what is your opinion about eye laser treatment?

My husband is an optician and he does not recommend it. He says he sees more people with messed up vision afterwards.

I don't have enough money for it now but i think it's a great thing to do... i really want my eyes to be fixed like this one day :P

"Laser surgery is the most exciting advancement in ophthalmology," says James J. Salz, M.D., clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the doctor who performed Goldstein's surgery. But surprisingly, he says, despite its sudden popularity, "only 20 percent of ophthalmologists in the United States today are trained in its operation." Advantages of LASIK Some doctors believe that LASIK is a suitable procedure for correcting the most severe refractive errors. They also say that there is generally a faster recovery time after LASIK than after PRK. In addition, LASIK patients can see well enough to drive immediately and have good vision within a week. After studying the options, Goldstein first decided on the LASIK procedure, but was surprised to learn that her doctor advised against it. "Initially, I wanted the quick recovery that LASIK offers," Goldstein says, "but the bottom line was, which surgery will give me the best results, and after considering everything, eventually we agreed on PRK." James Salz is currently involved in an FDA-sanctioned clinical trial at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, which is now studying the laser system specifically for farsightedness (hyperopia) with astigmatism. Although routinely performing laser eye surgery, he still encourages a small percentage of his low to moderately nearsighted patients to undergo radial keratotomy, or RK, an earlier refractive correction procedure that does not require the excimer laser. With RK, incisions are made in a "radial" pattern along the outer portion of the cornea using a hand-held blade. These incisions are designed to help flatten the curvature of the cornea, thereby allowing light rays entering the eye to properly focus on the retina. The number and length of the incisions determines the degree of correction attained. "Typically, this is still a practiced procedure for select people with very small corrections of myopia," Salz says. Conversely, Crawford says that although he will mention RK as an option to his patients considering eye surgery, he is not in favor of this method. He says studies indicate that incisions made during this procedure, which penetrate approximately 90 percent of the cornea, appear to weaken the structure of the eye. Also, once you've had RK done you can't repeat it or have PRK done. "I think that patients should understand and consider all available options for correcting refractive errors," Crawford says, "but I would never recommend RK to anyone." You may be a good candidate for laser eye surgery if you: are at least 21 years of age for a Summit laser or 18 years of age for a VISX laser, since the eyes are still growing to this point have healthy eyes that are free from retinal problems, corneal scars, and any eye disease (refractive errors are considered eye disorders, not diseases) have mild to moderate myopia (nearsightedness) within the range of treatment (see your doctor to determine your range) have a way to pay for the treatment since laser procedures are costly and probably not covered by health insurance policies are fully informed about the risks and benefits of laser surgery compared with other available treatments. What Are the Risks of Laser Surgery? The risks outlined below apply to both PRK and LASIK procedures. The chances of having a serious vision-threatening complication are minimal, and there have been no reported cases of blindness following either PRK or LASIK, says James Salz, M.D., clinical professor of ophthalmology. However, FDA is aware of a few instances of severe eye injury requiring corneal transplant. Infection and delayed healing: There is about a 0.1 percent chance of the cornea becoming infected after PRK, and a somewhat smaller chance after LASIK. Generally, this means added discomfort and a delay in healing, with no long-term effects within a period of four years. Undercorrection/Overcorrection: It is not possible to predict perfectly how your eye will respond to laser surgery. As a result, you may still need corrective lenses after the procedure to obtain good vision. In some cases, a second procedure can be done to improve the result. Decrease in Best-Corrected Vision: After refractive surgery, some patients find that their best obtainable vision with corrective lenses is worse than it was before the surgery. This can occur as a result of irregular tissue removal or the development of corneal haze. Excessive Corneal Haze: Corneal haze occurs as part of the normal healing process after PRK. In most cases, it has little or no effect on the final vision and can only be seen by an eye doctor with a microscope. However, there are some cases of excessive haze that interferes with vision. As with undercorrections, this can often be dealt with by means of an additional laser treatment. The risk of significant haze is much less with LASIK than with PRK. Regression: In some patients the effect of refractive surgery is gradually lost over several months. This is like an undercorrection, and a re-treatment is often feasible. Halo Effect: The halo effect is an optical effect that is noticed in dim light. As the pupil enlarges, a second faded image is produced by the untreated peripheral cornea. For some patients who have undergone PRK or LASIK, this effect can interfere with night driving. Flap Damage or Loss (LASIK only): Instead of creating a hinged flap of tissue on the central cornea, the entire flap could come off. If this were to occur it could be replaced after the laser treatment. However, there is a risk that the flap could be damaged or lost. Distorted Flap (LASIK only): Irregular healing of the corneal flap could create a distorted corneal shape, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision. Incomplete Procedure: Equipment malfunction may require the procedure to be stopped before completion. This is a more significant factor in LASIK, with its higher degree of complexity, than in PRK. Problems with a Perfect Procedure: Even when everything goes perfectly, there are effects that might cause some dissatisfaction. Older patients should be aware that they can't have both good distance vision and good near vision in the same eye without corrective lenses. Some myopic patients rely on their myopia (by taking off their glasses, or by wearing a weaker prescription) to allow them to read. Such a patient may need reading glasses after the myopia is surgically corrected. Another consideration is the delay between eye treatments. If one eye is being done at a time, then the eyes may not work well together during the time between treatments. If a contact lens is not tolerated on the unoperated eye, work and driving may be awkward or impossible until the second eye has been treated.

I have both glasses and contact-lenses. To bad eye-laser thing is so expensive.

I would love to be able to actually see without my contacts but I'm too afraid to have the procedure. Plus, my eyesight is bad enough that supposedly I would still need glasses or contacts anyway. So what's the point.

I plan on getting it done someday. I have never heard anything negative about it. Ive been wearing glasses since I was in the fourth grade and Im so sick of them. I cant wear contacts though.

i have three friends did and my brother also, all have good result after one month of the surgery, lucky! i think it is good!

i dont need glasses...but if i did i would have it done...if you have the money and want it done...then do it!

My mother had it several yrs before she passed away, and it really help he very much, so I would go far it if I needed it.

never heard it.

I haven't had one but as I have understand lasik eye surgery was first performed on Travis walton on or about november 5, 1975. travis walton was allegedly abducted by extraterrestrial aliens about 7pm on the night of november 5, 1975. just before midnight november 10, 1975, travis walton called grant leff, his brother in law from the payphone at the heber has station. he said he was hurt and need help badly. about 1am november 10, 1975 grant neff and duane walton found travis in the same clothing collapsed in the second of three payphone booths. to this day, travis walton can not completely account for the five days of missing time. he can not explain why he was missing for five days after his abduction. i don't know about the aliens but, i do know about medical experiments performed on people without their knowledge or consent. area51 is not only a secret place for aircraft development but, is also a secret place for medical experiments on people. my guess is that travis walton was a good candidate for experimental lasik eye surgery since he had severe myopia (nearsightedness). his surgery most likely occured in the underground complex of area 51. all we know for sure is that travis received experimental eye surgery that resulted in the improvement of his vison. to the best of my knowledge, travis walton was the first person to benefit from lasik eye surgery back in 1975. to this day, travis walton believed that extraterrestrial aliens performed his eye surgery onboard a space ship. all i know for sure is the lasik eye surgery has been performed successfully for over 30 years. if you can find a qualified eye surgeon, you should have nothing to worry about.

I did the math calculations in regards to how much it would cost to get the surgery versus if I were to get a new pair of glasses every two years for the rest of my life. And, it turns out that it's actually cheaper to get the glasses (and even contacts) than the surgery. I even considered a discount that my insurance offers, too. It's just too expensive and not worth it at my age. Now, if I were younger, then it might be worth it. Also, if I had a lot of money, then it also would be no problem.

No, I have never had eye laser treatment and I wouldn't even consider it unless it was under critical medical reasons. I have a huge phobia about people touching my eyes and the thought of shooting a laser into my eyes makes me feel quite sick! My mum has had laser treatment done on both eyes because her eye sight was getting quite bad due to diabetes. Her vision improved slightly but she still wears glasses.

Till now, I don;t needed this. But friend of my had this kind of operation and everthing is ok. After houres they leave the hospital.

My wife wants this. I personally wouldn't go anywhere near something that messes with my eyes.

No, I haven't never had it done, but two ladies at my church has, I guess it works, I haven't heard no bad complaiments about it.

I might try it. My eye doctor says I am a good candidate, and I've had a few friends who have done it successfully.

no buddy i didnt try

I were contacts. I would like to have it done, but my eye doctor said it wouldn't work for me (ofcourse that's what he'd say right, I wouldn't need to buy contacts from him anymore)