For the past 25 years I have
worn soft contact lenses. I had been diagnosed with near sightedness
when I was 16. When my third grade buddy (I'm 43) decided to get the
relatively new "LASIK" laser eye surgery earlier this year and was
delighted with the results, I decided to look into it for
myself.
Over the years, my vision had
gradually deteriorated. Each new year, my eye exam would usually
culminate in a further increase in the strength of my required
correction. From a -1.25 (a measurement that corresponds to the curve
of the sphere and thus the power of the correction of the lens) to a
-3.50, my unaided sight always got worse, never better.
In the late 70's and 80's I had
heard of something called "RK" or Radial Keratotomy. At the time, the
thought of an experimental surgery on something as precious as my eyes
seemed much too risky to me.
Up until the time of my LASIK laser
eye surgery, the only invasive procedure that I had ever undergone was
the removal of my wisdom teeth. Surgery was not something that I took
lightly.
My first task was to find an eye surgeon. I had to
finally learn the difference between an Optometrist and an
Ophthalmologist. Turns out Ophthalmologists do eye surgeries and an
Optometrist does eyes exams and issues you glasses and contact lenses.
Until this month, I had never met an Ophthalmologist.
Anyway, back to finding my
Ophthalmologist. As would be expected I got a referral by talking to a
friend of a friend who was happy with their results. Now, the next
step was scheduling an initial eye exam. A friendly receptionist made
an appointment for me the next day.
Before the
surgery - Eye exam
When I arrived there were about
ten people in the waiting room and they all seemed to have smiles on
their faces... so far so good. They were apparently there for their
post-surgery check up. When it was my turn, the doctor greeted me with
an ease that what I was about to do was no big deal. I liked that. My
exam lasted about ten minutes. Not much different than the ones I had
gotten every year for the last 25.
During the exam,
I found out that my -3.50 was well within the range to be considered
a "good" candidate for the surgery. We also discussed the phenomena
of age and its impact on the impending requirement of reading glasses.
He suggested we leave one eye a little near sighted to delay for a
couple of years, due to my need for reading glasses. I left the office
feeling that we had made some good decisions.
Now, all that was left was for
me to call to schedule surgery... done every Thursday at a nearby
hospital.
Going to the
surgery
It took me three weeks to make
that call. I can tell you that I was too busy or that it slipped my
mind, but mostly I was still apprehensive. In my personal circle of
friends, I was finding out about more and more people that were
enjoying the fruits of successful surgery. So, finally, I made the
call.
"Don't wear your contacts for
48 hours before surgery. We need to do one final eye exam the day of
the eye surgery. Oh, and have someone pick you up after the surgery...
you shouldn't drive."
Thus informed, I spent the next
two days without contacts. Oddly, my vision didn't seem too bad after
two days without contacts. Nonetheless, I found myself walking once
again into the doctor's office. Time for another eye exam. My eyes had
changed just a bit without the confining contact lens pressing on it
for the last two days and my most current visual statistics were
collected in preparation for the big moment.
The hospital was about a block away. I walked with a certain amount
of vigor in my step as I proceeded on my journey. I was getting excited.
Upon entering the building I was greeted and requested to sit in a room filled with
other soon to be former contact lens wearers. Everyone seemed excited,
yet a bit anxious as the time neared.
Soon, I was led to another
examination room for yet another eye exam. This one was to map the
topology of my eyes. Like mountains in a Geologically-based map, I
could see the computer mapping of the curvature of each eye. Turns out
that I had a very slight astigmatism, less than -1.0. It showed up on
the computer as a yellow swirl on both eyes.
"Not a problem" I was told...
hardly a presence at all. Apparently astigmatism is an uneven curve on
the cornea (the outer most layer of your eye) that distorts one's
vision at all distances. Fortunately I knew nothing of this from
personal experience.
With my personal eye topology
entered into the computer, I was all set for my eye surgery. As I took
a seat back with the group, they were starting to call patients as the
procedures were underway. A nurse stopped by and asked if I wanted to
take a Valium. I declined. I wanted all my faculties sharp for the
operation. The rest of the patients heard this and expressed surprise.
Each of them had elected to take this medication to "relax" them.
There was never a doubt or indecisive moment about this
decision.
The nurse then placed sticky,
colored paper dots on my forehead above each eye. Then came the drops,
numbing drops they called them. Every ten minutes another drop in each
eye. Fine, numbing drops sounded perfect. I must have had 4 drops in
each eye as I waited for my turn.
As each person emerged from
surgery, they had big plastic goggles covering their eyes. Looking a
lot like racquetball goggles, they were attached with medical tape.
Upon completing the surgery, your eyes should have accidental bumping,
poking and scratching minimized. Seemed quite logical to me.
Free pizza and soft drinks were
offered as the rest of us waited our turn. I wasn't very
hungry.
The
surgery
"D.R. Peck"
It was my turn. One last set of drops and off I went.
When I entered the room, it had a real high-tech feel to it.
Looking back, I can't tell you anything specific about the room. A chair,
bright lights and computer type equipment... no blades or scary
contraptions. State of the Art all the way.
My doctor greeted me with a
warm smile and told some sort of joke to put me at ease. I smiled, a
bit preoccupied.
As they guided me to a chair, I
leaned back...they tilted it till I was lying nearly flat on my back.
There was a bright white above as they placed eye lid openers on my
eyes to keep me from blinking. Honestly with all the numbing drops,
all this felt like was a pressure on my eyes. No pain, just a
presence.
Then they swung a circular piece of equipment over my
right eye. After some adjustments, it began to whir and passed over my
eye. Once over and then back. The sound and movement reminded me of a
credit card imprint device. No pain, but the light was very, very
bright.
This procedure was then repeated for the other eye.
Lasting all of 15 seconds, they swiveled the chair and I was
underneath another piece of equipment. All I could see was a flashing
red dot.
"Keep your eye on the red dot."
"Fine. No problem!" I thought. I'd come too far to mess up now.
Like a timer I heard a few tick, tick, ticks. I could only guess that the red
light was the laser. From my perspective I felt nothing as the moments
passed. It didn't feel like anything happened...
Then the next eye. Same experience. No pain... just the blinking red light.
After what was no more than 20 seconds, they swiveled me away from the
blinking red dot and placed me once more under the white light.
One more pass, once over and back and this eye was done.
The light was still very bright. When this machine had finished I
could see the ceiling clearly. While still a bit teary I didn't stare
too long.
Whew! I had made it.
Time for the goggles and I was escorted to the door. Maybe I was in there
for five minutes tops. I could see! They gave me a big pair of super
dark sunglasses to place over my goggle-covered eyes. All light was a bit much.
After the surgery
My girlfriend began the nurturing process immediately. I said I was fine...
but I didn't know for sure. Upon my departure from the hospital they
gave me a couple of painkiller pills if I felt a lot of
discomfort.
On the ride home I noticed I could read the freeway
signs fine. The nurse had instructed me not to be too strenuous on
them for the next 24 hours so I closed them for most of the
ride.
After what was indeed a landmark day I decided to make an
early night of it. As I tried to fall asleep, my eyes began tearing.
Every time I opened them, the tears just flowed. No pain, just a mild
irritation as I went through about a dozen tissues.
Eventually, I broke down and took the pain relief pills and
finally fell asleep. When I awoke the next day, I was still wearing
the goggles and my left eye was pain free with clear vision. My right
eye felt a bit scratchy, like I had an eye lash or speck of dust in
it. My sight in this eye seemed fine.
After a very light work day, I drove back to my Ophthalmologist's
office for my post-surgery check up. Once there, they removed my
goggles and gave me my fourth eye exam. 20/20 both eyes! They said
the scratchiness in my right eye would go away in the next day or two
and everything looked good. Whew...what a relief.
Over the next couple of days my right eye
discomfort did disappear. The surgery had been a complete
success.
In the first few days after the surgery, I was a bit
unsure that everything would be OK. I found that there was a bit of a
glare at night when I looked at lights. Now, a full six weeks after my
LASIK laser eye surgery, that concern has evaporated. The halo glare
(like you would get after swimming in a pool with chlorine in it) has
gradually faded and is now unnoticeable.
As I now walk the earth without contact lens, I have come to realize
that every night for the last 25 years I was faced with a decision.
As the end of each evening approached, I would play this little game
with myself.
"Should I take out my contact lens? If I didn't now, I'd have to do it
later."
Back and forth several times a
night, every night for 25 years. Amazingly, this one small issue was a
hidden stress point that had become invisible over the years.
Joyfully, I have removed this from my life. This may be the highlight
of my entire eye surgery experience.
My sight now is as good as when I had contacts. I don't have to worry
about messing with solutions, cleaners and enzymatic tabs. While I will
have to wait and see how this whole age deterioration thing impacts
my need for reading glasses, I believe I have made an excellent personal
decision. I recommend LASIK laser eye surgery completely!
Good luck and better vision to you.
D. R. Peck
CEO
Green Flash Systems
