Plus Lenses stop myopia progression... NOT!

I got a PRK pre op work up today.

It was "Rx -0.5, -0.5 CRX OD -0.75 + 0.25 x40, OS -0.75…K's 43.75 @087
44.5@09" and the MD recommended me for PRK to the surgeon who will do
the operation. He didn't make a decision yet and will email me later. I
was also told that I have extreme dry eyes and dry eyes help myopia
progress, not sure about that. I was told there is a 99% chance that I
will not need glasses for flying in the future, but there is 1% I might
still need glasses. I wish I was close to flight school application, but
I am at least a year away, if I knew my eyes would stay like this, I
might not consider surgery and on the other hand, it is tempting to have
20/15 again in both eyes without glasses, especially at night time. It
will be a hard decision on my part if the doc gives a go for my career
needs, the doc who did the work up today especially drew attention
towards my career needs when emailing the results to the surgeon.

If you like to see the paperwork, you can check out my link.

http://hometown.aol.com/linkedpics3/images/johneyerx1.jpg

http://hometown.aol.com/linkedpics3/images/johneyerx2.jpg

John

 

If it were me, I would not get PRK in order to correct -0.50 myopia.
1. There are hazards associated with the procedure
2. it is not comfortable recovering from the procedure
3. the level of accuracy for PRK is not that great-- you could, after the
long healing phase, end up at about -0.25 to -0.50 afterwards. Either that
or they could "overcorrect" you and you would end up at +0.50 to +1.00 which
would be to your detriment when you get older.

I am not a pilot. Is there a problem with wearing contacts or glasses
relating to your military needs? To me, chasing this problem with surgery
is like trying to kill a housefly with a sledgehammer.

===========

 

'Nursing' my wife through her PRK was a pretty harrowing experience.
I was dumbfounded by the level of pain she appeared to be in . . . for
about 48hrs . . . then it passed.

My wife's Rx took about a year to stabilize. She started as about a
-2.25 OU and ended up about a -0.50 OU (that wasn't the goal,
though--understandably--she's quite comfortable there).

She went to one of the best in the world (I made lots of calls before
recommending him to her. He is sought out by laser and contact lens
manufacturers to participate in their clinical trials).

What about Intacs for John. I know /they're/ not perfect, either, but
.. . . at his Rx . . . I'd be sooo reluctant to take risks (I'm not a
pilot, either, so I certainly can't claim to understand his position
fully).

 

I'm not impressed with the results. The most obvious question is: why
is your unaided visual acuity better in your more myopic eye? You need
a careful refraction by an optometrist. But again, with your unaided
20/20 why on earth would you even *think* about PRK??? Why burn away
your Bowmen's membranes for that little, tiny bit of myopia??? It's
like taking out a fly with a cruise missle...

w.stacy, o.d.

 

Another fine question would be "what doctor would perform such a procedure
for a tiny bit of myopia?"

 

Intacs would work, but that's akin to killing that fly with a .50 cal
machinegun, not as bad as the cruise missle, but still overkill.

The thing I don't like about intacs is they require a tunnel be
excavated in your cornea. A dandy place for bad things to grow. Plus I
don't know how many Intacs have been implanted, but my guess is more
than half of them have already been explanted, and most of the rest will
be eventually. Plus you can see the little suckers...

w.stacy, o.d.

 

also if you are nearsighred or highly nearsighted, you have already an
increased risk of retinal detachment and surgery in the eye slightly
increases the risk ...
I was very nearsighted, had a cataract (successful sugrery for it in
april and then in july (b/c of a common result of cataract surgery)
a yag laser proceedure (to remove cloudiness in capsular bag after
cataract surgery) ...
my retina is doing fine, btw:
the risk is small ...
there may also be a risk of eye infection, that too is a small risk ...
may I suggest a couple of books to get
from your local library if they have it or can get it via interlibrary
loan ...
Mayo Clinic on Vision and Eye Health:
Practical Answers on Glaucoma, Cataracts, Macular Degeneration & Other
Conditions
(Mayo Clinic on Health)
by Helmut, Md. Buettner
The Eye Book : A Complete Guide to Eye Disorders
and Health (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)
by Morton F. Goldberg
I'm not a doctor, just an informed patient trying to help you become a
better informed patient ...
hope my response will be helpful to you ...
:~0-0~)