

Ask HN: Laser eye vision correction? - coralreef

I&#x27;ve been considering doing PRK laser eye surgery but haven&#x27;t found much data on the risks and outcomes. Was wondering if any hackers have had this procedure, researched it, or hacked any meaningful data on its worthiness.
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asharpe
I researched this for myself a couple of years back and found a couple of
things but only speak from my personal account: 1\. There are a couple of
different options, the first being done completely without surgery, and the
second where they cut the lens and 'flap it up' (literally) and then do the
laser surgery. Obviously, the second option is more complex and as a result
can result in more problems. 2\. A lot will depend on how thick your lens is.
I was looking at it and they said that as I had a thin lens, it drastically
changed my options. It also raised the risk as they only had one chance (if
you have a think lens, they can do follow-up laser surgery to fix mistakes -
no such luck with me). It must be said, that overall the chances of anything
going wrong are less than 1% or something insignificant and in most cases you
will just have the same or slightly worse vision. I just wasn't willing to
take the risk given I had no chance for fixing it if they went wrong. Sorry
it's not data - just my personal experience a couple of years back.

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coralreef
Surgery without surgery? Whats that? The second option I believe is standard
LASIK. Since I do sports, I'd be at risk of having a flap dislodged, so I have
to do PRK, where they remove the cornea by brush and the cells regenerate on
their own.

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b_t_s
"Surgery without surgery?" That's PRK(Photorefractive Keratectomy) that the OP
mentioned. I had PRK about 8 or 10 years ago and am very happy with the
results. PRK is the older technology where they just laser the surface of your
eye rather than cutting a flap and peeling it up before lasering. The risk are
the same but different. That is to say, roughly the same (low, <2% if memory
serves) chance of making your vision worse but with PRK it'll be caused by
infection/poor healing of the epithelium, while with LASIK it'll be caused by
complications due to cutting the flap. LASIK is(or at least was) more
dependent on doctor skill/mistakes, while PRK is pretty much all computerized
and juste depends on your cleanliness and immune system. The other big
difference is healing. With LASIK it's zap, done, perfect vision, drive home
and enjoy...just don't get poked in the eye for a couple months. With PRK it's
zap, hay I can kinda see, have someone drive you home while the pain kilers
wear off, oh god it hurts, I can't see anything, lay on the couch crying for 3
days, and then watch your vision get slowly better over the next month or so
till eventually it's perfect. That's why LASIK is considered an improvement,
because burning the skin off your eyes isn't a lot of fun(think onions under
your eyes), and it takes about 3 days to grow back and another month to heal
to the healthy smooth state required for 20/20 vision. Still it was worth it.
Personally I chose PRK because I was doing MMA at the time so LASIK would have
required taking 3 to 6 months off training to make sure I didn't damage the
flap, whereas PRK on a friday let me continue training next week. Think I had
to take monday off work 'cause I was still in pain, but by Tuesday I was OK.
Driving was a bit hairy for a month or so. OK during the day but at night when
your pupils dilate I'd have quadruple vision and major star-bursting from
headlights, but not so bad I couldn't drive, but kinda freaky. After about 4
or 5 weeks that all faded and I had 20/15 vision. Totally worth it.

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akg_67
Just a personal experience: I had LASIK 15 years ago (the flap one). This was
the best decision I made. I haven't needed glasses since then.

Initially, I faced dry eyes after the surgery for about six months and I still
have high tendency to get dry eyes and red eyes in drier climates. During
driving at night, I did experience halo around the lights but got used to it
soon. Doctor most probably will advise you to lay-off swimming and sports for
a few weeks/months after the surgery.

Make sure you get the detailed eye mapping done before the LASIK surgery. In
the future, if you need cataract surgery and artificial lens in the eye, the
eye mapping before the LASIK surgery will help accurately determine the power
of artificial lens that need to be installed in your eye.

Also, just because you had LASIK surgery, it doesn't mean that you no longer
at higher risk of eye related issues (example: retina detachment) that people
with glasses/contact lens have.

~~~
coralreef
What was the strength of your eye prescription before that?

~~~
akg_67
I don't remember exactly but it was pretty high myopia. I think -6 to -9
range.

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manishsharan
I have been researching / follow vision correction surgery for a long time;
however I never took the plunge as the contact lenses kept getting better and
better every year.Now they can be worn for a week. Remember surgery is
irreversible. Good Luck to you !

