Impartial Advice on Laser Eye Surgery

[Eleven]

RobM77 said:

filski666 said:

968 said:

Yes, you'll probably need reading glasses in a few years, but that's not the only issue. Refractive surgery can cause some corneal issue, though quite rare and ultimately you will need cataract surgery in future, which is made slightly more unpredictable by having LASIK or LASEK, though not a huge deal. I'm sure you'd do very well if you had it done, with your prescription, it'd change your life.

If you want to go to Moorfields, I'd recommend Prof Gartry, Julian Stephens or Alex Ionides. All very good surgeons. There are plenty of other places you could go to, however, which are just as good.

Thank you, happy to hear alternate recommendations, I chose Moorfields as they are supposed to be one of the best in the country and I don't fancy trusting my eyes to one of these places offering special deals etc to try and drag you in - I feel they are more interested in the money than my health.

If not just for the peace of mind, it's worth it, yes. Particularly for a layman like me, it's just nice to know one's most important sense is being operated on by someone very skilled. 968's right in that it is utterly life changing, at least it was for me. The quality of life improvement is enormous, I really can't stress that enough.

To be fair to the chain operators, they don't tend to let the YTS lad loose with the laser.

[Lark]

Would appreciate the advice of 968 or anyone else that knows a lot about laser eye surgery.

I am 35 years old, I am -2.50 in both eyes (currently use soft daily contact lenses) and this has been the case since I was about 25, my eyes seemed to have stabilised since then.

Is it still worth me getting Lasik now given I understand if I have it done I will need reading glasses sooner, possibly when I'm about 45. Is it correct if I don't have the surgery then I will not need reading glasses until a later age, possibly around 50?

Also I've previously been told I have large pupils, so does this mean I would get problems with night vision if I have the treatment?

Thanks in advance.

[Lark]

Bump

[968]

Lark said:

Would appreciate the advice of 968 or anyone else that knows a lot about laser eye surgery.

I am 35 years old, I am -2.50 in both eyes (currently use soft daily contact lenses) and this has been the case since I was about 25, my eyes seemed to have stabilised since then.

Is it still worth me getting Lasik now given I understand if I have it done I will need reading glasses sooner, possibly when I'm about 45. Is it correct if I don't have the surgery then I will not need reading glasses until a later age, possibly around 50?

Also I've previously been told I have large pupils, so does this mean I would get problems with night vision if I have the treatment?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, you could have LASIK but you're correct in that you'll only be spectacle independent for about 10 years, then you'll need reading glasses. If you don't have surgery, being short sighted you can remove your glasses to read, and yes, that might only change beyound your 50s. Having large pupils can mean you get glare from the interface scar, though with blended treatments that is less problematic.

[RobM77]

Do bear in mind that the life changing aspects of laser surgery relate to what you can do without myopia in terms of active sports and hobbies (my life has completely changed since laser surgery). Long sightedness for most people is only going to be a problem with reading or intricate close work, and they're sedentary activities where glasses aren't really prohibitive or a burden.

[Lark]

968 said:

Yes, you could have LASIK but you're correct in that you'll only be spectacle independent for about 10 years, then you'll need reading glasses. If you don't have surgery, being short sighted you can remove your glasses to read, and yes, that might only change beyond your 50s. Having large pupils can mean you get glare from the interface scar, though with blended treatments that is less problematic.

Thanks for the response, I thought perhaps I could have one eye slightly under-corrected to be used for reading and close up work, with the other eye fully corrected for distance vision? Though it does seem a bit of a waste not to have both eyes operated as close to 20/20 or ideally 20/10 vision as possible!

RobM77 said:

Do bear in mind that the life changing aspects of laser surgery relate to what you can do without myopia in terms of active sports and hobbies (my life has completely changed since laser surgery). Long sightedness for most people is only going to be a problem with reading or intricate close work, and they're sedentary activities where glasses aren't really prohibitive or a burden.

Yes I imagine reading glasses are less of a problem than needing glasses for distance vision, though seeing my parents struggle to read anything within an arms length away it does still look quite bothersome at times!

[milner993]

Hi I'm after some advice I've been looking like the rest of you at eye surgery and I want to know if the pros out weigh the cons for me.
I took an eye test today and my prescription is a follows.

SPH CYL AXIS near-ADD inter-ADD BVD
R-1.00
L-0.75
H-dist V-dist H-near V-near
R prism
L prism

Now all of the above meaning nothing to me I only know that I struggle to see detail long distance, I play golf and really think having treatment might be the way forward, it won't keep me out the trees though. I'm 27 years old

Thanks for any advice

[968]

milner993 said:

Hi I'm after some advice I've been looking like the rest of you at eye surgery and I want to know if the pros out weigh the cons for me.
I took an eye test today and my prescription is a follows.

SPH CYL AXIS near-ADD inter-ADD BVD
R-1.00
L-0.75
H-dist V-dist H-near V-near
R prism
L prism

Now all of the above meaning nothing to me I only know that I struggle to see detail long distance, I play golf and really think having treatment might be the way forward, it won't keep me out the trees though. I'm 27 years old

Thanks for any advice

You're only very slightly short sighted. I think you would manage without glasses, but distance might be a little unclear. If you really wanted surgery with your age, laser refractive surgery could be a reasonable option.

[milner993]

968 said:

milner993 said:

Hi I'm after some advice I've been looking like the rest of you at eye surgery and I want to know if the pros out weigh the cons for me.
I took an eye test today and my prescription is a follows.

SPH CYL AXIS near-ADD inter-ADD BVD
R-1.00
L-0.75
H-dist V-dist H-near V-near
R prism
L prism

Now all of the above meaning nothing to me I only know that I struggle to see detail long distance, I play golf and really think having treatment might be the way forward, it won't keep me out the trees though. I'm 27 years old

Thanks for any advice

You're only very slightly short sighted. I think you would manage without glasses, but distance might be a little unclear. If you really wanted surgery with your age, laser refractive surgery could be a reasonable option.

If I was to go down the route of refractive surgery how long would the average persons improved vision last for?
I understand a procedure like this comes with its risks, however what are the possible side effects I might face?

Thank you

[hal 1]

Can anyone help me
I'm looking for a bit of info regarding lens implants, i recently had laser surgery due to macular degeneration, both eyes, at 59 years old would i be suitable for the implants ?
I'll be asking at the opticians next time i go but just wondering beforehand

grateful for any info.

Hal

[968]

hal 1 said:

Can anyone help me
I'm looking for a bit of info regarding lens implants, i recently had laser surgery due to macular degeneration, both eyes, at 59 years old would i be suitable for the implants ?
I'll be asking at the opticians next time i go but just wondering beforehand

grateful for any info.

Hal

Hi

I'm a bit confused. What laser surgery did you have for macular degeneration? There isn't laser treatment available for it! In answer to your question it depends on how much damage the macular has had. If it hasn't had much damage, you could get a big improvement, if it has, then improvement will be limited by the macula.

[hal 1]

Sorry about that, a bit more of the story, I've had floaters in my left eye for as long as i can remember, i was told this was macular degeneration, bits coming off the inner eye ? i may have got that wrong though knowing me.

One day before i was due to go to work my left eye gradually went cloudy, over a few minutes it became like looking through a lace curtain, i was due to see my doctor over another matter later that day so when i talked to him he booked me an appointment at the eye clinic at my local hospital.

when i went there i saw a doctor who described my eye as having a tear in the lining ? caused by an enlarged blood vessel, so the cloudy stuff was basically the crap falling from there, so the treatment he gave me involved zapping up the tear so that it wouldn't get any worse.

At one of my check ups i mentioned that i'd seen a floater in my right eye so he got me back to the laser and zapped a small tear in that eye.
About 6 months ago the blood vessel burst and i had to go back to hospital, i was told that there wasn't much they could do and the ' bloody floaters ' will disappear in their own time, which they have done.
That's about it.



So, about these lens'

[968]

hal 1 said:

Sorry about that, a bit more of the story, I've had floaters in my left eye for as long as i can remember, i was told this was macular degeneration, bits coming off the inner eye ? i may have got that wrong though knowing me.

One day before i was due to go to work my left eye gradually went cloudy, over a few minutes it became like looking through a lace curtain, i was due to see my doctor over another matter later that day so when i talked to him he booked me an appointment at the eye clinic at my local hospital.

when i went there i saw a doctor who described my eye as having a tear in the lining ? caused by an enlarged blood vessel, so the cloudy stuff was basically the crap falling from there, so the treatment he gave me involved zapping up the tear so that it wouldn't get any worse.

At one of my check ups i mentioned that i'd seen a floater in my right eye so he got me back to the laser and zapped a small tear in that eye.
About 6 months ago the blood vessel burst and i had to go back to hospital, i was told that there wasn't much they could do and the ' bloody floaters ' will disappear in their own time, which they have done.
That's about it.



So, about these lens'

OK, so what it sounds like is you had a posterior vitreous detachment which caused a retinal tear and maybe avulsed a blood vessel. The tear was then lasered so that it couldn't propagate.

You don't have macular degeneration since this is an entirely different condition. As a result, lens replacement surgery could well offer you improved vision.

[hal 1]

Thanks for that, must have picked up the other thing from one of the leaflets I looked at.

Anyway I'll give it some serious thought regarding lens implants

Thank you very much
Hal

[tigger1]

Probably a cheeky question aimed at 968 (as I see you're still around) - would appreciate thoughts.

Spectacle wearing 34 y/o. Can function without glasses, although I wear them all day in front of VDU (don't know exact prescription, but have "mild" astigmatism too, and also central serrous retinopathy. Does CSR preclude any sort of laser correction?

[968]

tigger1 said:

Probably a cheeky question aimed at 968 (as I see you're still around) - would appreciate thoughts.

Spectacle wearing 34 y/o. Can function without glasses, although I wear them all day in front of VDU (don't know exact prescription, but have "mild" astigmatism too, and also central serrous retinopathy. Does CSR preclude any sort of laser correction?

Hi, not a cheeky question! If you have active CSR then I suspect yes, it would preclude you from treatment as this will cause you to be slightly hyperopic and hence ruin the precise calculations of your refractive outcome. If there is no subretinal fluid, it could be ok in theory but of course your vision will be limited by whatever damage the CSR has done to the delicate cone cells in your macula. My feeling is to probably avoid it as it's unpredictable and possibly risky.

[tigger1]

968 said:

Hi, not a cheeky question! If you have active CSR then I suspect yes, it would preclude you from treatment as this will cause you to be slightly hyperopic and hence ruin the precise calculations of your refractive outcome. If there is no subretinal fluid, it could be ok in theory but of course your vision will be limited by whatever damage the CSR has done to the delicate cone cells in your macula. My feeling is to probably avoid it as it's unpredictable and possibly risky.

Thanks - I'd tried not to do much googling about it, figured that might be the case (trying to hit a moving target). I've one in each eye, one with fluid one without.

[Mad March Taffy]

968

Looking for advice in this area - could you tell me what information I need to provide? Quick summary:

54 years old - live in Hampshire
Age-related degeneration means that I now wear varifocals - about +1.5 at the top and +2.5 at the bottom (can't remember my exact prescription at present) - wear contact lenses for sport which are +1.75 in the left eye and +2.00 in the right eye - I can see fine to play tennis etc in these but cannot read small text.

Ideally would be able to dispense with glasses altogether, but would be OK with just having to wear reading glasses and being able to play sport etc without.

Any pointers would be appreciated, even to just help me know what questions to ask!

Many thanks

Mike

[crossy67]

Good call resurrecting this thread, it just reminded me of a question I wanted to ask to.

I was talking to a friend who has a friend (isn't it always ) who has cataracts. He's been to the doctor but apparently they can't do anything with them because he had laser eye surgery in the past. Is there any truth in this?

[968]

Mad March Taffy said:

968

Looking for advice in this area - could you tell me what information I need to provide? Quick summary:

54 years old - live in Hampshire
Age-related degeneration means that I now wear varifocals - about +1.5 at the top and +2.5 at the bottom (can't remember my exact prescription at present) - wear contact lenses for sport which are +1.75 in the left eye and +2.00 in the right eye - I can see fine to play tennis etc in these but cannot read small text.

Ideally would be able to dispense with glasses altogether, but would be OK with just having to wear reading glasses and being able to play sport etc without.

Any pointers would be appreciated, even to just help me know what questions to ask!

Many thanks

Mike

Hi

You could have refractive lens exchange whereby your (very early) cataract would be removed and a new lens inserted. A multifocal lens would enable you to improve your distance and near vision. Alternatively a monovision arrangement could be made whereby one eye fixed for near the other for distance. Any good cataract surgeon could do that surgery for you as a private patient. PM me for recommendations.