3 ms·

LASIK seems to work well for many people. My sister had it years ago, and I have several friends who've had it too. None of them, to my knowledge, have any regr

LASIK seems to work well for many people. My sister had it years ago, and I have several friends who've had it too. None of them, to my knowledge, have any regrets whatsoever.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
For the people it works for, LASIK is great. For those who experience complications (the corneal flap needed for LASIK never heals entirely, therefore it can become displaced, causing much discomfort and possible permanent damage under the right circumstances), it can be long road of chronic issues because they wanted to save some recovery time over PRK. My recommendation (having had PRK done a decade ago) is to prefer PRK over LASIK, and take the recovery time needed. You're going to have your eyes for a lifetime. Take shortcuts elsewhere.
- AndrewBissell 7y ago
  Surgeons should be required to offer PRK over LASIK and explain the many advantages in terms of less risk of complications and lower cost. I had to get PRK because I have thin corneas, but I'm not sure it would have even been raised as an option for me had that not been the case.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    100 percent. My biggest beef with LASIK was it was rapidly commercialized and commodified by surgeons who were maximizing for volume, not patient outcomes. I won't disagree it's helped improve quality of life for a lot of people, but at the cost of folks who saw a significant decrease in quality of life because they weren't steered towards better options (surgical or otherwise). Misaligned incentives.
forgot-my-pw 7y ago
It comes with a lot of risks and side effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks
- filoleg 7y ago
  It does, but, for most people i know (including myself), they consider them totally worth it. I got halos after the surgery (went away within a few months, thankfully) and somewhat dry eyes (still got it after 2 years), but having dry eyes and needing to use eye drops a few times a day instead of dealing with glasses/contacts is definitely a trade off i am very happy with. And the doctor told me about the possibility of that before i decided to go for LASIK, so I wasn’t even that surprised at all.
  - lern_too_spel 7y ago
    If you knew that there were alternatives two years ago (like SMILE and ortho-k) that you are no longer a candidate for due to LASIK and that possibly additional therapies in the future are ruled out, how would that impact your satisfaction? I see a lot of comments comparing LASIK vs. glasses for eternity and not so many including other alternatives.
    - filoleg 7y ago
      I was totally aware of both back then, and I knew I won't be a candidate for newer stuff afterwards, and I am absolutely fine with it. The way I see it, my vision was really bad before LASIK. It got perfect with LASIK. Yes, it might degrade a bit with time, but definitely not even close to the level it was before. So either way, I am ending up in a better spot that I started from. Also, additional therapies aren't completely ruled out. The clinic I got it at provides lifetime corrections for free, if I end up needing it in the future.

LASIK seems to work well for many people. My sister had it years ago, and I have several friends who've had it too. None of them, to my knowledge, have any regrets whatsoever.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

For the people it works for, LASIK is great. For those who experience complications (the corneal flap needed for LASIK never heals entirely, therefore it can become displaced, causing much discomfort and possible permanent damage under the right circumstances), it can be long road of chronic issues because they wanted to save some recovery time over PRK. My recommendation (having had PRK done a decade ago) is to prefer PRK over LASIK, and take the recovery time needed. You're going to have your eyes for a lifetime. Take shortcuts elsewhere.

AndrewBissell 7y ago
Surgeons should be required to offer PRK over LASIK and explain the many advantages in terms of less risk of complications and lower cost. I had to get PRK because I have thin corneas, but I'm not sure it would have even been raised as an option for me had that not been the case.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  100 percent. My biggest beef with LASIK was it was rapidly commercialized and commodified by surgeons who were maximizing for volume, not patient outcomes. I won't disagree it's helped improve quality of life for a lot of people, but at the cost of folks who saw a significant decrease in quality of life because they weren't steered towards better options (surgical or otherwise). Misaligned incentives.

forgot-my-pw 7y ago

It comes with a lot of risks and side effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks

filoleg 7y ago
It does, but, for most people i know (including myself), they consider them totally worth it. I got halos after the surgery (went away within a few months, thankfully) and somewhat dry eyes (still got it after 2 years), but having dry eyes and needing to use eye drops a few times a day instead of dealing with glasses/contacts is definitely a trade off i am very happy with. And the doctor told me about the possibility of that before i decided to go for LASIK, so I wasn’t even that surprised at all.
- lern_too_spel 7y ago
  If you knew that there were alternatives two years ago (like SMILE and ortho-k) that you are no longer a candidate for due to LASIK and that possibly additional therapies in the future are ruled out, how would that impact your satisfaction? I see a lot of comments comparing LASIK vs. glasses for eternity and not so many including other alternatives.
  - filoleg 7y ago
    I was totally aware of both back then, and I knew I won't be a candidate for newer stuff afterwards, and I am absolutely fine with it. The way I see it, my vision was really bad before LASIK. It got perfect with LASIK. Yes, it might degrade a bit with time, but definitely not even close to the level it was before. So either way, I am ending up in a better spot that I started from. Also, additional therapies aren't completely ruled out. The clinic I got it at provides lifetime corrections for free, if I end up needing it in the future.