You may know that i've worn glasses since I was in 4th grade, I had contacts for a few years, but mostly glasses. But now, I don't have to wear them anymore!! Why not? Laser eye surgery, more specifically, a relatively new technique called LASIK.
A friend of ours had it done down in Albuquerque, NM almost a month ago. Her eyesight was much worse than mine, and she was raving about how well she could see after the surgery. So I got really interested, because I've always thought that wearing glasses was a royal pain the you-know-what, but something that I'd have to live with. I thought about RK (Radial Keratotomy) when it first came out years ago, but it was so experimental that I really didn't consider it. Then they came out with PRK, which was something related to RK, but also experimental, and I couldn't afford it then.
When our friend Jan told me about LASIK, I started thinking about it again. I did a lot of research on the internet, and saw only good reviews of the technique and the results. Sure, they had the usual warnings, but all the testimonials from people who'd had it done were totally positive. I looked into where it might be available, thinking that WNY wouldn't have something so advanced, but was surprised to find that one of the pioneers of the technique worked right here in Niagara Falls!
I went into the eye center for an initial evaluation, and they said I was a perfect candidate (moderate myopia with just a hint of astigmatism). They said my eyesight at that time was worse than they could measure, but if they had to put a number on it, it would be close to 20/600! Compared to 20/20, that's WAY bad.
I scheduled the surgery for the 9th of October, and it seemed like forever away, even tho it was only about 3 weeks from when I first heard about it. A friend of ours, Carol, was roped into being my driver after the surgery. And David was worrying about it enough for both of us.
Yesterday morning, I went into work, and stayed till noon, then left. I had only told a few people at work that I was having this done, I kind of want it to be a surprise. I guess the ones who read this won't be surprised when I come back without glasses.
Carol, David and I drove to the laser center and got there right at 2:15. They left, and I sat down to wait. Kristen, the patient coordinator, came out and gave me a mild sedative (Halcyon) just to relax me for the surgery. She said Dr. Fichte (the surgeon) prefers that. I was VERY relaxed.
Around 3, I was taken into the smaller waiting room (less comfortable chairs) and Kristen started giving me eye drops. I got antibiotic drops, anti-inflammatory drops and anesthetic drops. After 3 rounds of drops, probably 15 minutes, she took me into the operating room where I saw/lay down in a chair very much like a dentist's chair. Quite comfortable, especially since I was SOOO relaxed.
The first thing they did was the worst and that was to swab out the insides of my eyelids with q-tips. When I winced at the first one, they decided to give me a couple more anesthetic drops. Then they put a patch over my left eye so they could work on my right eye first.
A speculum, made of thin wire, was inserted into my upper and lower lids to spread them out and keep my eye open. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. I had to look at the laser, which was over my head, and the pretty red and green and white lights. A suction ring was placed over my eye and the suction was turned on. It felt strange, but not painful. The suction lifted up the surface of my eye and some implement that buzzed sliced open the very top layer of my eye, and made a flap (which was still attached). The flap was then lifted up and the laser came down and lasered the underlying surface of my eye for 22 seconds. It made a clicking sound, not the kind of sound you'd expect a laser to make. They counted off the seconds, I didn't. When the flap was up, everything went dark brown, like my peripheral vision was closing in. Strange, but Kristen had warned me about it, so it didn't worry me.
After the laser was done, Dr. Fichte replaced the flap and smoothed it out with a tiny brush. Then we waited for a minute or so, then he performed the "wrinkle test" where he touched the uncut surface of my eye, to see if the flap's surface was adhering to the rest of the surface and the dent that his touch made was transmitted to the flap. It was adhering and it passed the wrinkle test. YAY!!! :)
Then they put a hard clear plastic patch (like an oversized lens) over my right eye, taped it down, and started on the other eye. Same procedure. Then I was done. I walked out, David and Carol were waiting for me, and she drove us home. I was a little spacy from the sedative, but not too much. Everything was blurry, but a lot of it was from the plastic eye shield, because when I took it off to put the drops in that they'd given me, I could see a lot better already!
I wore the shields to bed, and when I woke up at 3:14am, I could actually SEE the clock without squinting!!! When I took my shower this morning, I could shave my legs and SEE where I cut myself without having to put my glasses on!!! I drove David to work with no problem, and then drove myself to my 9:00 appointment at the eye center.
When they tested my eyes this morning, Kathy, the nice lady there, said I was 20/50 in my right eye, and 20/30 in my left eye!!! Compare that to over 20/600 just yesterday before the surgery! Combined, I'm at 20/40, which is legal to drive without glasses. I've NEVER driven without correction before, EVER.
I"m still blurry, and it's very hard to read small text (I had to make the fonts on my computer VERY big), but it's only Day 1, and Dr. Fichte was VERY pleased with my results so far, and said that I"d very likely continue to improve. I read a brochure while I was waiting that gave the results of a football player who had this surgery done, he ended up with 20/10 vision, BETTER than perfect.
I"m very very pleased with this experience, and totally excited about living without glasses for the first time in my adult life. Yes, it's expensive, and no, it's not covered by insurance (still experimental, according to Blue Cross) but right now, we've got the money, so I decided to JUST DO IT! I"m glad I did! :)
I think I've answered all possible questions, but of course, if you want to know more, you know where I am. :)
kelley (without glasses!)