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khaosworksThe spectacle frame surrounding one of my lenses just snapped, so I'm back to wearing my spare, which is of a lower power so things are just that little bit doubly-visioned. Will trot down to the optometrist's tomorrow
*sigh*
Maybe I should consider that laser eye surgery thingy. What d'ya think?
*sigh*
Maybe I should consider that laser eye surgery thingy. What d'ya think?
I had it done.
Date: 2002-07-20 07:39 am (UTC)Then I selected a doctor who performs 400 of the LASIK procedures a year, and who teaches corneal and refractive surgery at the state medical school. He'd done a friend, and he's spent his entire career making the human cornea work properly - usually after corneal ulcers or herpes-derived cornea damage.
Fifteen minutes. No Valium. Just pharmaceutical cocaine drops in both eyes, plus some steroids and antibiotics. I got up afterwards and could read the clock 20 feet away for the first time since fourth grade. The next day, I tested out at 20/15 vision under the American system. I'd been 20/400 before.
That was in 1999. I'm still seeing 20/15. A friend of mine selected a different doctor; he was around 20/150 or so, and he's 20/30 now, and has been having many problems. I think it's mostly because he chose the wrong doctor. It all comes down to the doctor - pick soeone very, very experienced, someone who's done it for years and who has few lawsuits against him. Don't choose someone cheap, or someone you know personally, the way my friend did; pick someone who's good and who can do the procedure QUICKLY (the faster he works, the less chance there is of infection or other mistake). Pick someone with a long track history of the procedure. Experience is the key.
For the record, it cost me $5300 American in 1999, and I don't regret one penny of it. But I personally think I got the best doctor in the northeastern U. S. for the job.
Re: I had it done.
Date: 2002-07-20 07:52 am (UTC)Re: I had it done.
Date: 2002-07-20 08:02 am (UTC)I will freely admit my friend had months of trouble with his eyes and is still putting in weird drops and things, but I had no trouble. Then again, like I said, my friend didn't use Dr. Pearl.
Ooops.
Date: 2002-07-20 08:07 am (UTC).... As LASIK has grown into a $2.1 billion industry, a new subspecialty is gaining ground: the post-LASIK repair. One New Jersey surgeon, Theodore Perl of Corneal Associates of New Jersey in West Orange, does repairs on patients who come to him with significant LASIK complications, some from outside the country. In the past 18 months, he said, six of these patients have required corneal transplants....
Kathleen Skrainar of Far Hills is suing Perl, the West Orange doctor. The suit said Skrainar sustained permanent vision distortion and alleges the doctor failed to inform her of the potential risks. Perl said all his patients are informed of the risks, and he noted the Skrainar suit is the only one against him after performing 10,000 LASIK and corneal surgeries. Perl trains other doctors in laser eye surgery and said a lawsuit can "happen to anyone who does a volume of these surgeries."
***
I should note that Perl sure as hell told ME what each and every risk was.
Re: Ooops.
Date: 2002-07-20 01:53 pm (UTC)Re: Ooops.
Date: 2002-07-20 02:12 pm (UTC)