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 seem 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 bee 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
