Laser Eye Surgery
Apr. 20th, 2006 03:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dagibbsI just got back from the consultation appointment for laser eye surgery. Unfortunately I'm not eligible for Lasik surgery (too thin Cornea and too strong a prescription), but would am eligible for PRK laser surgery.
Lasik: they lift a corneal flap, resculpt the cornea with a laser, put down the flap, things heal quickly.
PRK: they remove the epithelial layer, resculpt the cornea, place a contact lens over the eye for a bit (band-aid) while the epithelial layer heals. Things heal more slowly, vision stabilizes more slowly.
PRK is more expensive than Lasik, has some greater risks associated with it (primarily permanent haloing effects at night), more discomfort in the healing cycle, and results in about a week of can't-read, can't-use-computer time during the initial healing period.
I can afford the greater cost, I already get some night-time haloing from glasses, especially if they are a bit dirty, but that week of initial healing time. I will have to think about this. (Of course, leolac has noted that she has experience with helping those of limited vision, should I need it.)
I don't have to decide now, but will probably come to a decision in the next couple weeks. I do intend to do some net research on PRK (vs Lasik). I think the information they've given me is pretty good, though.
Lasik: they lift a corneal flap, resculpt the cornea with a laser, put down the flap, things heal quickly.
PRK: they remove the epithelial layer, resculpt the cornea, place a contact lens over the eye for a bit (band-aid) while the epithelial layer heals. Things heal more slowly, vision stabilizes more slowly.
PRK is more expensive than Lasik, has some greater risks associated with it (primarily permanent haloing effects at night), more discomfort in the healing cycle, and results in about a week of can't-read, can't-use-computer time during the initial healing period.
I can afford the greater cost, I already get some night-time haloing from glasses, especially if they are a bit dirty, but that week of initial healing time. I will have to think about this. (Of course, leolac has noted that she has experience with helping those of limited vision, should I need it.)
I don't have to decide now, but will probably come to a decision in the next couple weeks. I do intend to do some net research on PRK (vs Lasik). I think the information they've given me is pretty good, though.
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-20 08:45 pm (UTC)I've tried contacts -- they irritated me, I wasn't good at putting them in/taking them out (practice would probably help) and I never seemed to get nearly as clear vision as I did with glasses. Having astigmatism, means toric lens (because the eye is asymetrical), and they don't always align properly initially, or it seemed sometimes, for any particular insertion ever. Also, contacts have their own risks associated with them (eye infections being the most common one, with possible permanent damage on that side).
If I'd been eligible for the Lasik, which is the more practiced, more understood, more reliable choice, I'm pretty sure I'd be having it done. But for the riskier one, I'm really not sure.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-21 04:49 am (UTC)Still: given the greater risks of surgery, why don't you give contacts another chance while you wait for PRK to become as well-practiced as Lazik?
no subject
Date: 2006-04-21 05:27 am (UTC)