Ever
since the mid 80's; when the first reports leaked out of the
Soviet Union that a new type of surgery was enabling people to see
perfectly without eyeglasses or contact lenses, I have wanted
desperately to "just do it."
One does not muck with one's primary sensory organ lightly.
Over 50% of your brain is devoted to processing what you perceive with your
eyes. I checked around. The word on the street wasn't good. The proceedure's
name was "Radial Keratotomy" or "RK" but the street name was "Slice and Dice."
"Wait for the laser system," the knowledgeable
said, so I waited. And Waited. And Waited... for the laser surgery to
become available in the USA.
Well I waited for it to become available in the USA for over 10 years.
Finally in 1997 I got to do it, and here's the tale.
If some of the terminology used here is alien to you, click here or at right
for a handy
Glossary
This is a long story, so I've broken it into chapters which can be
accessed randomly or in sequence.
There is a lot to know before you go
staring directly into a laser beam. I encourage you to read all
of what is said here, to talk at length to your opthalmologist,
and to do LOTS of further research on your own.
If you are reading this because you or someone you care about is
contemplating Laser Corneal Surgery please remember that you are
a being of living tissue and every specimen of living tissue
reacts differently to invasive processes like surgeries.
I will tell you here what the doctors often don't in office visits:
The recovery process can be a bitch, and it can take a long time.
There were weeks after I got my second eye zapped that I was quite grumpy
indeed.
However my friends who've worn Orthodontia appliances have
reported the same sweep of emotions and now they are quite pleased
with their straight teeth.
Today, I am glad I did it, and would do it again almost exactly the
same way. I not only recommend it to just about everyone of every age, I
have hosted friends from out of town who've come to Portland to
get it done, and driven others to clinic on zap days.
At one point I had guessed that the future is LASIK, not PRK.
The PRK healing process seemed a bit too protracted.
My Surgeon,
Dr. Larry Rich, co-editor of
Principles and Practice of Refractive Surgery - ISBN 0-7216-6552-7
says that although the initial recovery period with LASIK is faster,
the time to final healing is about the same, or longer. Data available in
1997 indicated that complications from all causes is much higher for LASIK
over what it is for PRK until you get to about -5.00 diopters
nearsightedness.
Next Page
|
Home Page
A Byte of
Background
Glossary
The Right
Expectations
Zap Day
1st Eye
Recovery &
Healing
First Eye
Zap Day
2nd Eye
Recovery &
Healing
Summary &
Advice
|
