The more I read about La-sik on the net, the more I am realizing I may have made a decision based more on media hype than hard facts. I am trying to stay positive because there's no reversing the surgery, but truthfully, had I known all the risks and seemingly inevitable complications before the surgery I don't think I would have gone through the procedure.
I asked Dr. Bloemker before the surgery if La-sik would help with the "halos" I saw around street lights and headlights driving at night with contact lenses, and he said it would help "somewhat" with "that and everything else". This was a major factor in my decision to get the surgery, as I am a "night person" and do most of my work and socializing after dark.
To get right to the point, I have not been able to drive at night since I got the surgery. The "halos" I saw with contacts are NOTHING compared to the blinding explosions of light I now see around any lighted object at night. In addition, I even see the halos in the daytime, although their effect is lessened by the mere facts that there's less contrast between the lights and their surroundings in the daytime. I have created a new set of pictures to explain what I am seeing:
Before surgery without glasses or contacts |
Before surgery with glasses or contacts |
After surgery without glasses or contacts |
I have been assured again and again by Dr, Bloemker that this is a temporary situation, and that the eyes simply need time to heal. Although it's been three weeks, I am not seeing any improvement or change whatsoever in the halos. Dr. Bloemker assured me I would see improvement in "one to two months". There's five weeks left. I wish I wasn't traveling in two weeks though...
Something quite disturbing happened on my last visit to the doctor, however. When I asked about the halos again, Dr. Bloemker told me that I am comparing apples and oranges, and that I will NEVER be able to see as clearly as I had with a good pair of contact or glasses. This is a major contrast to what I was told before the surgery.
Dr. Bloemker never actually warned me before the surgery about the halos I am seeing. It wasn't even mentioned. Dr. Bloemker did give me several glossy brochures and even a promotional video in which his wife gets the surgery and raves about it. I was told my vision would settle down and go back to "normal" in about four days.
The main thing that was stressed again and again is that I would have extremely corrected vision, and was likely to see 20/20. And indeed after the surgery I was pronounced to have 20/20 vision on both eyes. I can read little letters fine, but I now realize having 20/20 vision doesn't mean you have good vision. My night vision is completely shot, and my contrast sensitivity has been reduced significantly, both in the daylight and at night.
I have since gone back and gone over all the material I was given before the surgery, and the promotional material does say there is a 1% chance of complications occuring that would give me somewhat diminished vision when compared to glasses or contact lenses. Am I that one percent?
I am now discovering that the 1% number is actually much higher. According to a report at http://www.surgicaleyes.org/:
"Before surgery, patients are typically told that the risk of complications from La-sik is 1%, and even lower in the hands of an experienced surgeon (such as the one trying to sell you the procedure). For starters, one must realize that the risk being referred to is for each eye, so the combined risk that permanent damage will occur to at least one eye is, by these figures, actually 2%. Doesn't sound so good anymore? Read on...
During the process of obtaining Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Preliminary Market Approval (PMA) for its LADARVision Excimer Laser System, Alcon Corporation admitted that 22.8% of La-sik patients complained of light sensitivity post-operatively, 7.1% now suffered from headaches, 31.9% had glare symptoms, and 32% now experienced night driving difficulties. The FDA nevertheless approved the LADARVision laser for commercial use, despite the fact that 12.7% of LADARVision patients stated that they experienced "worse" or "significantly worse" quality of vision, as reported in the PMA. One recent study states that complications from La-sik surgery occur in approximately 4% of eyes operated on."
Had I known these statistics before, I don't think I would have been as eager to get the surgery.
I am scheduled for another followup visit in Monday May 24th, but now there is a new problem. My right eye vision has changed considerably overnight and my eye feels sore. I am going in this afternoon to have it checked. I'll report back here on what happens.
