Corneal ectasia is one of the most feared and dreaded complications of LASIK. The rate of ectasia after LASIK is uknown due to failure of LASIK surgeons to report complications and lack of long-term followup. There are likely several thousand patients suffering from post-LASIK ectasia in the United States. The medical literature contains reports of late onset ectasia occuring several years after LASIK. Reported risk factors for ectasia after LASIK include abnormal corneal topography, insufficient stromal bed thickness, high myopia, and age younger than 25 years. Operating on patients with pre-op thin corneas should be avoided. Reported treatments for the management of post-LASIK ectasia include hard contact lenses, intraocular pressure-lowering drugs, INTACS, and corneal collagen crosslinking. A corneal transplant may be required. Patients who suffer from post-LASIK ectasia should report it to the FDA by filing a MedWatch report (www.accessdata.fda.gov LASIK surgeons deliberately hide this serious complication by diagnosing it as “keratoconus”, a naturally occuring disease of the cornea.
Archive for August, 2010
Ectasia after LASIK, post-LASIK keratectasia
Friday, August 27th, 2010Univision Lasik
Monday, August 23rd, 2010Univision story on the Dangers of Lasik. Scott Tolchin is featured in the segment. – cerca 2002
LASIK Surgery on a Nystagmus Patient
Thursday, August 19th, 2010On Thursday, Dec 10, I put my sight on the line and underwent LASIK eye surgery at Will Vision and Laser Centers in Vancouver, Washington. Dr. Brian R. Will has extensive experience in the field, and felt confident we could achieve success despite the fact that I am a nystagmus patient (my eyes shake back and forth rapidly, and uncontrollably). The latest Visx Star S4 IR with CustomVue and Active Eye Tracking has some amazing capabilities. It is now possible to treat Nystagmus patients. I searched far and wide before I found a Doctor I felt comfortable with. Prior to surgery, my glasses could correct my vision to a point somewhere between 20/40 and 20/50. Just outside the DMV requirements for getting a Driver’s License. At the one-day postoperative exam, I tested at 20/30 in one eye, and 20/40 in the other. I’m now 11 days post-LASIK and I couldn’t be happier. My visual acuity has gradually improved, to the point I think both eyes are around the 20/30 range. For me, a nystagmus patient with optic nerve hypoplasia, this is the best I’ve ever seen in my LIFE! Even better than with RGP contact lenses (which I could not tolerate). my ONLY visual side-effect has been a haze or halo around bright light sources at night, but that is already starting to decrease. No pain or discomfort whatsoever, no starbursts, no double-vision, etc. Recovery has been a dream. I use my rewetting drops religiously, Refresh Plus during the day, and Refresh Celluvisc gel drops at night. I’ve also …
FDA Lasik Hearing: Rebecca Petris
Sunday, August 15th, 2010Rebecca Petris presents at the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel hearing held in Gaithersburg, Maryland on April 25th, 2008. The hearing focused on LASIK quality of life, depression, and suicide.
Eye Health & Optometry : Is Lasik Safe?
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Lasik vision correction surgery is relatively safe, but it does have a few risks much like any other form of surgery. Understand how Lasik is performed to get a better idea of its risks with information from a practicing optometrist in this free video on eye health. Expert: James W. Kirkconnell Contact: www.bec2020.com Bio: Dr. James W. Kirkconnell graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1984. Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge
Custom Lasik Intralase
Saturday, August 7th, 2010This was my custom lasik intralase surgery preformed by Dr. Daivd Schanzlin of TLC Laser Eye Center in La Jolla, California. I was at a -2.75 and -3.0 with 1.0 astigmatism . By the next day I was already seeing 20/20. There was no pain what so ever during the surgery. There was some pain and dryness later that night after the surgery but nothing out of the norm. I am experiencing slightly dry eyes but it has only been 4 days since my surgery. Im so pleased with the outcome. *The voice you hear is not the doctors but my brother’s.
LASIK Starbursts – Warning!
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010Starbursts after LASIK. Patients with large pupils may suffer severe visual disturbances at night after LASIK. If you experience debilitating night vision impairment after LASIK your surgeon may still consider your surgery a success. Don’t fall for the LASIK hype. Read lasikcomplications.com.