Laser Eye Surgery

[Roy G Biv]

I'm considering getting LASIK surgery to correct myopia.

If anybody can provide direct/indirect anecdotal insight on any of the clinics in the GTA, me lubb u long time.

Thanks

 

[Zeeman28a]

I had mine done at the laser centre at Yonge and Eglinton 3 1/2 years ago. No problems at all.

 

[adma]

Stein/Cheskes at Bedford + Prince Arthur?

 

[unimaginative2]

I've heard that, generally speaking, Herzig Eye Institute is the best place to go. My mother had great results some years ago from LasikVision.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Thanks guys.

Anyone ever consider it?

 

[Hipster Duck]

Ask them what kind of flap cutting technology they use. I would go for the places that have an IntraLase laser.

 

[badga]

I had mine done about 15 years ago at Herzig Eye Institute, no complaints whatsoever (well a slight blooming from streetlights/headlights at night but frankly not as bad as i was getting at the time with contacts drying out by the end of the day.

I'd like to think that they have improved the technology since. That being said skimping on your eyes is just not a good idea. I went to Herzig at the time as they were the best in the business.

 

[unimaginative2]

You should go to an optometrist before you go to the surgery centre to make sure you're a good candidate. An independent optometrist will be more careful than someone who's trying to sell you the surgery.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Just the thought of it makes me weak. I hate anything near my eyes. The optometrist practically has to pump me full of horse tranquilizers to get me calm enough to put eyedrops in when I have the annual eye exam and glaucoma test.

 

[SP!RE]

I'm considering getting LASIK surgery to correct myopia.

If anybody can provide direct/indirect anecdotal insight on any of the clinics in the GTA, me lubb u long time.

Thanks

HERZIG clinic.... world-renowned, lifetime guarantee/corrections, and an amazing record.

Do it!!! They're in the Collonnade on Bloor. I just had mine done recently. They'll take great care of you

 

[Urban Newbie]

I'm considering getting LASIK surgery to correct myopia.

If anybody can provide direct/indirect anecdotal insight on any of the clinics in the GTA, me lubb u long time.

Thanks

Bochner on Prince Arthur Avenue is in the top two, along with Herzig (sp?). They're the only two my optometrist recommended I go to.

I'm getting my eyes zapped next month and I can't wait to wake up and see the world clearly (literally AND figuratively )

 

[gei]

Had my surgery yesterday at LasikMD in Mississauga with Dr. Silvera. LASIK with their Wavefront/Zyoptix laser.

My pupils were a tiny bit larger than average at 7.3-7.4mm and my corneas were a tiny bit thinner than average at ~525 microns... but nothing really out of the ordinary.

My prescription however was quite strong at -6.5 in one eye and -6.75 in the other.

Surgery day was relatively uneventful... LasikMD was pretty good with answering questions and being friendly. The lady offered me Ativan which is a muscle relaxant to "take the edge off"... I read they offered similar drugs at other places before the surgery and I wasn't planning on taking anything... but she said most people take it and it doesn't affect the surgery or have any side effects... so I just went ahead and took it. To be honest I didn't really notice it doing anything at all... maybe it made me a bit drowsy.. but that's it.

Anyway the surgery itself was painless. They numb your eyes with drops so you don't feel anything. Didn't really feel much if any discomfort during the surgery.

After the surgery I felt fine too.. vision was a bit blurry but that's of course expected. They had me wait in another room. As the numbing drops wore off my eyes felt like they were 'burning' a bit... like when you sniff an onion but a bit more intense. Nothing unbearable though... I just had to keep my eyes closed. I think I actually felt this a bit more than most people since with my high prescription, they had to remove a lot more corneal tissue than they would for someone with a weaker prescription. I wasn't really able to keep my eyes open, and I'm surprised to read some people feel able to drive themselves home after surgery... I certainly wouldn't have been able to.

Anyway I went home and went straight to bed.... woke up a couple hours later and any pain/discomfort was completely gone. Eyes felt perfect... vision was good too. I'm told it will improve for the next couple of days... but I can pretty much see everything perfectly now.

I do notice (just barely) some halos around specific lights at night.. but to be honest they are almost unnoticeable, and I wouldn't have even realized unless I had read so much about halo-issues and was specifically looking for them. Anyway I'm only 1 day post-surgery so I expect these will fully go away within a couple of days.

Went for my 1-day post op this morning and everything looks good.

Overall, like everyone else says, best money I ever spent.

 

[MetroMan]

I'm not yet sure if I'll be a good candidate for this: I just did my first vision test in almost 10 years so I have to wait another 2 to make sure there is no progression in loss of vision.

However, I'm becoming a pilot and I want to avoid wearing seeing glasses when I fly so I'm considering surgery. However, like Urban Shocker, I can't tolerate anything near my eyes. No matter how hard I try, I can't keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds when having an eye exam (hence letting 10 years go by without having one). I'd rather go to the dentist and pull out a tooth!

How do they deal with that in this type of surgery? I guess they'll keep my eyes open and head in place with some sort of devices but short of bolting your skull to a table or locking it into a vice, how they maintain the micron precision necessary? Won't I feel the same extreme discomfort with light shining in my eye for the duration of the procedure and move involuntarily? Can somebody please explain how they keep you still and what the origin and level of the discomfort is?

 

[gei]

I've been wearing contacts for several years now and they don't bother me whatsoever... so as you might expect, neither did the surgery.

Before I begin... bear in mind that the actual surgery itself is literally only a few seconds per eye. You're in and out of that room before you know it. There's absolutely nothing to be apprehensive about.

They lie you down on the operating bed, and then put in some drops that numb your eye. After that you don't actually know or feel when anything touches your eye... so I doubt it would bother you either. After that they very quickly tape your eyelids open and put in a round metal vice-type device that also prevents you from blinking. I know it sounds a bit painful, but believe me it isn't whatsover. Next they apply a suction ring to create the flap.. since it's suctioned on, you can't possibly screw it up by moving or anything (you wouldn't be able to blink or move your eye if you tried). Then after the flap is created they fire up the laser.... all you have to do is look at it. The laser is so precise it can etch a design into a human hair.. and it can easily compensate for any movement... even if you were to sneeze and move dramatically the laser would know and just turn off.

I know I'm going into great detail here... but all those above steps happen in about 1 minute or less... it's over before you even realize. I felt no pain at all during the whole process. The only part you even remotely "feel" is the suction ring going on to create that flap... but it's only on for 5-10 seconds or so. Bear in mind if you are terribly frightened about this part (even there's no reason to be)... many clinics offer to create the flap with a laser (intralase it's called) instead of the microkeratome (which is just micro-ablation). There's usually an extra charge for this... at lasikMD in mississauga i believe it was an extra $200 per eye or so. It doesn't actually affect the outcome of the surgery at all.

Anyway once again... no you won't feel 'extreme' discomfort. I personally felt none. Bear in mind they also give you a mild sedative before the surgery to take the edge off.. so that makes it even more tolerable. I was given Ativan.. but I hear some places give Valium.

Let me know if you have any questions...

 

[MetroMan]

Thanks for going into detail about the process. It makes it sound a lot easier than I thought. When you have to look at the laser, are there any other bright lights pointed at your eye? That's where I usually feel discomfort.