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Before I start let me put in my disclaimer. I'm not a doctor, I'm no expert on LASIK and I am in no way dispensing advice. This is merely my personal experience.
When I was considering LASIK surgery I surfed the web in search of more information on the procedure and on people's personal experiences. Reading others personal experiences was the beginning of my having second thoughts. I seemed to find only negative experiences, if not completely negative then at least accounts of complications and considerable regression.
My surgery is scheduled at Stanford Laser Eye Center on June 24th, 1999. My first step after reading the information I found on-line was to compose a list of questions and email it to Stanford, they have an email address on their website. That was on or about May 30th, I'm disappointed to report that to-date I have not received a response to my email. I sent a second request last Thursday just in case my first email was somehow not received. I understand that they are busy but I expected the courtesy of a reply, especially since I am already scheduled for surgery. I've decided to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are much too busy to answer the email and plan to call them tomorrow. In hindsight, I should have done my research on the web before having any exams and I should have taken a list of specific questions with me to the first exam.
My main concern is that by looking at the web I'm left with the feeling that most people have complications and serious regression. When I had my exam at Stanford, they gave me the impression that complications are very rare as is significant regression. I also realize I assumed Stanford would have the state of the art equipment, but I didn't actually ask. I now know the names of the state of the art machinery and want to confirm that is what will be used.
Here are the questions I'm waiting for Stanford to answer for me:
Someone posted a May 1999 report from the Mayo Clinic on LASIK. That was very informative. Reading that I learned that the best machine to decrease flap problems is a Chron Hanstome. The best to prevent astigmatism problems is VisX. From the personal experiences I read there seemed to be a strong preference for preservative free eye drops to deal with dry eyes.
Something else you should know about me, the last time I was in the hospital I was born. So the idea of me voluntarily undergoing any surgical procedure is bizarre. I'm only considering this because all but one account that I've been told or read said the procedure is pain-free. You're given Valium so you don't feel any pain during the procedure. While I sat in the waiting room for my first appointment I had the opportunity to speak with about 10 people who'd had the procedure the night before. All said they were give a prescription for Vicodin in case they had any pain overnight. None of them needed it.
Until I read the personal experiences on the web I was definite about having the procedure. It's now about 3 weeks before my scheduled date and I couldn't tell you whether or not I'll actually go through with it.
I'm pleased to report that I got in touch with Dr. Manche's office this morning. They had all the answers to my questions prepared and faxed them to me. All the answers were correct. :-) He's done over 5000 procedures. His % of patients with complications seemed very low to me. He uses the VisX machine and uses a new blade for each patient. I also spoke directly with Dr. Manche and asked him a couple more questions that had come to mind. He was very nice, although obviously busy and not wanting to spend too much time on the phone. He said that with my starting point (-4.50 left, -2.50 right) I was a very good candidate and less likely to need an enhancement than someone more nearsighted. He said many of his patients are in the -10.00 range. He also said my astigmatism would be no problem.
My friend who'd had the procedure done about 3 months ago also wrote back to me and told me that she was still pleased with the results of her procedure.
I'm feeling much more confident about the whole thing and am planning to have the surgery as scheduled.
June 19, 1999
Less than a week to go. Took my contacts out Thursday night for what should have been the last time. That's a pretty exciting thought. I'm not terribly nervous at this point. I will say that this has seemed like a very long 3 weeks.
June 23, 1999
Heard from my friend. She just had her 3 month check-up, both eyes are still 20/20 and she's had no problems.
My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10am.
June 26, 1999
I had the surgery two days ago. Yesterday morning I went in for my follow-up and to have my vision tested. 20/20 in the left eye, 20/25 in the right eye. Although not perfect, the right eye is now corrected better than it was with glasses or contacts and is better than the doctor had predicted it would be. I'm very happy with the outcome, the difference in sight between the two eyes is almost negligible.
Regarding the procedure, my nerves didn't kick in until they called my name, 10 minutes early. My plan of just not thinking about it had been working well up until then. But I didn't have time to really get much more nervous as things moved very quickly. An assistant whose name I didn't get but wish I had brought me into a room and gave me a Valium. She was extremely friendly and courteous. She answered all my questions, gave me some instructions for post-op and stayed with me until it was time to move me into the procedure room. She mentioned that about 20-30 minutes after the procedure I may begin to have a scratchy sensation in my eyes and suggested I take a couple Tylenol before that hit. When I told her my car ride home would be 45 minutes, she gave me a packet of 2 Tylenol and told me I could take them right after the procedure before leaving the office. Very thoughtful of her.
Two other assistants swiftly set me up under the laser and Dr. Manche came in several minutes later. He worked quickly and confidently. Talking to me throughout the procedure even making me laugh several times. They warn you that everything will go dark; when I'd been told of this in advance by others I thought it would be freaky but it's not at all. The pressure on the eye makes it go dark and it's expected and gradual. I felt no pain however I did not like the feeling when pressure is put on the eye or when the flap is being made. I want to use the word discomfort but even that is not accurate. Perhaps psychological discomfort would describe it. The sound of the instrument cutting (oops I mean "making", they don't like to use the word "cut") the flap is unnerving even with valium. After the first eye the thought flashed through my mind not to continue with the second. But I decided if I made it through the first I could make it through the second. 1 hour after they called my name I was back out in the lobby ready to go home.
The valium never made me as relaxed as I'd expected nor did it make me drowsy which was too bad. I was told to keep my eyes shut until the next morning, very boring if you're wide awake. I did manage to nap during the day but mostly ended up listening to TV or talking on the phone for entertainment. All those years of practice finding the bathroom in the middle of the night in the dark have really paid off. Had no trouble finding it with my eyes closed. :-)
Never had any post-op discomfort or pain. My eyes don't feel as though anything's been done to them. I'm being very careful about following the instructions for eye drops. These will prevent infection and promote healing. I don't want any complications. I'm expecting no problems from here on out.
I think the doctor you choose is very important. It seems to me that every Tom, Dick and Harry is hanging out their LASIK shingle and advertising on the radio. I would be wary of them. I'm convinced that is the reason for all the negative experiences I came across on the internet. I would stick to world-renowned facilities and doctors.
August 24, 1999
Two months to the day and all is well. I've had no problems whatsoever. I don't think there's been any improvement in the right eye but as far as I'm concerned, it's good enough. I've been swimming since about 2 weeks after surgery. I wear goggles, always did. It was amazing the first time in the pool, being able to see so clearly. I swam with contacts in before but when water would leak in the goggles it'd be awful. No more of that. I'm actually starting to forget that I even had to wear contacts all those years.
I'll have to schedule my 3-month follow-up near the end of Sept.
October 17, 1999
I still haven't been for my 3-month follow-up. I guess since things are going so well I don't feel any urgency to set up the appointment.
I've been getting many interesting emails from people about their LASIK experiences. One person recently wrote that he had Lasik done to both eyes in late September and had a similar experience to mine in that he hasn't had any real problems. He says his eyes get a little dry now and then. What was most interesting to me was that his procedure cost $1,000 Canadian for both eyes which he says is only about $750 U.S. He explains the cost differential between the U.S. and Canada because Lasik has been approved there longer; about 5 years. If that's any indication of how the price will drop in the U.S., the procedure is going to become much more affordable in a few years.
November 12, 1999
I finally had my belated 3-month follow-up appointment. I'm ecstatic, my vision was great the day after surgery and it's actually improved since then. I'm now 20/15 in my left eye and 20/20 in my right eye. Dr. Manche says that I don't need anymore follow-ups. I should have my vision checked every 2-3 years. My left eye continues to be sharper than my right eye. It's always been that way. Before I wore glasses and when I wore contacts.
While I was in the waiting room I looked through a book of comments from patients. There were two binders full of glowing comments from satisfied patients. As soon as I have a chance, I plan to add mine to Dr. Manche's collection.
I expect this might be my last entry to this diary. If you don't see anything else from me it means my vision continues to be perfect.
Best of luck to all of considering LASIK...Laurie
Postscript 12/16/99 - I've received some emails from readers who have raised concerns about having LASIK done in other countries, including Canada. They state that the lower cost is not due to the procedure being approved for more years, but is just cut-rate providers who may not perform the surgery as well. I don't know all the facts. But as I've said all along, investigate the surgeon and his/her success rate thoroughly before you schedule the procedure.
Stanford Laser Eye Center, Palo Alto California. Here is their website:: http://www.med.stanford.edu/school/eye/laser/index2.html
$5,000 including all exams, follow-ups and enhancements for a year.
I had the surgery at 10 am Thursday and could see at 8:30 am the next morning when the doctor took off the eye shields.
No. I'm not at the point where I need reading glasses yet.
I had correction for nearsightedness in both eyes and astigmatism in my right eye only. I had both eyes done at once.
Before surgery I was -4.50 in the left eye and -2.50 in the right eye. The day after surgery I was 20/20 in the left eye and 20/25 in the right eye. 4 1/2 months after surgery I am 20/15 in the left eye and 20/20 in the right eye. Heck, I should be seeing through walls any day now :-)
My eyes are very light blue and prior to surgery were sensitive to light. I always felt the need for sunglasses on a sunny day. Believe it or not, my eyes are less sensitive to light since the surgery. I often go out without sunglasses now.
I'm sorry but I don't have any information about other doctors or facilities. The LASIK links below may help you.
As I said, I'm not a doctor and I'm not an expert so I'm sorry but I can't answer these types of questions.
I have no affiliation with Stanford Laser Eye Center (SLEC) or Stanford Hospital. I am not paid by SLEC to put up my website. My motivation for this site is my excitement with the outcome of my surgery. I only posted the name of the facility I used because so many people emailed to ask me where I had it done.
Readers have submitted the following additional questions you may wish to ask your doctor.
Dec '04 I had my first eye exam since the surgery. My eyesight is virtually unchanged.
Dec '06 My eyesight is still great.
Oct '08 Still no problems.
Click here to email me.