| |
I Can See Clearly Now, The Contacts are Gone
I ALMOST did it three years ago, thinking it would be nice not to wear contacts lenses anymore. No poking myself in the eye, no more red eyes or irritated eyes from wearing them longer than expected.
I consulted a surgeon and pondered my decision. Then it hit meÑI would be voluntarily having my eyes cut! Unlike life saving heart surgery, this was an elective procedure! What if I was the "rare instance" where there was a problem? After several sleepless nights, the risk-reward pendulum stopped cold and I determined that the risk, though slight, was more than I wanted to take for what to me, was a mere inconvenience. Fast forward three years. In less than twelve months, my sister, brother, and sister-and-law all had LASIK and were singing its praises. Our Creative Director at Life Magazines had it, claiming it was one of the best decisions she ever made. Worldwide, over 58 million people have had the procedure, including major league ball players, celebrities, and heads of state. If they could put their career at risk by undergoing the surgery, I wondered if anything may have changed to reverse my previous "no go" decision. Was I just being Chicken-Little?
I decided to carefully consider the key factors:
Was I inconvenienced and/or uncomfortable in my contacts? The best candidates tend to be motivated to make a change due to discomfort or inconvenience. In my case, my contacts felt perpetually "dirt" and uncomfortable.
Would I be a good candidate? Candidates must have a stable prescription ranging from -12.00 to +6.00, and have no ocular or health issues. Again, I qualified and learned that my astigmatism could be corrected better than had ever been done with contact lenses. (LASIK can correct up to a -6.00 astigmatism.)
Would I still need reading glasses? Some people choose to optimally correct both eyes for distance. I opted for mono-vision where one of the eyes is fully corrected and the other is slightly under corrected to help with reading. I find that the ability to read without glasses far outweighs the small reduction in distance correction. Is the technology advanced enough or should I wait? LASIK is a two step process. The first is the creation of a flap; the second is the reshaping of the eye. Previously, a microkeratome which housed a blade, was used to create the flap. The flap can now be created with a laser, virtually eliminating surgical complications and enabling treatment for individuals whose corneas were previously deemed too thin. Additionally, because laser generated flaps can be thinner than their non-laser counterparts, there tends to be more corneal tissue left if future enhancements are needed. An excimer laser then precisely sculpts the corneal tissue to the desired correction to reshape the eye and improve vision. Early technology required the skill of the surgeon to track the laser with the cornea. Today's advanced technology automatically tracks with the eye, virtually eliminating the possibility of an incorrectly placed laser.
Am I confident of the surgeon's skill? While there are many surgeons who perform LASIK, personally I wanted a doctor who specialized in the procedure, was experienced in refractive procedures and up-to-date with the most advanced technology. With my vision at stake, I wanted the very best. When I asked friends who they used, the answers were nearly always identical.
What was the pre-op and post-op process? For me, pre-op and post-op were the most annoying. Because I wore toric contacts, I couldn't wear them for TEN days prior to the procedure. To appreciate the severity of this directive from my perspectiveÐplease understand I wouldn't walk to my mailbox in glasses! Now I needed to wear them in front of friends, family and clients. Without toric lenses, (I only had to be without them for four days), I eagerly exchanged my last pair of torics for non-torics. Of the 15-20 minute LASIK process, less than 5 minutes total is spent under the lasers. Like most patients, even Chicken-Little experienced immediate visual recovery with little discomfort and I was back at work the next day.
Eye drops alleviated mild irritation in the hours following the procedure. Even being corrected for mono-vision, I was seeing 20/20 less than 24 hours later. The first couple of days, I sometimes wondered if a spreadsheet would help to keep track of the various eye drops and their administration, but I was able to deal with that, too. HOWEVER, not wearing eye makeup for a week was on par with wearing my glasses in public. I'd sooner go without clothes than make-up! On a positive note, it was amazing how quickly I could now get ready without having to put in "my eyes" and then apply eye makeup!
Can I physically and emotionally handle the procedure? As squeamish as I am about my eyes, the truth is that my fears were unfounded. While there was a little pressure while the flap was made, I don't recall any sensation during the actual reshaping of the cornea. Anesthetic eye drops took care of the eyes and Xanax took care of the rest!
Ultimately, what are the risks and are they worth the potential reward? As I summarized my analysis, I knew that the technology was virtually infallible and that I had done my research to find a highly experienced surgeon who made the entire experience easier and more successful than even I could ever have imagined. And as the final test, four days in glasses and a week without mascara paled against a lifetime of vision without corrective lenses.
Rhonda Rosenof had LASIK surgery with Dr. Cory M. Lessner at Millennium Laser Eye Center. (1.888.93.Lasik or www.mleye.com) Now she can SEE and be seen around Parkland as an account executive for Life Publications.
Back to Articles
| |
|
|
|
