LASIK Facts

If you spend any time on forums or chat rooms while online that deal with the topic of LASIK surgery, you probably wonder why anyone would work up the courage to set up a LASIK procedure, and why in the world they would even want one. Many people make the LASIK eye surgery clinics sound like they are some type of Dr. Frankenstein’s lab, and they make the procedure itself sounds kind of surrealistic.  It seems like the only people that would get Lasik are those with such bad vision that they cannot get out of bed without their glasses on.

If you are willing to listen I’m now going to give you my story of how I came about choosing LASIK.  First of all, my vision is not good, but not terrible either.  I can go down to the mall and catch a movie and see the film just fine without my glasses, but whenever I’m driving around in order to see the street signs correctly I do have to wear my glasses. So the fact is I really didn’t need LASIK surgery, I just figured that it would help to make my life a little simpler. I love the outdoors, and very frequently I like to take the mountain bike rides as well as spending some time backpacking and climbing hills. I’ve never been able to make a pair of glasses last very long, and I am frequently and a lot of dirty areas, so contact lenses never work very well either.  LASIK eye surgery look very appealing to me for these reasons.

The paragraph above might make you think I am a “manly guy” (hope so, think so!), so why on earth would I be afraid of a little Lasik scalpel? Technically, LASIK doesn’t even really use a scalpel but instead it uses a thing called a microkeratome blade which is still an incredibly sharp object that is quite close to my eye as part of the procedure.  Nowadays Lasik physicians can get a laser to cut the flap in the eye, which is more than a little better than a sharp blade.  But anyway, I had too many spills in my life to think any sharp object nearing my eye was a good idea, even under the skilled hands of a Lasik physician.

After talking with three (yes, three!) independent Lasik physicians, they each assured me that a 28 year old guy in nearly perfect health (OK, I exaggerate a bit) with moderate nearsightedness was one of the very best candidates for a successful Lasik procedure.  I decided to schedule my Lasik procedure with the one that had the best track record, and coincidentally took the most time to explain everything about Lasik to me.

The Lasik surgery was not painful, though I accepted nearly everything they offered to give me comfort, including a sedative and a teddy bear.  The only thing that was really strange about procedure that I didn’t really care for it was the smell of burning hair. I’m pretty sure that it was my eye.  It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t know about that smell before I went into the procedure, because if I had I might not have gone in.

After a few years, I guess I was a nearly perfect Lasik client, as my eyes now have 20/20 vision and have remained stable long after the Lasik operation. It is my opinion that if you are a qualified candidate for the procedure, don’t hesitate, grab that teddy bear and make your appointment.

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