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Bladeless Lasik One Week Later


Gary1911A1

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Felt like pins and needles sticking me in the eye while my eyes watered and burned from the smoke of burning flesh and smell!!! :devil:

Ok, well, that sealed the deal for me. :unsure:

-Chet

Nice :lol::roflol:

Sorry :goof: i didn't have anything better to add that has not been covered so i thought I’d throw in some of my distorted humor.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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As I mention in the recent thread on improving vision http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79010 I had Lasik done a week ago. I'm 56 and very happy not to wear eyeglasses to do most activies. I do need reading glasses, but I did before when wearing contacts and I'm back to my 1.500 glasses I wore before. Today I had my first retesting of my vision. Berore I felt like I was almost blind so I know it was 20/400 or something. First the good news. I'm 20/15 in my right eye and was able to read about half the letters on the bottom line. It wasn't "Made In The USA", but I'm happy. :D My left is only 20/30 and will make a clicking noise when I blink at times. They told me I can continue to expect to improve and I welcome anyone's input into their experience. I'll get some shooting glasses to focus my dominate eye closer to the front sight as the fiber optic is a little blurry now, but hey at least I can see it better. If my left improves to 20/20 I'll be happy.

There is also a new AcrySol catartact lens procedure for people with catartacts that allows people to see near and far which may be somthing to consider in the future as I plan on shooting Super Senior one day. :cheers:

I am scheduled for this eye surgery on April 8th. sounds like you had a good result. did you have to wear "goggles" and if so, for how long?

My eyes are also about 20/400 now and I'm tired of it. 55 years old and I'd love to get a new pair of eyes. They mentioned I'd have to wear reading glasses, but I do now anyway...over the contacts I wear, so whats the difference.

I hope I can see that front sight better. Been doing a lot of USPSA and IDPA matches and expect to be doing even more.

plus am finishing my RO training so I really need my eyes for that.

good luck with it and have a good one.

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I am scheduled for this eye surgery on April 8th. sounds like you had a good result. did you have to wear "goggles" and if so, for how long?

My eyes are also about 20/400 now and I'm tired of it. 55 years old and I'd love to get a new pair of eyes. They mentioned I'd have to wear reading glasses, but I do now anyway...over the contacts I wear, so whats the difference.

I hope I can see that front sight better. Been doing a lot of USPSA and IDPA matches and expect to be doing even more.

plus am finishing my RO training so I really need my eyes for that.

good luck with it and have a good one.

hi ropetrick,

yes, you will have to wear googles for about three nights and when you shower.

good luck.

lynn

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Had my checkup on the 16th. My right eye is still good, but my left hasn't improved. Go back in April and will consider a redo for it. When the girl testing my eyes had me hold a blinder with many pinholes in it over my left eye I could see a lot better so if I don't improved by April I'm going to have my left redone. I'll hold off until after the Single Stack to have it done so if you see a guy ther with dark sunglasses and a white cane say hello to me. :)

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Does anybody know what a clicking like noise when you blink could mean?

Can you still hear your eye when you blink?

Yes I can. Sometimes drops help and sometimes not. I really think he didn't get my left eye flap back on correctly.

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It has to be related to healing process. I had a friend where the "flap" that you are talking about almost separated within 24 hours of the procedure. Do they seal the cut after or is it meant to heal naturally? I'm really interested myself, my eyesight is so bad. Now would be a good time to fix my eyes I think. Better than having to worry about where I'll find contacts after 2012.

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It has to be related to healing process. I had a friend where the "flap" that you are talking about almost separated within 24 hours of the procedure. Do they seal the cut after or is it meant to heal naturally? I'm really interested myself, my eyesight is so bad. Now would be a good time to fix my eyes I think. Better than having to worry about where I'll find contacts after 2012.

I don't really know, but I'd say natural as after surgery the doctor used a small instrument to do something to my left eye. It was still numb so I don't know, but he seemed to be moving something on my eye.

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after the lasik portion of the procedure is done the doctor has to fold the flap back over onto your eye. They then use what is basically a small paint brush and they "paint" saline solution over the flap until it is sitting on your eye correctly. There is nothing done to make it heal, it heals naturally but that is also why you aren't supposed to rub your eyes for 90 days after the procedure. Not saying you did or didn't do any of this but I would get ahold of the surgeon right away and find out if the flap is sitting correctly or not.

isaac

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The flap actually is partially reattached before you get out of the chair - the eye apparently starts healing right away.

FWIW, Gary, we seem to have determined that in my case, I wasn't generated adequate tears in the left eye. Using a gel type eye drop at night when I go to bed has made a big difference for me. In fact, there are times, now, when my left eye sees as well as my right (which means I'm seeing better than 20/15, but not as good as 20/10). The better times keep getting better... If drops are helping your condition, maybe see about using a thicker drop??

It seems to be wise to wait out the three month period. My left eye didn't improve from 20/40 until after[/i] the one month checkup... ;)

And, if you want to see the instrument that's used to smooth the flap, check out the "How Its Made" episode that shows a LASIK procedure being done (they use a microkeratome, so its not bladeless, but the 2nd half of the procedure is basically the same...)

Edited by XRe
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Have you all found that the dryness goes away? My ideas are pretty dry with glasses (probably from allergies and looking at a monitor all day), so I'd worry that LASIK would give me really dry eyes.

atek3

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http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp...mp;btrx=BS-7634

they had to switch me to these after the regular refresh tears seemed to be drying too quickly, and at night. I started with fairly normal eyes when it comes to dryness, maybe a little on the dry side. The surgeon will determine whether you are a good candidate or not based on what they see during all your pre-op visits. It was a solid 3 months, maybe longer, before I was off the drops all together.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Went to Dell Laser Consultants March 30th for my screening and pre-op exams.

The screening took just a few minutes. Big part was a laser scan of the cornea to find the shape you've got. From there it decides what treatment path to take. Then the pre-op exam with dilation drops.

The health of my eyes are good. Just a beginning touch of cataracts which is normal for someone age 51. Otherwise nothing else. However my cornea shape is something else. I've got multiple issues. I'm nearsighted (myopic) which means the focal point is in front of the retina. Second is the astigmatism which is a misshapen cornea. I'm beyond the low order aberrations which means I have extra humps and bumps besides being misshapen. It's beyond what Phread at Lasik-R-Us can do.

The procedure slated is Custom-ASA. ASA stands for Advanced Surface Ablation. This is the bladeless and flapless procedure. As explained to me, the first few cell layers of the cornea are removed with a chemical. Then the laser does its thing. Over that is a contact lens that stays in 5 to 7 days while the cornea regenerates new cells. The Custom part is in addition to the basic procedure. It maps out those extra humps and bumps and the laser takes those out.

Advantages to ASA is that the risk of complication from the flap in negated. Disadvantages are that you need to basically take a week off. Night vision for that first week using the docs technical term 'sucks'. There will be discomfort for the first 48 hours. The results are not immediate till the new cells regrow. As the doc stated, "You won't get the WOW till about a week."

End result with either ASA or Lasik will be the same. No shooting, skydiving, or scuba diving for two weeks. It's the same for all the procedures. Distance will be corrected from fingertips to infinity. So handgun sights and the target should be clear. Rifle shouldn't be a problem as the crosshairs are focused to infinity. Shotgun really won't be a problem as the beads are far enough out there. The doc stated that after the procedure I should see the birds and all other moving targets better as reported by other shooters who've had it done.

Warn fuzzy stuff. Dr. Dell himself does all the procedures. He doesn't farm it out like some bulk clinics. On out of town clients he won't do any procedure on you unless someone he trusts can do the follow-ups. There was a lot of questions as to my activities and the procedure selected is based somewhat on that. ASA is approved for HALO jumpers, fighter pilots, and Special Forces.

My surgery is scheduled for mid-May.

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I had this done 4 months ago. Bladeless, open-the-flap and shoot the laser -thing. I'm 27, had glasses since I was 8. The procedure is really quick, "now you'll feel pressure" was the worst part, the whatever-device-it-is is pushed hard against your eye. But it doesn't last more than 20 seconds. The next day I felt I was looking the world thru Zeiss binoculars, distant details were just Awesomely Sharp, and I just stood on my balcony, going "whoa dude!", staring at the beautiful sunset and forest in the distance, and seeing the detail of my neighbours house's brick wall.. :surprise: = it was a bit over-corrected, like wearing just a tad too strong glasses. The vision varied for a few days, and then settled down for a perfect normal vision. Only problem now is that bright lights make a bit of a glow effect while it's dark outside, like looking through a bit dirty glasses. Also, eyedrops are required for maybe about a year, my eyes get a bit dry. I'm very happy with my decision, altough it cost more than a very nice blaster! :cheers:

E: Oh, and rifle scope reticle was a bit blurry for a month, but it's perfect now.

Edited by askomiko
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  • 1 month later...

I'm leaving tomorrow for the procedure. Flying to Austin on Wednesday. Surgery on Thursday. One day followup on Friday. Be a tourist on Saturday. Return on Sunday. Five day followup on Tuesday.

Leaving the laptop behind and will be out of contact till Monday. Will post my experience when I get back.

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Just had another checkup since having Bladeless done in Jan. I'm still 20/20 in my right eye and have improved to 20/25 in the left and the doctor thinks I'll improve more although not much. Overall I'm happy although I would of liked better results. Good luck to you Hank. :cheers:

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I'm back and since I can type this post I'm not blind.

Thursday: Walked in and filled out a few more forms. Met Doc Cunningham who is the front man for the clinic and did my screening and pre-op. Mapped out my eyeballs twice more with the ultra-sound machine to make sure nothing has shifted since the screening. The tolerances are 2 microns and if there was a difference between the screening and the two mappings then the procedure is off. The old measure twice cut once thing. A quick look in the eyeballs with the slit lamp found no problems. So far so good. Time to meet Doc Dell.

Dell came in. Asked two questions and turned to the assistant and gave an order for the Valium. He went through the charts jotting notes for the procedure. Finally he told me that due to my cornea being a bit thin that Lasik would not be an appropiate procedure. That, my lifestyle, and the degree of astigmatism points to ASA. Any questions? Nope.

Got the Valium and was sent to a room to chill for a while. Every couple minutes the assistant came in to apply eye drops. Probably to deaden the eye. 20 minutes later it's showtime.

Ushered in and laid on the table. Lots of talk back and forth verifying the laser settings. A device was inserted to prop open the eyelids. A ring shaped device went over the cornea and a solution was wiped over it. Then the outer layer of the cornea was removed. The ring device was removed. Stare into the blinking light. The laser started doing it's thing. I was coached the whole way and it was over in 20 seconds. Contact lens bandage was applied. The eyelid prop was removed. Then the same for the other eye. Somewhere in this I'm hearing whohoos and "YES!". You guys watching an LSU game while zapping my eyeballs? I'll find out later. In, out, done in 5 minutes.

Zero pain. I mean none. Worst part was pressure from the ring gizmo and I was more startled than anything else. Didn't know that was coming. Walked out of the room and it's time to go to the hotel. Total time at the office was 90 minutes. Valium kicked in and slept for 3 hours.

Woke up and looked at a billboard down the street. Could see that without my glasses as well as I could with my glasses before the procedure. Well it's a start.

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Friday: One day followup. 20/50 in both eyes which is well within normal limits. I was cautioned that my vision will get worse over the next two days with Saturday being the worst. The reason is that the cornea is growing cells under the bandage contact lens and that will change the prescription. Sure enough. Throughout the day my vision was steadily getting worse. Not to the point I couldn't function but a bit disconcerning.

The whohoos during the procedure? Apparently I had a mild case of basement membrane dystrophy. I had no symptoms so I was broadsided by it. Something I inherited. Should have chosen my parents better. Anyhow severe cases can be seen with routine exams. In my case it could only have been found during the procedure. The corrective procedure? ASA. So correcting my vision fixed that also.

With what they saw during the procedure and where I'm at now, I've got a better than 50/50 chance of 20/15. But I've still got a ways to go to know for sure.

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Saturday: The billboard ckeck showed a blob. By the afternoon it was a mass of color. By the evening I was a basketcase. I could not function. By far the worst eyesight I've ever experienced. Don't freak. Trust the doc. Take a Darvacet and get some sleep.

Don't plan on doing anything as you won't be able to. Plan ahead and have someone with you to assist. You won't be able to read anything. Don't even think about driving. Stay home. If in a hotel, order room service. The wife and I went out for dinner and that was a bad move. Night vision was non-existent. I wasn't in pain. Just couldn't see squat.

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Sunday: Morning billboard check got me about what I had early afternoon Friday. Flew home. Wife drove and I'm glad. Definitely shouldn't be behind the wheel. Needed to do something so mowed the grass. Checked the posts on this forum (21 pages). Needed some readers but was able to make it out without too much trouble.

Monday: Woke up. Opened my eyes. Wow. What happened? I can see stuff. Not where I want but way better than any time since the procedure. I'm doing this post without readers and not straining a bit. Probably could drive if I had to but I'll stay home. Checked the lawn to see if it looks like it was done by a blind guy yesterday. Missed a couple spots but not bad. Finished up the yard and putzed around the house.

Tomorrow is a trip to my local doc for the 5 day followup and to get the bandage contacts removed.

More to come.....

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Good stuff, Hank - the ASA procedure obviously has a different healing profile than LASIK, but sounds like, from your description, that you're well within expected symptoms and progress.

I'm almost at 4 months for mine. The left eye has improved to 20/20, right eye still holding at 20/15. And, the nerves in the cornea are obviously re-knitting, as my eye dryness is slowly starting to diminish. I generally only need eye drops in the morning (plus the evening gel drop routine, still) and my vision is super clear even without them when I wake up. Again, right within the expected progression for LASIK.

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