Ghosting and Overcorrection

[martintin]

Hello, I am new to this forum.

I am 23, I had lasik on June 18th 2010. My old correction was -3.25 (+0.75 astigmatism) and - 3.5 (+1.5 astigmatism), (that is what my doctor said). Now I have been overcorrected into hyperopia +1 (-0,25 at 65º) (Left Eye) and +1.25 (-0.50 at 130º) (Right Eye) (with my pupils dilated with skyacol).

My doctor said that the measures before the operation were wrong because my eyes had some sort of spasms that accommodated the eye to "fake" and more powerful corrections. He never dilated my pupils before the surgery. He just did 3 vision test in 3 different days.

Moreover, I have microstriae (in both eyes). They cause ghosting and my vision not to be completely clear. I also have focusing problems at all distances (it is worse with the right Eye)
The surgeon that operated me said that he could do a touch up later, after three months or more and that he could somehow get rid of the striae. I went to another doctor in Barcelona and he told me to wait, and that the microstriae would resolve with time. He said that the overcorrection was not significant and that my eyes would "support" it till my forties. He said it's just a matter of time, may be a year and that there is nothing that you can do now, that can't be done in a year (meaning that the results of a touch up in three months or in a year, would be the same).

I am worried because I've also read that if you don't remove the microstriae, with time they get imprinted in the corneal structure, making it almost impossible to remove. I have read also that there are other techniques to remove the microstriae without lifting the flap (massages, ironing), but none of these options have never been offered to me.

What do you think?
Has someone had microstriae and important ghosting, and it resolved with time with no persistent ghosting at all?

I am at a point that if I have to wear glasses for my overcorrection, I don't mind... but the ghosting is just too annoying, and under some lighting conditions, it is very bad. And i do not want to relift my lasik flaps, if I can avoid it. I now I should wait, but as I said before, I wonder if there is nothing else I can do "now" that I will not be able to do later (the flap ironing, for example...).

Thanks for your help,

Martin

Here are a simulation that I did to show what I see...
Normal Vision:

Right Eye:

Left Eye:

Both eyes:


With people, if I am close (1.5 meters distance) it goes something like this...


If They are far, the thing is even worse. I see a blurred ghosting of almost the entire person's face/body... It varies with the light intensity, color and direction...

[Walt]

I'm surprised this message was never responded to. I know nothing about microstriae but did have my eyes overcorrected to +1.25/+1.5, which combined with being 50 caused very bad sight at all distances. I had an corrective eye surgery a second time and things worked out fine for me.

How are you doing now?

[martintin]

Hi,
I am doing bad actually. It is not because of the striae... after seeing more and more doctors my problems seems to be caused by:

1) Large pupils-> 8.7 mm / And when dilated with Skyacol -> 9.4mm
2) Aberrations induced in my cornea
3) Low amount of cornea left ( I had 497 / 496 microns and now I have 397/398 with a flap of 110 microns). This causes my cornea to bend, and the image that I receive is even more warped, so I have to close my eyes several times in order to get the "usual post op vision (the one from the images)".

The Surgeon never told me that I had huge pupils. I asked him the reason why he didn' told me that I had a rather thin cornea and huge pupils and his answer was: "I don't usually give all that information because it is not relevant. Huge pupils are not a contraindication for Lasik, and given the shape of your cornea, your rather thin cornea is not a problem. There is absolutely no risk of Keratoconus at all".

I am taking legal matters, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[LasikExpert]

You may want to read our article about Lasik and large pupils.

Keratoconusis a disease of the cornea (clear front of the eye) that causes the cornea to become week. The internal pressure inside the eye pushes the weak cornea forward. Keratoconus commonly first presents as astigmatism because the weakness often first affects in the lower portion of the cornea. Progressive astigmatism in the lower quadrant of the cornea is a primary sign of keratoconus.

Ectasia is when the cornea becomes weakened due to removal of corneal tissue, such as Lasik, PRK, LASEK, and Epi-Lasik. The weakened cornea bulges forward because of the internal pressure of the eye. Ectasia commonly presents as progressive myopia (nearsighted, shortsighted) vision. Although astigmatism may present with ectasia, a primary difference in symptoms of keratoconus and ectasia is that keratoconus commonly first presents as progressive astigmatism in the lower quadrant of the cornea and ectasia presents as progressive myopia.

Your next stop should be to a corneal specialist to verify your cornea is stable.

[martintin]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply, I've been to several corneal specialist, and they told me that it's too early. I do not have ectasia (yet), and I hope I won't get it. But you see, the fact that the surgeon says that "there is no risk of keratoconus/ectasia at all" Just means that he is lying or he is not well informed ( I don't know what is best ). Ectasia can still occur even if more than 250 microns or even 300 microns of cornea are left intact.

One of the symptoms that I have is, as I explained, that when I close slightly the eyelids (like if I was forcing the sight like before, when I was myopic) the image is warped, a little bit like an vertical accordion. If I blink 2 or three times, it returns to just the plain ghosted Image. I described this to another eye doctor and he told me that this is know as "Oeil Mou" witch translates in English as "Soft Eye" ( I was unable to find the counterpart medical term in English, if you know it I'll be glad to know the name). He says that my cornea is weaker and less rigid than before so it blends itself when pushed with the eyelids.

I went to a so called Expert and he told me that I must wait 1 year before seeking any legal action as right now I am not in a "consolidated" state. (I live in France, by the way... but I could not find any similar forum like this one, so that is why I registered here, as it is the only place where I could seek online advice).
I know the law must be different in the USA but I do think I have reasons to seek legal actions against this surgeon. He didn't told me everything before the surgery, and he omitted what is, in my humble opinion, crucial information. It is true that I signed "the paper" with all the possible side effects of the operation, but in this paper there is no mention of pupil size(or pupil by that matter) or corneal thickness. And of course there is no mention of my particular case.

Any further advice is welcome and thank you for the links, I had already read those (I think I've read almost everything on this subjects for the past three months... ).


Thanks!

[LasikExpert]

The only way to know your legal rights, and to protect them, is to speak with an attorney in the community of your doctor.

[martintin]

As an update to this Post, that I created long time ago... I must say that I still have problems with my vision. The Doctor that operated on me lied to me and so did the Center where I was operated. I created a website telling my story.
http://www.lasikdaredevil.com/. It's a shame what people do for money... I do not say Lasik is bad, but if you have more risk than the average person or than what is considered "ideal" you should be advised and they should not lie to you...