Introduction

This web journal has been posted in the hope that it can help people considering Lasik Laser eye surgery. Without other people posting their experiences, I know for a fact that I would not even have considered it. Thanks especially to Graham Wignall. Graham is also from the UK and his diary can be found at; http://www.dashdash.demon.co.uk/eyes.htm

 

Background

At age 21, I was advised to start wearing glasses for driving at night. Over the intervening years my eyes have started to slowly deteriorate. I mainly put this down to gradually getting older, and also through years worth of PC monitor abuse. (I am in the IT industry) The glasses for driving at night gradually turned into glasses for driving, then for TV, and then for my daily job. However, I refused to wear them full time and would insist on say taking them off when I finished work. The crazy thing was that as soon as I took them off at my desk, I would walk out to my car at put them on again!

At age 28 it was becoming obvious that I would soon have to give in and wear glasses full time. I persevered up until the end of 1999. At that stage any significant period without my specs would lead to a migraine or headache. That was the final straw and for some reason decided that my 30th Birthday was as good a day as any to go full time. (A very unwelcome present)

The option of wearing contact lenses was not even a starter for me. I am very funny about eyes and even have difficulty putting in eye drops, let alone contacts. I think it may have something to do with when I was a child. At age 12 I scratched my cornea and ended up in the casualty department. (ER for you American folk) That didn’t help, and when I managed to get some dust in the back of my eye a year later, that entailed another Hospital visit and had to have my eye turned so that the offending particle could be removed.

Anyway, whilst watching golf on TV sometime early this year, I heard one of the commentators mention that Tiger Wood’s blistering form may have something to do with his recent laser eye surgery. That got me thinking and soon I was surfing the web trying to find out as much as I could about Laser eye surgery. Whilst I was aware that laser surgery was available, I had always thought that somebody like myself would not even be able to think about having the procedure done. The thought of anybody touching, let alone cutting my eyes was enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. After reading several web journals, I decided I was right and I’d be mad to even think about it.

Around March of this year I shelled out £150 for some special Snooker glasses. That was followed by £220 on a pair of Oakley prescription sunglasses so that I could use them for skiing and mountain biking. That started to make me think and wonder how much over the next few years I was going to spend on three pairs of glasses every time my prescription changed. Not only that, but also I was beginning to think how much I was hating the inconvenience of being hampered by having to wear specs all day. (Rain and steamed up lenses were especially annoying)

So, back on the web again and I continued reading web journals, trying to convince myself that the surgery didn’t sound that bad. That was where I had a stroke of luck and I stumbled on a posting on a bulletin board posted by Graham Wignall. Graham was also from the UK and his journal was the first one I had read by somebody other than an American.

Graham had had his surgery at Moorfields eye hospital in London. Anybody that is from the UK will probably know how highly Moorfields is rated. By his own account his surgery had gone very well and at that stage he was about 1-week post op. That was the first moment that I really had a sense that I may be able to go through with the surgery. From reading the US diaries, I had a fair idea of what was involved, but the thought of it differing some way in this country was really playing at the back of my mind. Graham’s journal however mentioned everything involved. Not only that, but I did not even realise that Moorfields performed Lasik surgery. That was another major factor. Things were getting better. Several reassuring emails from Graham later, I booked in for a consultation with Bruce Allan at Moorfields, the same person that had operated on him.

Consultation – 25th May 2000

The 25th May was a Thursday, and I travelled up to London on the train after work. (I live about 20 miles outside London) Graham had warned me not to drive, as the dilating drops for the eye test would impair my vision. I had a thorough eye examination and was pleased when I was told that my prescription had not changed over the past year.

Bruce Allan carried out some further checks and then I sat down to ask him the long list of questions that I had prepared over the past week. Being the shmuck that I am I left my long list of questions on my desk at work! Anyhow, I seemed to remember most of them so it wasn’t too much of a problem. Thanks also to Graham, most of my questions had already been answered through our email conversations and also his diary.

I was informed that I was a good candidate for surgery and I left the hospital feeling very positive. Because it went so well, I would have booked surgery at that time, but had some things going on at work that needed sorting first. (I was told I could have surgery from 6th June onwards. Only a week or two waiting list)

I called back two weeks later and tried to schedule surgery for Tuesday 12th June 2000. Unfortunately all the slots were taken so I asked to be put on standby. On Thursday 8th June, I was telephoned by the hospital and told that somebody could not have surgery due to an infection, so the slot was mine if I wanted it. I said yes immediately. So, this left me around five days to build myself up get used to the fact that it could be my last week for a while wearing specs.

My prescription pre-op was as follows;

 

Sphere

Cylinder

Axis

Right Eye

-2.25

-1.25

160.0

Left Eye

-2.00

-1.00

30.0

 

Moorfields charge £1325 per eye and £100 for the consultation. This may seem expensive bearing in mind that it can be done for half this amount at some places in the UK. (But definitely worth it for peace of mind) Some of the places in the UK that offer laser surgery, also do things like tattoo and hair removal! (Anybody going to one of these places must be crazy)

 

Surgery – 13th June 2000

After a sleepless night I arrived at Moorfields very early, so decided to kill some time by reading a newspaper in my car. At 9:15am I wandered across the street and into the hospital. I was due to be the third of three patients that Dr Allan was going to operate on that morning. (I was told to be there for 9:30am)

At 9:20am I was shown to the waiting room and unfortunately had to wait there until 10:40am before I managed to speak with somebody to find out why I was still waiting. At this point I was informed that they were sorry, but there was a problem with the software that takes the scan of the cornea prior to surgery. Dr Allan came in and confirmed what I had just been told and advised that I would have to re-schedule surgery for some time in the next few weeks. (Another Dr was due be using the Laser machine in the afternoon, so it was not even possible for me to wait)

I got back home at 12:00pm. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I was in between jobs so was unsure as to the best time for re-scheduling surgery. I got on the phone straight away and informed the admin people of what had happened. As it turned out, there was somebody else waiting there as well that morning that also never made surgery, so he was also trying to re-schedule. Anyway, they were fairly sympathetic and I decided to take up the offer of being the first person in for surgery the following Tuesday - 20th June. (Finding/starting a new job was going to have to wait for another week or so)

 

Surgery – 20th June 2000 (Part Duex)

Once again arrived at Moorfields early and read the paper before making my way to the Hospital for 8:30am. No repeat of the previous week, and I was taken in straight away so that the scan of the cornea could be completed. I was taken back to the waiting room and was given a sedative. (At my request)

Fifteen minutes later and I was taken in and sat in the chair. At this stage things seemed to be going pretty quickly. Perhaps the sedative had something to do with it, as I was certainly relaxed. Tape was applied to the right eye to hold back the eyelashes, and then the speculum was put in to hold the eye open. (Not as uncomfortable as I had imagined it was going to be)

The microkeratome was pushed down onto my eye, and strangely I could see straight through it. (I was told to focus on the red target light) At this point I was expecting everything to go black due to the pressure of the suction ring, but there was still a small gap, so I could still see what was going on. It had been mentioned to me that everything would seem dissociated, and this was certainly true. It was like looking down a tube, and at the end was where the flap was being worked on, and drops kept making everything go blurry. There was no pain, although you still have the feeling that something is going on around your eye - very strange. More drops were put in and I climbed out the chair.

Whilst Dr Allan checked my right eye, I looked behind his head and could actually read the clock on the wall! He covered the eye with a plastic shield and told me to wait in the waiting room for 15 minutes. During this time the nurse came in and gave me two bags of eyedrops. I was told to use them every hour for the first day and then four times a day for the following two weeks.

Back into the operating room for the second eye, and I was hoping it was going to go as smoothly as the first. However, this did not seem to be the case, and this eye (my left) seemed to take twice as long as the first. Initially, there was a problem getting the suction ring on. This took 2 or 3 attempts, (the pressure actually hurt) and I was not surprised to then see blood as Dr Allan worked on the eye. I had read somewhere that there’s a chance that the suction ring could burst a vessel, although actually seeing blood in my eye was a little unnerving. The next problem was that the flap had to be re-lifted due to there being debris underneath. Once this had been done, I was put back into the waiting room. I was told to hang around and come back in an hour so the eyes could be checked. I decided to go and get a coffee and I was pleased to notice that I was already reading posters on the wall as I made my way down to the restaurant.

Eyes were checked an hour later and then I was driven home. I didn’t bother putting on the crappy plastic protective shields as I was told that sunglasses would suffice. I was amazed to find that my distance vision was just as clear as it was with my glasses on. I spent the whole journey grinning to myself and reading number plates and street signs in the distance.

Had some lunch and then went to sleep for a few hours. Woke up with crystal clear vision. Eyes did not hurt, but they did ache. I put this down to the pressure from the suction ring. Left eye by this time was half covered in blood due to the burst blood vessel. (Looked worse than it was/is)

 

One day Post-op – 21st June 2000

Wake up at 8:00am. No gritty feeling and the ache in both eyes has gone. Look out the window, vision is still crystal clear; although close up seems a little fuzzy. (,i.e. looking at the PC) I put this down to maybe being slightly over-corrected with the aim being that it will gradually adjust to the correct level. That’s certainly going to be a question for Dr Allan when I go to Moorfield tomorrow for my check-up.

 

Day Two - 22nd June 2000

Again wake up with crystal clear vision and no aches or pains. In the afternoon I take the train to London for the check-up. Dr Allan checks me over and tells me that the flaps appear to be healing nicely. I look at the eye chart with each eye in turn and can read most of the bottom line. (Which means I am seeing 20/15) He tells me that my bloodshot eye will disappear over the next few weeks. Next appointment is in a months time when I will have a full refractory test.

Went for a drive in the evening to check out night vision. I notice slight starbursts on the streetlights in the distance. As soon as I get close to them they disappear, so this is certainly not a problem for me. If anything I am relieved as I have heard some bad stories about Lasik patients and starbursts/halos. Night vision in general is also very good and is no different than what it was with my glasses.

 

Day Three – 23rd June 2000

Nothing new to report. Just great vision.

 

Day Four – 24th June 2000

Over did things today. Loads of driving, loads of meetings. Because I was driving most of the day, I missed out on taking my drops, so by the time I arrived home at 9:00pm, my eyes ached, were sore, dry and I had a headache. Had something to eat, put in loads of drops and went straight off to bed.

 

Day Five – 25th June 2000

Woke up late on Saturday morning and felt much better. No headache and eyes were fine. Put in more drops and generally took it easy.

 

One-Year Update – 8th July 2001

I’ve been getting a lot of email lately asking me how I am now getting on now that I have had my one-year anniversary. I’m pleased to say my vision is still excellent and I have no problems at all over the past year. I never seem to suffer from dry or tired eyes, so I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. My vision is still excellent and seems just as sharp as when I first had surgery. I’m not too sure if I am still 20/15, but I know I’m still at least seeing 20/20.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or queries about Laser surgery and I’ll do my best to answer them.

 

Links

Moorfields Eye Hospital, Mr Bruce Allan: http://www.moorfields.org.uk/

Great site for all your questions, http://www.americaneye.com/cgi-bin/refractive.pl

Graham Wignall, Lasik Diary, http://www.dashdash.demon.co.uk/eyes.htm

 

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me; paul@tmco.co.uk