Lasik Surgery

In 2007 I went to Hoopes and Aldridge in Sandy for a Lasik consultation. The doctor said my vision is too poor for the surgery. He said another option would be a procedure called ICL where they insert a permanent contact lens into your eyes. However, the surgery has a higher risk and the total cost would be around $6500. If the lens moves too far in either direction it can cause cataracts or glaucoma. In an FDA trial 2% of patients developed cataracts after the surgery.

He said I could wait two or three years until a new procedure is available to the public. It would put tiny lenses called inlays underneath your cornea and the surgery would be done similar to Lasik, but without any lasers. The inlays would be based on your prescription and they could be adjusted later if they needed to be. It is expected to be about half of the price of Lasik.

I felt uncomfortable and nervous while the nurse was doing the eye exam. At one point she was trying to put this thread into the corner of my eye to test how dry they are. Unfortunately I kept flinching and shutting my eyes and she wasn’t able to do it. Later I told the doctor and he said not to worry about it. Also I had to look into about four different machines and look directly at a light or object and I wasn’t supposed to blink for five seconds. I had to do each of them three or four times because I kept blinking. The nurse was really sweet to me and close to my age, but I just felt bad that my eyes are so sensitive.

I do feel some sadness about not being able to have the surgery, but I understand that my eyes are really poor and I will just have to wait for better equipment to be developed. Without my glasses I could not even see the big letter “E” on the eye chart. I can’t even read my alarm clock when I wake up in the morning. When I am washing my face or taking a bath it is difficult for me to tell whether all of the soap has been washed off.