Non lasik/prk corrective eye surgery options

[Balog]

I need to look into getting corrective eye surgery again. I have an extremely strong prescription and I am not a candidate for either lasik or prk for several reason. The only type of surgery I know of that I am eligible for is the one where they cut a tiny slit in the side of your eye and install what is essentially an internal contact lens Edit: I believe this is called an "intraocular lens." ICL is one brand name but there are others. I was slated to get this done while in the Marines but it ended up getting canceled due to a lot of general .mil stupidity outside of my control. At the time it was around $8-10k per eye, which is clear out of my budget range.

I know we have some medical folks as well as optometrist office employed people on here, so I was wondering what the newest advances in the field are? Anyone know of a reputable surgeon in the Seattle-ish area?

I honestly don't know, how do you research the quality of a prospective surgeon? Seems like anonymous internet reviews ala Amazon or Yelp would be a tad too unreliable for something as serious as a guy cutting on your eyes.

Also, when I did a search to see what APS has had to say about this topic in the past I came across this hilarious yet unrelated thread. I can't wait for the 2016 mobys... http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=13079.0

[Fly320s]

Look up board certified eye surgeons in your area.

[Balog]

Look up board certified eye surgeons in your area.

Which board? A quick google seems to show several...

https://www.google.com/search?q=board+certified+eye+surgeon&oq=board+certified+eye+surgeon&aqs=chrome..69i57.849946j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

[vaskidmark]

Do you have a medical school in the area?  Those student eye surgeons have to learn somewhere.  And the price is usually reduced in proportion to the waivers you sign.

stay safe.

[BobR]

Expand your horizons, head south, south of San Diego. Honestly, I have heard some good things about getting LASIK in Mexico, including affordable (?) and well trained docs.

http://www.medicaltourismco.com/medical-tourism/cost-of-lasik-surgery-in-tijuana-mexico/


bob

[Terpsichore]

Have you looked into IntraLasik?

[Monkeyleg]

If all else fails...

[Balog]

Expand your horizons, head south, south of San Diego. Honestly, I have heard some good things about getting LASIK in Mexico, including affordable (?) and well trained docs.

http://www.medicaltourismco.com/medical-tourism/cost-of-lasik-surgery-in-tijuana-mexico/


bob

I can't get lasik, and "dude who is cutting on my eyes" is one of the few times I'm happy to pay for the very best.

[Balog]

Have you looked into IntraLasik?

Isn't that essentially just lasik with a slightly different machine? Every eye person I have ever spoken to says emphatically that I am not a candidate for any form of lasik.

[Terpsichore]

Isn't that essentially just lasik with a slightly different machine? Every eye person I have ever spoken to says emphatically that I am not a candidate for any form of lasik.

Essentially yes, however, the technique has been refined using a different kind of laser.  It's supposed to open up the option of Lasik for patients who may not have been a candidate before.   It was explained to us as creating a "corneal flap with a femtosecond laser microkeratome rather than with a mechanical microkeratome, which uses a steel blade."  I'm rather curious about this myself and have been trying to see if the surgeons around here are already doing it in their offices.  If it is supposed to open up the option for more patients, that may be something to at least look into.

[HankB]

There are intra ocular lenses that are accommodating - providing good vision at different distances. Found some information here: http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/accommodating-iols.htm

They seem mostly aimed at cataract patients.

As for choosing a good eye doctor - look for one that does a LOT of surgeries. Someone who does quite a few every week will likely be better than someone who does just a couple a month. (But I have doubts about the "mills" where they essentially run an assembly line.)

[AJ Dual]

My father got the cataract replacement lenses at the first sign he needed them, he's tickled pink with his vision. I think they leverage the custom wavefront LASIK type technology to make them.

[MillCreek]

Balog, if I was a candidate for this locally, I would be making an appointment with Dr. Audrey Talley-Rostov at NW Eye Surgeons next to Northwest Hospital in north Seattle.  She is very well-regarded in the local opthalmology community for her work with intraocular lenses, and has participated in several research trials regarding the same.  She performs a lot of surgery on local opthalmologists and their families, which is always a good sign.

[Balog]

Essentially yes, however, the technique has been refined using a different kind of laser.  It's supposed to open up the option of Lasik for patients who may not have been a candidate before.   It was explained to us as creating a "corneal flap with a femtosecond laser microkeratome rather than with a mechanical microkeratome, which uses a steel blade."  I'm rather curious about this myself and have been trying to see if the surgeons around here are already doing it in their offices.  If it is supposed to open up the option for more patients, that may be something to at least look into.

Unless it was developed in the last... 3? 4? years, then I've already been rejected for it.  And if it's that new I don't know that I trust it. 

Balog, if I was a candidate for this locally, I would be making an appointment with Dr. Audrey Talley-Rostov at NW Eye Surgeons next to Northwest Hospital in north Seattle.  She is very well-regarded in the local opthalmology community for her work with intraocular lenses, and has participated in several research trials regarding the same.  She performs a lot of surgery on local opthalmologists and their families, which is always a good sign.

I was really hoping you would stop by, thank you!

[AJ Dual]

Yeah, the Intralase Excimer femtosecond laser cuts a bladeless flap by vaporizing a very fine layer of the cornea and it can do it like a 3D machine tool by adjusting the focus for depth, and the unfocused part of the laser beam passes right through the rest of the corneal tissue leaving it completely unharmed. It also cuts a smaller flap, instead of a thin dome-shaped segment like cutting the side off of a melon, it cuts out a plug more like the top of a pumpkin or a manhole cover with vertical sides so the flap fits tightly back into place, and less tissue is cut overall.

This has opened up LASIK for some people who's corneas were too thin or not deep enough for the original blade-cut flap, but there's still lots of people who have eye conditions that make them unsuitable candidates no matter what.

[sanglant]

Seen a lot of truckdrivers saying they couldn't drive afterdark, with the muiltfocus lenses.

[AJ Dual]

Seen a lot of truckdrivers saying they couldn't drive afterdark, with the muiltfocus lenses.

At least in that department I've got nothing to lose. I get bad halos/flares around all headlights, street lights, and traffic lights at night with my Rx glasses anyway.

The one thing that helps is to have a light source shining on my eyes, like a lighted sun visor mirror, or a bright GPS screen, which causes my pupils to shrink, and it cuts down on the rays going through my astigmatism.

[Terpsichore]

Seen a lot of truckdrivers saying they couldn't drive afterdark, with the muiltfocus lenses.

They couldn't see in general through the lenses?  Or just through a specific part?

[Boomhauer]

[quote[Also, when I did a search to see what APS has had to say about this topic in the past I came across this hilarious yet unrelated thread. I can't wait for the 2016 mobys... http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=13079.0
[/quote]

I remember that whackjob! He was also on THR with his crazy *expletive deleted*it at the same time, I think.