alright, any of you miscreants had PRK?

[Mojocat_rivals48469]

So I had LASIK done in the summer of 2007. At the time, the doc tells me I'd be back to see him in 4 or 5 years (I was 40 at the time) because I would lose the ability to see up close. That never happened -- I'm nearsighted, and can see microscopic print at 1000 yards, in the dark. Really almost superhuman. Anyway, within a few years, my distance vision, which had been corrected by LASIK, started to fade again. First noticed I had to squint to see the scroll at the bottom of the television. By 2013, I need glasses. The deterioration stabilized, my vision isn't terrible, I can get by without the glasses (during daytime, at least). Am considering "enhancement" which is where they go back and tweek the LASIK to account for any "regression" - basically, to get me back to 20/20 or close to it. Notably, I will lose my superhuman near vision, but I figure that's a decent trade - most people use distance vision more than near vision, I figure, so if I have to wear glasses, I'd rather have to do that only when I read.

Here's the thing. Went in yesterday for the consultation. They tell me I can't have LASIK done again, that no one can after more than a couple of years past the first time, something about the flap adhering to tightly, too difficult. Instead, I have to have PRK, which I didn't think was even performed any longer. The story is the results are just about the same, the only difference is it's more traumatic to the eye, and the recovery time isn't measure in hours but rather weeks or even months. So they do one eye, wait for you to heel and the blur to subside, then do the other eye.

Makes me wonder what I'm getting into. Any of you had PRK?

 

[UKserialkiller]

No. Never had it. Should I try it?

 

[funKYcat75]

Looks like the name of a stock traded on the Korean stock exchange.

" just put 200,00 Won into PRK last week and it's already doubled! We're eatin' German Shepard tonight, boys!"

 

[BankerCat12]

I'd advise listening to your ophthalmic surgeon. I'm sure he's got a few expensive toys/mistresses he's gotta pay for.

I instantly thought of the "The Jimmy" episode on Seinfeld. Penthouse in the waiting room and Jerry wakes up and they are putting on their clothes.

 

[Ron Mehico]

So you're planning on going through an older traumatic eye surgery that sometimes takes months to recover from one eye at a time in order to slightly enhance your distance vision so you don't have to wear glasses in the dark but will destroy your natural ability to see well up close? Well what the hell are you waiting for man?!?!

 

[Father Torque_rivals16706]

I had it years ago before Lasic was available. It's not bad, your eye is sore as hell the next day and if you forget and rub it you'll piss yourself. All in all it wasn't that bad, I had it done over 20 years ago and I have still have great distance vision. Close up vision is getting worse, but that's just because of age.

 

[Mojocat_rivals48469]

So you're planning on going through an older traumatic eye surgery that sometimes takes months to recover from one eye at a time in order to slightly enhance your distance vision so you don't have to wear glasses in the dark but will destroy your natural ability to see well up close? Well what the hell are you waiting for man?!?!

well, if you put it that way, sure.....I'm going today!

 

[dgtatu01]

So you're planning on going through an older traumatic eye surgery that sometimes takes months to recover from one eye at a time in order to slightly enhance your distance vision so you don't have to wear glasses in the dark but will destroy your natural ability to see well up close? Well what the hell are you waiting for man?!?!

Win-Win if I've ever seen one.

 

[allabouttheUK]

No. Never had it. Should I try it?

Taste like chicken

 

[allabouttheUK]

I was about to post the same damn thing. Couldn't agree more with Mav on this one.

 

[Mojocat_rivals48469]

Honestly, I'd get a second opinion.

Without knowing the specifics of your case, I'd wager the reason they don't want to re-visit LASIK is because your cornea is now too thin, rather than the original flap "adhering too tightly." What they're probably referring to is not being able to "float" the original flap, i.e. they can actually peel up the first flap for an enhancement within the first 12-18 months. Beyond that and the flap has to be re-cut, which, physiologically, is no different than cutting it the first time. Plenty of people have had LASIK re-done years later and had the flap re-cut. "Too tightly" sounds like a bogus excuse.

LASIK works by precisely zapping away corneal tissue to effect a particular shape, which, in turn, alters the prescription. The problem is, once that tissue is gone it doesn't grow back. Plus, they have to leave enough behind to maintain corneal stability, or else the vision will fluctuate wildly. In other words, there's an anatomical limit to the amount of correction that can be made.

Here's the thing: cutting the flap, even if done with a laser instead of a microkeratome, decreases the amount of change that can be made, whereas zapping the cornea straight on, as with PRK, gives the surgeon a little more room to work. I'm betting the surgeon doesn't feel you have enough cornea left to safely re-cut the flap and still fully correct your prescription. Find out what instrument he uses for the flap. If he's still using a microkeratome, then I'd definitely get another consult.

Again, I'd have to know the specifics of your case to give an informed opinion, but there's no way in hell I'd go through PRK to potentially correct a minimal amount of myopia -- especially if you already have borderline corneal thickness. However, that's just me, YMMV. Good luck.

Thanks for all that!

We're at a disadvantage here, in that I can only merely attempt to repeat I heard - a layman repeating technical talk, no matter the subject matter, is a dicey proposition as far as accuracy goes. But we did talk specifically about how much corneal thickness I have left. And, while I can't recall the unit of measure or what this means explicitly, what I heard was I have the number 508. And I asked how much would need to be left before they'd worry someone was cutting it close, and he said "around 480". So I said, "which means I've got plenty for this?" and the answer was "yeah."

As you can tell, I'm waffling. It would be nice to not have to wear contacts or glasses to see more than 10 feet away, but I'm giving up near sight, and so you have to weigh all that. Leaning towards either skipping it getting a second opinion. Appreciate the feedback......

 

[RacerX.ksr]

Had lasik done 17 years ago. Still don't need reading glasses and I'm at worst 20/20 on far vision. I can't see as clearly up close as I could before the surgery, but I can read all but the smallest print and have no trouble reading my phone.

That has nothing to do with your situation. Hope this helps.

 

[allabouttheUK]

I thought for the longest time my vision was poor. I kept telling the doctor that I can't see certain thing, and they kept giving me the eye exam and even did the dialation stuff to check my eyes...turns out I just have a small dick. Thank god my eyes are ok.