
Did the post surgery eye drop routine with precision. Don't expect to sleep much. After a week I was horrified to see the result of double/shadowed vision in both eyes. It was only with letters/lines far and especially near. The first letter overlapped the next letter to blot it out, so I could kind of see every second letter. VERY slowly this got better. Bad for 6 weeks, still there at closer range at 3 months. In the right eye only at 5 months. At 6 months so minimal in the right eye that I hardly noticed it. I read up on it that this is remaining astigmatism.
The staff was apologetic when I complained about the shadowed vision, nothing they could do about it though. They explained that the surgeon makes an educated estimate as to how far to correct the eye. It is over-corrected on purpose because the eye adjusts back. Yikes, nobody said "over-correction" or "estimating" prior to surgery. I thought computers and lasers were extremely accurate.
My vision is better than before, but not great. I strongly suggest getting the non-dominant eye done first, waiting for 6 months to do the second eye. That way you can go back to work/life quickly, it's not so overwhelming to your nervous system. Plus if something doesn't go right, you still have the dominant eye as you had before. The downside is you may not go back to get the second eye done because of the healing hassles of the first eye.
The feeling I get from the surgical eye correction industry is there is a desire make money and do both eyes and pump you through their office faster. ]]> calgary AST eye surgery http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=86 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=85 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:23:53 GMT These terms and expressions seem to mean different things to different people at different times. In any discussion using these terms things that seem clear on closer inspection mean very little: complication symptom adverse-event debilitating sight-threatening side-effect unrealistic... These terms and expressions seem to mean different things to different people at different times. In any discussion using these terms things that seem clear on closer inspection mean very little:

complication
symptom
adverse-event
debilitating
sight-threatening
side-effect
unrealistic expectations
safe
risk
rare
vast ]]> OculusCaedere http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=85 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=84 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:45:38 GMT This is a surprising look at one of the problems with the FDA's LASIK study.

Let's start by looking at the VectorVision CSV-1000 ETDRS test face that the FDA used to test the safety of the very latest FDA approved LASER. At the time of this writing it was the VISX STAR S4 IRTM Excimer Laser System with Variable Spot Scanning (VSSTM) and WaveScan WaveFront®System[1]. If you're not familiar with the ETDRS chart, it's almost identical to the Snellen eye chart you're probably used to with the big E on it. There are a few minor differences including that there are five letters on every line[3] and the lines sizes are evenly spaced[3]. On the ETDRS eye chart losing a line means losing 20% of your visual acuity regardless of what line your starting at. They may refer to this loss as .1 logMAR[3]. That sounds small, but it's actually a 20% loss.

Now here is where it gets interesting. The chart isn't reliable for detecting a single line loss[2]. People with no change of vision can lose or gain a line on subsequent tests even when their vision hasn't changed. So it shouldn't be surprising that any loss of less than 2 lines wasn't counted in FDA trials as an adverse event. That doesn't mean that a 20% loss isn't a big loss. It doesn't mean that losing 20% of your visual acuity won't make you depressed. It just means the ETDRS chart wasn't reliable enough to measure a 20% loss. So how much visual acuity did people have to lose in order for the FDA to count it as an adverse event? On the ETDRS chart a 2 line loss means a loss of 33% of your visual acuity. That's right folks, the technology used for evaluating the safety of LASIK wasn't adequate to reliably detect a loss smaller that 33% of your visual acuity. The FDA did not count any visual acuity losses less than 33% and has no reliable statistics for their frequency.

Conclusion

The FDA did not count visual acuity losses below 33% as adverse events. While this may an understandable from a pure statistical point of view since the chart uses was not reliable below a 33% loss it should be understood that a loss of up to 33% is going to be very meaningful to a great number of people. The FDA study design makes losses less that 33% look non-existent. This is a fairly substantial loss to go uncounted for. It seems unlikely that patients are going to understand the limitations of the ETDRS chart and what these limitations may mean to their vision. This may undermine informed consent. More importantly, it should be questioned whether the exclusion of visual acuity losses of less than 33% provide an adequate test of safety at all.

[1] http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_d...30016S025b.pdf
[2] http://www.iovs.org/cgi/content/full/44/8/3278
[3] http://www.vectorvision.com/html/edu...DRSAcuity.html
[4] http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/321/7267/992.pdf ]]> OculusCaedere http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=84 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=83 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:44:55 GMT I came across this advertisement from Bausch & Lomb. They say that spherical aberrations in normal eyes are typically 0.15 microns and with their contacts it's reduced to 0.04. Keep in mind these are daily disposable soft lenses, not the hard lenses we post-surgical folks usually turn to to reduce HOAs.

http://www.bausch.com/en_US/ecp/visi...sposables.aspx ]]> OculusCaedere http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=83 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=82 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:48:04 GMT This is my final post for results on prk. for treatment of recurrent corneal erosion and nearsightedness and astigmatism. My right eye (orig. done mar. 09 and redone june 09) is 20/15 and great distance. I have lost my close vision and have lost details within 2 feet. My left eye (done july... This is my final post for results on prk. for treatment of recurrent corneal erosion and nearsightedness and astigmatism.

My right eye (orig. done mar. 09 and redone june 09) is 20/15 and great distance. I have lost my close vision and have lost details within 2 feet.

My left eye (done july 09) is 20/25 to 20/30-it is still slightly variable. Because it is undercorrected, I can still read reasonably well- menus, cooking directions, etc without reading glasses and I have good computer distance with this eye and all the details my right eye lost this one picks up and I have a good blended result. I can see well distance and close and in between. When I want to use books or computer for any length of time I will use mild reading glasses.

I have a glasses prescription of one half step for the left eye to give equal distance for nite driving. This isn't really necessary, but I am more comfortable and can see at night better with this mild prescription.

I still had some corneal tearing while healing when the cornea was still thin, post op 1-2 months when I did not get drops in right away in the AM, but nothing that impacted my vision. After 6 months This is no longer a problem, but I still have dry eyes upon awakening, so I am very careful to continue using drops in the AM really before I open my eyes much. So my dry eye did not seem to get worse by this procedure, but did not get better either. I expected this to go away, but it did not. The prk scraped all the bad epithelial tissue away, so hopefully the erosion won't be a problem anymore. The overall thickness of the cornea is now even with no thin spots to be susceptible to tearing. And I know from experience the thickening will continue for another 1-1&1/2 years from old tears that took that long for my vision to be restored.

I have made this statement at least 5 times in the last 2 months- this is the best $5,000 I ever spent. My results are perfect. I had a great dr. who knew what he was doing, and I didn't get the multitude of side visual effects that occur when things go wrong. I have double vision with green traffic lights that is getting better with time. And have double vision with cobalt blue led lights. I can live with these because they don't effect my quality of vision overall. I consider myself very fortunate that my roll of the dice ended up with a good result. I can now pick up a book again and enjoy reading, even if it is with glasses. I swapped distance glasses for reading glasses. If I could have done this when I was 10 years old,(swap glasses) I would have gladly:p. If this technology was available when I was 20 years old (now 50) I would have jumped at the chance to do it. I feel very fortunate that waiting 30 years allowed the technology to advance and allowed me to be more careful with the risks I take with my eyesight.

If you can get correction with glasses, pass on the surgery unless it's your last option, and be prepared for results that are not going to be perfect. And if you just want clear vision without glasses, look into the contacts that change the shape of your cornea while sleeping. This process is reversible, but just as expensive to achieve. There are alternatives out there besides glasses and surgery. Don't be impulsive. Weigh your options, and make smart choices. And always be prepared for the consequences.:)

Good Luck!!;)

I will try and post at 1 year and 2 years post op. Look for an update june '10. ]]> sashusmom http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=82 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=81 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:47:31 GMT Hello,

I am new to this site. I just wrote a long blog and saved as a draft but I can't seem to find it to post. So I'm doing it over as a shorter version.

From my research and from several posts on this site, I've learned that there's new technology, namely W.A.V.E. and Wavefront RGP Contacts lens that have successfully eliminated or significantly reducted (surgery-induced HOAs) higher order abberations affecting vision quality.

I would appreciate any knowlege of any eye doctors in the Austin, Texas area that have a niche in this area.

P.S. Have anyone ever experience problems with saving your blog drafts and not being able to find or retrieve them? Thanks.

hoaeyes 01/23/2010 ]]> hoaeyes http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=81 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=80 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:25:44 GMT hi; i am a new member to this site.i am here for the same reason the rest of are here i assume;that is a bad or lest than favourable outcome from lasik,prk,etc. surgery; i live on the east coast of canada and my resources to corneal specialists and doctors who deal with post lasik problems are... hi; i am a new member to this site.i am here for the same reason the rest of are here i assume;that is a bad or lest than favourable outcome from lasik,prk,etc. surgery; i live on the east coast of canada and my resources to corneal specialists and doctors who deal with post lasik problems are next to none.(wish now i could say the same thing about lasik surgeons).i had Zyoptix wavefront surgery using the bauch and lomb laser on april 4,2009.i was 60 years old at the time and in good health and good spirits.i was very active in woodworking;gardening;carpentry;loved the enviroment and the outdoors.since my surgery my life has been turned completely upside down.i have almost intolerable dry eye eyes;sometimes i don't know if i can carry on;i'm on antidepressents;antianxiety medications and still barely able to find the strength to get up in the morning.i also have starbursts.haloes,and glare.one eye,my left one in undercorrected also a little but my brain can detect the difference between my right and left vision.also,i always have a feeling that their is a foreign object in my left eye when can almost sometimes drive me to insanity.when they finally let me see my surgeon in october of this year;he informed me that their was a ridge where they put the flap back over (after the lasering )and where it joins to the uncut part of the cornea.i have to go back to see him on the 13th .he informed me that he could do something about it(he did'nt say what)and i did:nt ask(I should have and will tomorrow).has anyone ever experienced a ridge where it connects to the untouched part of the cornea whe the flap in put back and does anyone know what can be done about it. i am terrified of going under the laser again due to my dry eyeand HOA's but the foreign sensation is so unfortable that i don't know my options.any advise would be helpful.sorry for the longpostbut it is my first time on here so please forgive me. ]]> JEB http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=80 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=79 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:56:55 GMT Sometimes I really wonder where the world of refractive surgery gets its definition for words like 'safe', 'predictable', and 'effective'. I stumbled on to this report that says RK is safe and effective for treating risdual myopia after PRK[1].

[1]http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P3-74212924.html ]]> OculusCaedere http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=79 http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=78 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:34:59 GMT I've been looking at the published results of LASIK device approvals. The FDA seems to use the term 'visual acuity' and 'vision' interchangeably. This seems deceptive. I believe most people (including myself at the time I had LASIK) aren't aware that visual acuity only refers to the ability to distinguish black symbols on a white background while 'vision' refers the ability to distinguish all types of patterns of light and that visual acuity cannot be used to assess overall vision.

Most aspects of vision seem never to have been measured in any of these FDA studies. Most of what we see is everyday life is contrasts. Contrasts are objects of any shade or color against a background of any shade or color. As far as I can tell such measurements were never made, or at least never reported in any of the FDA's LASIK device clinical trials. Also apparently not included was any measurement of vision in dim light.

This is very surprising because symptoms reflecting lost ability to see everyday contrasts and lost night vision seem common. Why weren't they measured? ]]> OculusCaedere http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/blog.php?b=78