Being very nearsighted, I have considered Lasik for several years now. I cannot function in the real world without my glasses/contacts. As I get closer to the time when I might actually get into medical school, I am thinking more and more about having Lasix done. I know how inconvenient my eyesight has been with EMS (24 hour shifts, getting up at 2 am for a call), and can only imagine it will be even more so later in medical school and residency.
Any thoughts/comments from those of you who have or haven’t had Lasix done? Would you recommend it/not recommend it?
Amy
I haven’t and won’t. The risk of irritating little vision effects (like halos around lights) is too high. That being said, I’m a poor candidate anyway because my pupils are on the large side, so I’d be a sure winner in the “glare and halos” lottery.
I can’t even see 12 inches in front of my face without my glasses (and getting worse since I’ve been back studying for two years) but I won’t even consider Lasik. The eyesight I do have is too precious for me to risk. Wearing glasses isn’t that inconvenient that I will risk it.
Just my two cents.
Hi there,
My criteria for Lasik was when the opthomologists started getting this procedure done and when other surgeons started getting this procedure done. So far, none of my optho buddies or surgeons have bit.
I am not very nearsighted so it’s not something that I really have to worry about. I do operate in surgical loupes for mangnification though and use reading glasses. They work well so I am not going to risk my sight at this point in time.
Natalie 
I personally am near sighted and have a very bad astigamtism (that’s the only reason I haven’t had lasik yet - it still doesn’t work with such a degree of astigmatism).
Anyway - my husband was very very nearsighted and he had lasik done about 4 years ago. He thinks it was the best thing he ever done.
You probably know that you’re not going to done it once. It only only works for few years and then they have to correct it. He’s thinking about correction now, because he can’t see as sharp as at the beginning.
…one more thing - I do remember him complaining about not really good night vision (when driving. He can see, but it’s not nearly as good as day vision.
I’m not sure if it was helpful…
Kasia
Hey Amy,
I guess you and I must be a bit alike. When I decided to pursue med school, I went and got Lasiks on both eyes. I am farsighted with an astigmatism. My logic was… better to get the surgery before I start heavy into the prereqs because if I did screw up my sight… it should be before I spend XXX years and $$$ trying to become a physician.
So… I’m not really sure if I can recommend it. On the whole, my sight has improved but I do now need reading glasses for magnification. I can read without them but its better with the glasses. But, I do have a problem. Maybe a lifelong one. About 6 months after the surgery, a blood vessel in my left eye popped near my retina. At first it caused a small spot in my vision. Fortunately when using both eyes, the brain corrected for it. The spot then changed into like a ridge of vision… something like when two different mediums meet and the light bends a bit. Enough to put ripples in a licence plate number when seeing thru my left eye only.
I haven’t had the time to keep following up with retina specialists… the next step in the diagnosis. Everyone I’ve spoken with says they don’t know whether it could have been caused by the lasiks.
So would I recommend it to someone about to go to med school… maybe not. I love the improvements but I’m a little scared about this problem. I can see… and take the MCAT but this thing may not be reversible. LIke I said, I don’t even know exactly what it is. The last doc said it looks like cystic edema… or something like that. Who knows…
Good luck whatever you decide.
Every opthalmologist attending I know wears glasses. Not one has had the surgery. The day I meet an opthalmologist I repesct who has had Lasik, I will seriously consider having the same guy/gal who did his eyes do mine.
To voice an opinion in opposition to those mentioned so far…I had LASIK on my eyes in Jan 2003 & could not be more pleased. Prior to LASIK, I was legally blind w/o correction. The eye chart was only a blurry bright area - there was no 20/??? for me. I was off of the scale!
Now, I have 20/15 in the right & 20/10 in the left…better than normal. Yes, I do have mild/mod star effect & halos around lights at night. But, it is no where near as severe as those same effects were w/ my glasses & only minimally more present than they were w/ my contacts - my glasses prescription had gotten so bad that I could no longer drive at night w/ glasses due to stars & halos around light. I was fine w/ contacts, but after having worn extended wear contacts for 20+ years, I was beginning to have very frequent problems w/ conjuntivitis & such - even wearing them as daily wear lenses. Also true is that I can no longer focus on text less than about 6 to 8 inches from my face. However, prior to LASIK, my vision was so bad I was not able to read text at that distance in the first place…had to be under 6 inches for me to focus; so I don’t miss it anyhow. I was unable to drive, watch TV or recognize my own wife & child from more than 8 feet or so. My glasses were so damned thick - even the ultra-thin, high-density plastic ones that cost an un-Godly sum - that by looking off-angle at a light, I could do a spectral analysis & tell you whether it was a mercury or a sodium vapor lamp by the refracted lines…I $hit you not!
Now, I can see in fabulous detail. Will I eventually need reading glasses - yes, but I would have anyway AND I now have freedom from contacts & glasses until presbyopia sets in. Even then I will only need specs to read & not merely to function. I may eventually need a tune up. But, going through that is more than worth it. The only negative I have perceived is that I now have more trouble w/ dry eyes & must use good quality synthetic tears 4 to 5 days a week. A very minor inconvienence
Regarding physicians who’ve undergone the procedure - I knew many of them in MI, including ophtholmologists. The Doc who did my LASIK had had his eyes done too. I knew several surgeons who had it as well. I considered for years & refused to undergo the procedure until I met an ophtho who was sufficiently anal-retentive to meet my standards. You all talk about too little vision to chance. Believe me, I felt the same way & I KNOW what it means to not have much vision to play with. Furthermore, my career, like a surgeon’s, is 200% dependent upon my ability to see w/ accurate depth perception.
So, as in ALL medical procedures, it is impossible to make a blanket designation of good vs bad. The decision to undergo or refrain is based upon a weighing of the risks & benefits.
another thing to take into consideration is your age, and the benefit. I’ve heard from an opthomologist that around 40 your eyesight starts to naturally decline, and it’s no longer correctable via lasik. Just something to consider-especially if you’re in your 30’s already.
Although I don’t know any opthamologists, both of the optomitrists (sp?) in the office I go to have had LASIK done. My usual doctor’s vision was so bad that he wore glasses and contacts BOTH at the same time.
Dave - my vision may not be quite as bad as yours, but its bad. I am with you on many of the descriptions - the ultra thin lenses are still thick, can’t see anything more than six inches from my face, problems with conjuctivitis. Having to put a pair of glasses on has been an inconvenience many times.
I originally balked at the cost of the “ultra thin” lenses - until my eye doctor showed my how thick my lenses were going to be if I chose the regular type.
I also fear losing my vision totally. Bad vision runs in my family. I had two grandmothers who went blind, and have had glaucoma screens since my 20’s.
I will mull on it some more. Maybe I will schedule a consult. I am borderline on being eligible due to moderate astigmatism.
Thanks for the opinions!
Amy
Yup, gotta admit, Dave, it looks like you made a good trade. I’d still rather think those grapes are sour, 
since I have a couple of diopters’ worth of astigmatism and giant pupils that allowed me to see around extra-wide hard contact lenses (9mm?). I can see decently with soft contacts (when the toric lens chooses to rotate correctly) and have the option of glasses when halos matter. So I have more to lose and less to gain. Them grapes is sour anyway.
Hey, whatever happened to all the ballyhoo about wave-front technology-guided laser surgery? It was supposed to be the answer to astigmatic correction. Anyway, good luck, Amy, with your decision.
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another thing to take into consideration is your age, and the benefit. I’ve heard from an opthomologist that around 40 your eyesight starts to naturally decline, and it’s no longer correctable via lasik. Just something to consider-especially if you’re in your 30’s already.
Are you sure that’s what the ophthalmologist really said? I did a bit of googling and learned that there’s no known upper age limit for lasik treatment; even people in their 70s are doing it. However, there is a minimum age of 18-20.
According to this article from the American Assoc. of Ophthalmologists (geeze, why did they pick such a hard-to-spell word?) people over 40 may require correctional retreatment more often. Perhaps that’s what your doc was talking about.
I’m gonna stick with glasses, myself, because I prefer to take them off when reading and my eyes are happier that way.
Hi there,
Again, being just slightly nearsighted and now wearing reading glasses for most reading, I did not feel that the risk to my sight was worth it. For anyone who is very, very nearsighted, perhaps Lasik is a good thing but not for me.
Contrary to the above post, my vision has been improving after 40 and not getting worse. While I do wear reading glasses, I was able to pass the Division of Motor Vehicles exam without glasses and I frequently drive without glasses. If I have enough light, I don’t need reading glasses.
Again, when my optho buddies start getting Lasik, I will probably investigate this again but now, my loupes and I will keep on operating.
Natalie
I like this discussion because it shows something else besides information about Lasik, which is, how people make medical decisions. Nat’s position is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fk with it. Dave’s position is, it was really really broke, so I’m glad I fked with it. Some people say, The risk is only slight. Other people say, The risk is slight, but why risk it?
As I go farther in the hospital, I see more and more of this, in a whole range of ways. This is one reason I think that people (especially outside of surgery, but perhaps also inside it) underestimate the importance of really profoundly good people-skills for surgeons–because these are really difficult decisions sometimes, and surgeons have to help people make these decisions in a way that everyone feels good about afterwards. This, of course, applies to all of medicine.
I hope I’m not being too pedantic, but I’ve seen so many versions of this conversation lately in the hospital that I had to point this out.
cheers
joe
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Hi there,
Again, being just slightly nearsighted and now wearing reading glasses for most reading, I did not feel that the risk to my sight was worth it. For anyone who is very, very nearsighted, perhaps Lasik is a good thing but not for me.
Contrary to the above post, my vision has been improving after 40 and not getting worse. While I do wear reading glasses, I was able to pass the Division of Motor Vehicles exam without glasses and I frequently drive without glasses. If I have enough light, I don’t need reading glasses.
Again, when my optho buddies start getting Lasik, I will probably investigate this again but now, my loupes and I will keep on operating.
Natalie
It was a couple of months back, but there was a thread on SDN about lasik, and someone claiming to be an opthamologist made this statement. So AFAIK it’s true. I don’t remember the exact wording, so he may have said something to the effect that the benefits of lasik sharply decline in your 40’s…
Hi all. I had lasik surgery done in May, and the results were excellent. I elected IntraLase (bladeless flap incision) with custom wavefront for the visual correction. I was an easy case, roughly -3.0 myopia and 0.5 astigmatism. Yeah, there were halos for a couple of months, but this is to be expected as the discontinuity due to the circular flap needs to recede in size.
I suggest going over the “50 tough questions” to ask [1] and read in detail the potential benefits and drawbacks of lasik as it relates to age, eye geometry, amount of correction, and specific equipment/procedure variations.
And of course, avoid those lasik mills with their bait & switch offers of $299/eye.
[1] http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/tough_questions.htm