Laser eye treatment -

[Phil_C]

I looked but could not see a medical forum to put this in, so please feel free to move it if this is in the wrong place.

I am (strongly) considering having laser eye surgery to correct my shortsightedness and a slight astigmatism in one eye and wondered if anyone has had it done as an active diver.

What was your experience like - any idea how long the 'recovery' will take before diving is safe again and issues such as depth imitations etc. until it is fully healed. I am on the verge of booking the op' but the surgeon I am discussing it with has no experience of diving per se but believes that there should not be any problems. He is going to ask amongst his colleagues and peers but I am impatient and depending on recovery times etc. want to time the operation around my diving trips - Phil

 

[warmwaterturner]

I had PRK in 2012. It kept me out of the water for about 6 weeks. If you are a DAN member - give them a call or search their site for information related to Lasik and PRK. I have had no depth limitation - the main concern is keeping any foreign material - water included - from entering the healing site. Hope this helps.

 

[Phil_C]

Thanks for that - I think the preferred option for me is going to be LASIK. My initial guess was as the eyeball is all almost all water anyway that compression would not be an issue (so no depth issues), but that infection would. I hadn't thought of talking to DAN - doh - and yes I am a member so should be able to speak to them - cheers - P

 

[mrose]

I'm not a doctor, so you should definitely check with what the latest research your doctor finds.

I had very poor vision and astigmatism, so I had to have the PRK surgery rather than Lasik about 2 years ago. PRK has a longer recovery time, but when healed is more stable than Lasik. The doctor initially told me that I couldn't dive until 6 months after surgery. When I asked him to look into it further, he said I should be safe after 3 months of recovery.

It was great diving after recovery and not having to deal with contacts. I didn't experience any negative issues.

Unfortunately, eyesight in one eye has degraded since the surgery and I need to go in for an adjustment surgery (not uncommon). I'm having the same issue trying to schedule my surgery around dive trips.

Let me know what your doctor comes back with, as I'd love to know what the latest research says on diving after laser eye surgery. Good Luck!

 

[Phil_C]

Cheers mrose - I am off on a dive trip next week so have scheduled the first week of July to go have the wavefront mapping done of the eyes - that will decide what procedure I am best suited for as I understand it - then I will know my options for definite, and can plan the next step if I decide to go through with it. - cheers - P

 

[Hickdive]

I had Lasik in 2006 and was back in the water, diving normally, six weeks later.

 

[Phil_C]

Thnx - so about six weeks is a recurring theme here . - P

 

[covediver]

lasiks about 8 years ago. had to be out of the pool for 30 days. after that, no problem. for my diving and outdoor activity, it is the best thing that I ever did.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

lasiks about 8 years ago. had to be out of the pool for 30 days. after that, no problem. for my diving and outdoor activity, it is the best thing that I ever did.

Same for me. I did it at the very beginning of the technique coming to the US and I've never regretted it. Changed my life!

 

[T.C.]

Never regretted it. Best 4 grand I've ever spent.

Didn't do it as a diver, but 3 weeks afterward, I was out hunting deer.