laser eye surgery?

[Crush]

Disclaimer: I am seeking advice on the correction of myopia (near-sightedness) using either laser eye surgery or other forms of surgery. This is just a starting place in my search for information. I will consult with a medical specialist.

I am a male, late 30s, with a prescription of -2 diopters in each eye. Astigmatisms are small and do not require correction when wearing contact lenses. No history of eye disease.

When diving I wear disposable contact lenses, and they work fine.

Should I bother with corrective surgery? If I do, and the surgery goes well, will I then need to correct with bifocal lenses to read my gauges in, say, twenty years? Should I worry about halos when night diving? How long after surgery will I need to refrain from diving, assuming that all goes well? What questions have I not thought of asking that I should ask?

I realize that with any surgery things can go wrong. Let's assume a good turnout, unless bad turnouts are reasonably likely.

If you don't know the answers, don't post that I should ask my ophthalmologist. I am aware of this.

 

[scubadada]

I had Lasik surgery 9 years ago and have never "looked" back. No more prescription mask for me, nor any presecription sunglasses. One of the best decisions I've ever made. I had my nondominate left eye undercorrected and still do not need reading glasses. I'm 56.

Good diving, Craig

 

[TMHeimer]

Disclaimer: I am seeking advice on the correction of myopia (near-sightedness) using either laser eye surgery or other forms of surgery. This is just a starting place in my search for information. I will consult with a medical specialist.

I am a male, late 30s, with a prescription of -2 diopters in each eye. Astigmatisms are small and do not require correction when wearing contact lenses. No history of eye disease.

When diving I wear disposable contact lenses, and they work fine.

Should I bother with corrective surgery? If I do, and the surgery goes well, will I then need to correct with bifocal lenses to read my gauges in, say, twenty years? Should I worry about halos when night diving? How long after surgery will I need to refrain from diving, assuming that all goes well? What questions have I not thought of asking that I should ask?

I realize that with any surgery things can go wrong. Let's assume a good turnout, unless bad turnouts are reasonably likely.

If you don't know the answers, don't post that I should ask my ophthalmologist. I am aware of this.

I was nearsighted and had the lasik surgery when I was 51, 2-3 weeks before my OW course. Kept eyes closed during the no mask pool drills. The Open Water ocean
"check-out" dives a week later were no problem at all. I had already been using reading glasses since age 43. before the surgery I could see perfectly underwater for all my years of snorkelling, due to the refraction using a mask. I could also see things perfectly on land up real close, and squinting also helped. Can't do any of that now. I see well enough underwater to read the important stuff on the gauges, but not the tiny thermometer, so I mark where 50 degrees is and estimate from there. Of course, for things that are not up close like gauges (like, everything else), I see underwater as well as on land. I tried the "stick on" mask bi-focals and lost two in the ocean, so tossed that idea. Here in Canada it cost me about $3,000 but I paid another $1,000 for more "safety" in reducing "night glare". For a few months after the surgery the "halos" around street lights were big, but they got smaller, and then my night vision became fine. One of my eyes came out if it 20-20. The other was very slightly worse than that, so if I really look at things closely (at any distance), everything is ever so slightly "fuzzy". But they advised not to try a "touch up", as it could make it worse. No big deal. It's a million times better than those glasses for 40 years! Must do a yearly check-up here to keep the "warrenty" good, in case you ever need to have them corrected again. I have noticed no change at all in 6 years. Oh, I have heard there is also now a different type of laser surgery that can fix the need to wear reading glasses, and it has been done a lot more times successfully now than when they started it 10 years ago.--if you have another pile of money.

 

[avlena]

to answer some of your less subjective questions...
-Yes, even if surgery goes perfectly, it only corrects existing eye conditions - it doesn't prevent normal eye aging, so you'll probably need glasses of some sort when you're older. So, is ~20 years of contact-free life worth it?
-halos at night (driving, night diving, etc) is a very real potential side effect. Will this bother you?
-in terms of how long do you need to recover, there are little to no studies regarding diving and eye surgery. Per my surgeon, I waited ~month before getting in the water at all, and about 3 months before I went past 40ft.

-other questions to ask:what is the chance of you getting 20/20 or better vision? if you need a correction, is that included in the price? What are the potential complications? How long has the surgeon been practicing? What complications has he/she commonly encountered? Are there additional costs not included in the surgery price (prescription drops, post care, etc)?

I had ICL surgery, which is an alternative to Lasik. I researched Lasik quite a bit before realizing that I was not a candidate due to my extreme prescription (-9). I know you want to assume that nothing bad will happen... and that's the case for most people. But please remember that you're still assuming a risk to your VISION (which, most people agree, is pretty essential in your daily life). I have one friend who ended up with extreme blurriness for a year after the surgery, and needed a few follow ups to get it corrected. When I asked him if it was worth it, he couldn't tell me yes... but didn't want to say no, because it was a choice he has to live with for the rest of his life. Another friend ended up with such extreme dry eye, that he's putting prescription drops in his eyes constantly. My surgery has fewer side effects than Lasik, but I had a few very scary weeks where I was afraid I'd screwed up my vision permanently, and that's a pretty terrifying and sobering feeling.

That said... now that I've fully recovered from eye surgery, and the recovery period is fully behind me, I am VERY happy to have done the surgery. Every day I wake up and see my alarm clock clearly is a blessing. I don't regret it in the slightest.

So, bottom line... only you can decide. I would advise that you talk to friends who've done it, as well as research some of the negative testimonials online (there's websites devoted to Lasik horror stories)... if you feel the time/money/risk is worth the joy of a contact-free life, then go for it. Good luck!

 

[Scott]

My wife just had LASIK a week ago tomorrow and a friend had the same procedure last month by the same doctor.

They're doctor provides a lifetime guarantee that if their sight gets worse the 20/25 they'll fix it for free, provided she keeps all the scheduled appointments.
From what I was told the procedure using IntraLASIK(?) reduces if not eliminates the haloing. She has some right now but they will fade once she is off the steriods. The haloing is due to her immune system, haloing is typically a short term or non exisitant effect. Our friend never experienced haloing.

As for diving she has to be out of the water (pools, hottubs) 2 weeks, 4 weeks before she can dive and has to wait 2 months before she can go deeper than 100 feet.
Everyone I've talked with has said it was the best investment they have made.

 

[schaffld]

I also have never regretted getting Lasik surgery.

Immediately after the surgery, I did notice a bit of a halo around pinpoint lights such as traffic lights and headlights. After a few months, I didn't notice them at all anymore. The halos are still there, but I just don't notice them unless I consciously look for them and they are much smaller than immediately after the surgery. It's much like not noticing the streaks or flares that eyeglasses can generate when light hits the lenses at the right angle. Both of my eyes were initially better than 20/20 shortly after the procedure, but in the 10 years since, they are both at 20/20 again. (I started off with -3 in both eyes). I think the general recommendation is to stay out of the water for a month or two. I don't think it's necessarily getting water in the eyes that's the problem but rather our immediate reaction to rub our eyes when we get water in them. Rubbing your eyes could potentially dislodge the corneal flap before it has completely healed post surgery. This is more of an issue immediately after the procedure, of course, but better to err on the side of caution. I don't know about you, but the first thing I do when I get my mask off back in the boat is give my eyeballs a good scratch :blinking:

I also wore disposable contacts, but a dive would become a complete write-off if I lost just one contact... Inevitably it would happen at that exact moment when a thresher shark would cruise by in the distance.

I asked myself many of the of questions that you have as well as those suggested by avlena up above. I also did the same thing you are doing (asking others who've had it, researching, talking to a doctor, etc) and eventually I decided that Lasik was the best option for me, worth the risk, and definitely worth the money.

I notice you're from Western Canada... I had mine done at Gimbel Eye Centre in Calgary and was very happy with their service.

Good luck with your decision and it would be pleasure, if you're ever in the Puerto Galera in the Philippines, to join you on a contact lens-free dive.

Cheers

 

[j.doe]

My wife had the lasik surgery done at Lasik MD. She LOVES the result and can use any mask and has better vision than me now.

She did suffer from dry eyes for a while. Tropical and moist environments help with this as in Edmonton Alberta we have almost no humidity in the winter. Plan to carry eye drops with you for a while.

We both wish that she would have done it 10 years earlier. It was one of the number one best things that we could have done to improve our diving.

I her experiance you should plan to take at least 2 months off diving trips or the pool to make sure things are all healed.

 

[TMHeimer]

to answer some of your less subjective questions...
-Yes, even if surgery goes perfectly, it only corrects existing eye conditions - it doesn't prevent normal eye aging, so you'll probably need glasses of some sort when you're older. So, is ~20 years of contact-free life worth it?


Are you talking about reading glasses? Do people use contacts to substitute for reading glasses when other than up close stuff like reading, they're eyes are fine? I honestly don't know. I guess what I'm saying is that if I walk around with my reading glasses on everything is blurred.

 

[Rainer]

Just out of curiosity, how much do such operations cost (for two eyes)? I have mild/moderate astigmatism in both eyes, and had never really considered surgery, but recently several friends have commented how successful their own operations had been. Should really read up more...

 

[j.doe]

At least for my wife the price was significantly dependant on the extent of the surgery. Basically it can be cheaper the lower your prescrpition is. Or at least that is the way it was a couple years back.

She also got a guarantee of 20 20 vision or better or the surgery would be free.