TR Forums

tukkus · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:25 pm

also what was/is the cost?...i'm thinking about it and i wanted to get a figure first before i get my hopes up too high. I know it is cheaper than it was years ago so i was wondering if anyone has had it done recently.

JediNinjaWizards · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:27 pm

I considered having this done, until I starting working at my current job, and learned that the CEO is almost totally blind from having it done. F*** that, wear glasses.

StarkMjolk · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:33 pm

Glasses kick ass

I see no reason what so ever spending money and risking my eyes for that cause...

Skyline57GTR · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:37 pm

Uhh I never have laser eyes before...I using my glasses only.

UberGerbil · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:39 pm

I know several people who have had this (or one of the related laser operations) done. None of them had any major problems, though apparently it does take a bit of time to get night vision back. They did it the right way -- they didn't jump at the lowest possible price, they got referals from other people who had work done, the checked the surgeon with state, made sure he had a lot of experience (thousands of operations) but didn't have a heavy schedule, got referals to other patients from that doc, etc. It's not something you want to just clip a coupon out of the paper, slap down your money and go.

ozymandias · Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:45 pm

the professor who gave class about the different techniques was quite subtile: "do you know how all the surgeons look like that are doing those operations? They all wear glasses themselves". He said that unless somebody does a profession that requires him/her to have a certain sharpness (like pilotes or truck drivers/policemen) he wouldn't do it.

Disadvantages; you basically never can get it right. Either you correct too much or not enough but seldomly right. Most of the times it means wearing glasses.
You get this nice ring of sparkling lights when driving at night...
You may have distortions in that same ring in your vision.
Your eye looses strenght - a trauma on the eye would have a far greater effect than with normal people.
Don't forget infections - the right bacteria, the right place and you're on your way to an artificial lens (which has far more disadvantages).
And there is the pain, but that's greatly reduced with normal techniques. Narcosis also is an advantage

Advantages: you might see better. there is the chance of not having to wear glasses.

Alex · Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:02 pm

I think I will stick with glasses and contact lenses. :wink:

tukkus · Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:02 pm

ozymandias wrote:
the professor who gave class about the different techniques was quite subtile: "do you know how all the surgeons look like that are doing those operations? They all wear glasses themselves". He said that unless somebody does a profession that requires him/her to have a certain sharpness (like pilotes or truck drivers/policemen) he wouldn't do it.

Disadvantages; you basically never can get it right. Either you correct too much or not enough but seldomly right. Most of the times it means wearing glasses.
You get this nice ring of sparkling lights when driving at night...
You may have distortions in that same ring in your vision.
Your eye looses strenght - a trauma on the eye would have a far greater effect than with normal people.
Don't forget infections - the right bacteria, the right place and you're on your way to an artificial lens (which has far more disadvantages).
And there is the pain, but that's greatly reduced with normal techniques. Narcosis also is an advantage

Advantages: you might see better. there is the chance of not having to wear glasses.

Where are you getting this information from?....My brother is in the Army(he's a Captain stationed in Iraq) and he said before he was deployed the Army made him get the surgery and since then he's happy with it(i just talked to him today about it) he did say he has to go back and get another procedure done because one of his eyes has a slight blur to it and that isn't uncommon to have to go back for touch ups.

I've also heard alot of good feedback from other people as well but like any surgery there is a chance things will not go according to plan.

UberGerbil · Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:39 pm

Here's an article from the FAA that covers many of the considerations when weighing the surgery.

antx182 · Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:50 pm

I consider getting laser eye surgury one of the best decisions (top five) of my life. I got lasik about two years ago and it has altered many aspects of my life, all for the better.
I was terribly near sighted and had astygmatism in both eyes.
Glasses & contacts were both a pain in the butt.
There was NO pain - zero! The surgery only lasted about 30 seconds per eye. My vision was perfect the same day. I had halos around bright objects for the first two weeks, but then it was totally gone.
Laser Eye Center in Los Angeles, CA

LicketySplit · Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:51 pm

I had it done 6 years ago...and it was great..up until i developed cataracts...being out in the sun all the time accerated the process...but back to lasik...its a great option and there is very little risk involved anymore with the advancements they have had. I can highly recommend it.

zgirl · Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:00 pm

Me? No issues with my eyes at all. 20/20 for 30 years now.

Now I know that 4 of my inlaws, 6 various family members, 5 co-workers, and maybe a dozen and a half customers have had it done.

Not a single one of them had issues and all of them were extremely pleased having done it.

So my wife is having it done after she finishes school. She would like to be able to wake up and see for a change.

Biggest thing, check out the doctors. See how they work. Go with recommendations. Blah, Blah, blah. This is your sight you are talking about and if you want to go to the cheapest vendor. Well, you might get what you pay for.

Boxster-S · Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:23 pm

I had it done over 5 years ago and still have 20/20 afterward. No problems and would have it again. It all depends on if you are a good candidate for it!

house · Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:24 pm

It's a great procedure but don't except to pay $299 per eye like in the newpaper ads. It's more like $2000-3000 per eye in reality.

LicketySplit · Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:25 pm

Yeah...forgot to mention when i had mine done...they like thick cornea's..they call em fat ones :lol:

St. Babu · Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:50 pm

LASIK rocks. I work as a network admin for an Ophthalmologist in Indiana, and as a perk, I got mine for free. I've had it now for a couple years (two in March) and I have had zero problems. I see 20/15 now. Everyone here who has said "Check the doctor out first" is 100% correct. Too many people report bad experiences after having been to one for those shad "$299/eye!" places. I can't say enough good things about LASIK, though, it's great not to have to bother with glasses and I never could wear contacts.

As far as all the concerns go, the technology has advanced rapidly even since I've had my eyes done. You can now have custom treatments done, and the "flap" that is created can now be made with a laser, instead of the traditional blade. If you want more information on these technologies, check out http://www.pricevisiongroup.com. I realize that I sound like a salesman, here, but you if you're considering having LASIK (or any other surgery, elective or otherwise!), you owe it to yourself to gather as much information as possible.

5150 · Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:08 pm

I don't you know where you live, but my father-in-law and sister-in-law both had it done in Canada and saved a slew of money. They also had great results, although my father-in-law still needs reading glasses.

LicketySplit · Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:28 pm

Thats a tradeoff thats well worth it id say..had mine done in BC as well.

Stripe7 · Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:38 pm

Had mine done over 5 years ago. Was basically legally blind before the procedure without my glasses. Now I have 20/20 from my left eye but they had problems with my right. My left eye is steady but my right eye twitches around a lot. However right after the procedure I had 20/20 on both eyes. Now 5 years later my right eye has started to degrade and I need to wear glasses again or go back for an 2nd procedure. However since presbyopia is setting in going in for a 2nd procedure will not stop my needing glasses. It took 3 years for the corona effects to go away at night and about 6 months before I could watch movies in a theater without problems. I have thick corneas and the surgeon who did me had done hundreds of patients and was teaching others. He really wanted to do my eyes because of the extreme myopia and he wanted the challenge of getting it done in one surgery. He did it one surgery and used me as an example to the surgeons he was trainning. There were 4 extra pairs of eyes (the trainees) in that surgery watching him do my surgery.

VTNC · Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:12 pm

ozymandias wrote:
the professor who gave class about the different techniques was quite subtile: "do you know how all the surgeons look like that are doing those operations? They all wear glasses themselves". He said that unless somebody does a profession that requires him/her to have a certain sharpness (like pilotes or truck drivers/policemen) he wouldn't do it.

Disadvantages; you basically never can get it right. Either you correct too much or not enough but seldomly right. Most of the times it means wearing glasses.
You get this nice ring of sparkling lights when driving at night...
You may have distortions in that same ring in your vision.
Your eye looses strenght - a trauma on the eye would have a far greater effect than with normal people.
Don't forget infections - the right bacteria, the right place and you're on your way to an artificial lens (which has far more disadvantages).
And there is the pain, but that's greatly reduced with normal techniques. Narcosis also is an advantage

Advantages: you might see better. there is the chance of not having to wear glasses.

[satire]
One time at band camp, this girl got lasik eye surgery, now she has to switch the light in her room on and off 17 times before going to sleep or else her family will die
[/satire]

St. Babu · Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:13 pm

house wrote:
It's a great procedure but don't except to pay $299 per eye like in the newpaper ads. It's more like $2000-3000 per eye in reality.

Don't feel bad, nobody actually ever gets the "$299/eye" price. If you read the fine print, the only people that would get that price are people who shouldn't be getting LASIK in the first place. That company has been the target of class-action suits in several states for false advertising, among other concerns.

FubbHead · Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:30 pm

Uhm.. Still you can't help wondering.. Why does it cost so much, when it only takes seconds per eye, and a computer does the job? :wink:

LicketySplit · Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:36 pm

Prolly the same reason you pay such a high tax over there...the gov needs the money and they have to make a profit :lol:

house · Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:54 pm

Because that is how much people are willing to pay for it.

Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:59 pm

house wrote:
Because that is how much people are willing to pay for it.

Spot on. I know if I lost my vision (if? when?) I would want that. I'm sure I will be willing to fork up a lot of money for it, too. I figure in about 10 years the technology will be pretty damned refined, hopefully cheaper.

Mtnview · Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:00 am

I've had two people I know that have had it done and both were successful. However I have visited a web site put together by people who have had less than happy experiences with their operations.

One point I noticed is to make sure the Lasik machine can handle the width of your pupil when it is fully dilated. If it cannot, and apparently this happened to a number of people, you get a major halo effect at night because the the operation didn't cover enough area.

Anyways, the web site is http://www.surgicaleyes.org

I'm still holding off myself.

Mtnview

5150 · Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:38 am

Stripe7 wrote:
Had mine done over 5 years ago. Was basically legally blind before the procedure...

Why is it called "legally" blind? Is anyone "illegally" blind?

St. Babu · Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:59 am

A lot of the costs associated with LASIK has to do with what the companies that manufacture the lasers charge in royalties. Doctors can own the laser and still have to pay upwards of $200/eye to use it. Same thing goes with Microkeratomes (The blade that's used to make the flap), the blades themselves are very expensive, and you have to use a new one on each patient (at least in the US. Other countries don't necessarily follow the same guidelines). With the Intralase (The laser replacement for a microkeratome), you have the royalties again. Then, of course, you have staff (nurses, etc.) that has to be paid, as well as any fees for your surgery facility. These charges add up, and the doc doesn't make what you think they do.

antx182 · Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:11 am

I just don't know where these $2,000 to 3,000 per eye claims are coming from.
I got my lasik @ the Laser Eye Center in Los Angeles done by the man who founded the center many years ago. He has done tens of thousands of eye surgeries. They charge $499 per eye + 250 for astygmatism. That's it. Out the door.

p645n · Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:19 am

I had it done in Vancouver in 2000 -- the procedure failed and it pretty well ruined my life. I was a photographer before, I'm **** all now.

TR Forums

lasik eye surgury...anyone have it done?

lasik eye surgury...anyone have it done?

website to visit

Who is online