Need Advice Regarding PRK After Lasik

[christy]

I had Lasik surgery on both eyes 7 years ago, but my eyes have now regressed to around 20/50. I had a consultation last week, and the doctor recommended that I have PRK on my dominant eye only. I assume that he prefers PRK because, according to him, my lasik flaps have healed to the point that they are virtually undetectable. And he wants to correct only my dominant eye since I am 40 years old and am likely to become farsighted if both eyes are corrected.

I have several concerns about doing this. First, PRK has a longer recovery period and I am a computer programmer so it is important that I be able to go back to work after a few days. Second, I'm not sure what it will be like to have only one eye corrected; it seems strange that I will use one eye for distance vision and the other for reading, etc. Finally, what is the likelihood that my vision would regress again, requiring yet another procedure?

[LasikExpert]

(My doctor) wants to correct only my dominant eye since I am 40 years old and am likely to become farsighted if both eyes are corrected.

You may have a confusion in terms. You will become presbyopic, which means the ability to see near objects is more and more restricted, requiring reading glasses or bifocals. By correcting only the dominant eye your doctor would be creating monovision. I normally highly recommend that a patient try monovision with contact lenses before making a decision, but that does not seem necessary in your case. PRK has a much longer healing period than Lasik and you would probably want to do one eye at a time so you have one fully functional eye while the PRKed eye heals. By doing the dominant eye first, you will have a monovision effect. I do recommend that you plan for several weeks, probably 2-4 months, before deciding if you want to have the nondominant eye fully corrected too. You need to let your PRK eye heal, and then let your brain adapt to monovision before you make final decision.

First, PRK has a longer recovery period and I am a computer programmer ...

Now I'm going to contradict myself. It may be that due to your extensive computer work you would prefer being a bit myopic (nearsighted, shortsighted) in both eyes as this gives you better mid-near distance vision (computer screen distance). You may not want monovision or any surgery at all. After talking with your doctor and considering your needs carefully, you may want to try contacts for full distance correction and see how it affects your work, and then try monovision to see if the effect is desired.

...so it is important that I be able to go back to work after a few days.

Having one eye done at a time should allow you to return to work, however there will be some issues.

For 2-3 days after PRK you will have "functional fuzzy" vision. You can see things, but detail is poor. For 1-2 weeks after that your vision will steadily improve, but it won't be until about a 4-6 weeks after PRK that you will start having the really crisp vision you seek.

While your visoin is compromised due to healing, you will have reduced depth perception because one eye will see a relatively clear image and the other eye will not. This can make text seem to "float" in front of you. Pretty bizarre at times, but certainly workable for most.

Another issue is dry eye and PRK healing. Computer users are notorious for not blinking enough. If your eyes get a bit dehydrated because of poor blinking habits, then your healing can be delayed significantly. Talk to your doctor about wearing an eye patch (Aaargh, ye be a bit of a pirate at yar workplace!) or set up a very rigid regimine of closing your eyes for 30 seconds every 15 minutes or whatever your doctor recommends.

I'm not sure what it will be like to have only one eye corrected; it seems strange that I will use one eye for distance vision and the other for reading, etc.

About one-third of people who try monovision in contacts or laser don't like it. That does not consider those who won't try it because they don't like even the concept. This is why the contact lens trial is normally recommended. You can get a very good real-world example of life with monovision without having it lasered onto your eyes.

Finally, what is the likelihood that my vision would regress again, requiring yet another procedure?

Your eyes will continue to change after initial Lasik or enhancement surgery at the same rate they would have changed without the laser eye surgery.

[fromblindtoneweyes]

Have you had surgery yet?I would like to hear what you finally decided?

[marryanne]

Note Before Proceeding - The following is not medical advice.
Will the LASIK procedure eliminate my need for them?"
without complications, you should be able to wear them again after surgery.

[BilboBaggins]

I would go with LASIK surgery. It really all depends on your condition though. The reason people get PRK is usually because they don't qualify (physically) for the LASIK procedure. If you qualify for LASIK I would 100% go that route. My brother got LASIK in Orange County from a place called [edit]. He had a good experience there and i'm sure there are other great places. Anyone know what the best place to get LASIK is?

Note: Link to commercial website redacted.