Is LASIK a good idea?

[daysinnnc]

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I am a premed student
i went to my od the otherday to get my eyes checked and i've noticed how come all the eye doctors don't get lasik but encourage us to get LASIK

IS LASIK safe at all???😕

 

[KHE]

I am a premed student
i went to my od the otherday to get my eyes checked and i've noticed how come all the eye doctors don't get lasik but encourage us to get LASIK

IS LASIK safe at all???😕

What?? Do you think we are all freaking IDIOTS??

Seriously...LASIK is as safe as any cosmetic procedure out there. Is it foolproof? No. Are there risk involved? Of course. You can go to the dentist, get your teeth cleaned, get an infection and die. That's rare, but just like that there is always a small risk of something going crazy with LASIK.

I've seen about 5000 LASIK patients. I can count the number of patients who had serious complications on one hand. I did however have many more patients who were less than satisfied. That is, they came out 20/30 instead of 20/20. Still a hell of a lot better than the 20/800 they were before the surgery, but they still had to wear a weak pair of glasses ocasionally while driving at night or something like that and since they paid $4000, they expected perfection and they didn't get it. No fault of theirs, no fault of the surgeon. Just variability in the procedure. You have more chance of that than you do of "going blind."

 

[fjpod]

By and large, LASIK can be very safe when applied to suitable patients. One problem is that some practitioners try to do it on everybody that walks in the door and asks for it...for obvious profit reasons. When I see a problematic post-LASIK patient, I can almost predict who the surgeon was.

Get at least two opinions. Try to go to a practitioner that you trust. Preferably someone who has been taking care of your eyes for a long time. Preferably someone who doesn't own and operate a laser center. Sad to say, but it's like everything else...caveat emptor.

 

[alferec]

I am a premed student
i went to my od the otherday to get my eyes checked and i've noticed how come all the eye doctors don't get lasik but encourage us to get LASIK

IS LASIK safe at all???😕

I am not trying to challenge anybody's knowledge on LASIK, but in general, be careful about taking medical advice on SDN (hence the disclaimer at the bottom of the forum). Your best bet is to get different opinions from both ophthalmologists and optometrists in person.

 

[DrSpontaneouz83]

I am a technician for a lasik company, and yes, we try to book as many appointments as possible; hence, that is how we meet our bonuses. At any rate, some patients see as well as 20/15 while others need "enhancements" (meaning they have to have the procedure done a 2nd time, usually resulting in the desired outcome of 20/20). However, there are different factors that may contribute to being a "perfect candidate" but you don't have to be a perfect candidate to have the procedure done.

 

[foreverLaur]

my father was -7.5 in both eyes with astigmatism and had LASIK and now has 20/20 vision - never has to wear glasses/contacts. My sister had the same surgery with -3 in both eyes and also had perfect results. They both informed me that the process was very quick, easy, and painless.

 

[aphistis]

You should ask your optometrist or ophthalmologist. SDN isn't for medical advice.