Laser Eye Surgery Decision and Dry Eye Situation!

Laser Eye Surgery Decision 

In October 2012, I officially became a permanent full time employee at my job.  This was a good sign for me as it meant a stable income to support such a big procedure and I would have paid days off for recovery. Which is great! Since the holidays were approaching, I made this a To-Do item for 2013!

After going through 3 consultations, I sat down and did a process of elimination and decided that I did not need to go to anymore consultations. Three seemed like a good number already and I think I have information to make my decision.

Third Consultation: TLC Laser Eye Centers

My Third Consultation: TLC Laser Eye Centers (Late March 2012) 

Like previous consultations, my eye measurements were taken and maps were printed.  A technician took me into a room to get all of that performed.  Then I was leaded into a room to speak to one of the surgeons. (I liked how I got to speak to surgeons).  I told him about my previous 2 consultations and he said the following:

• You are not a candidate for LASIK (one point that was the same across all three)
• You are a candidate for PRK (yes!) but its a one time deal and no retreatments can be done due to my limited corneal thickness (boo!)
• ICL would be too risky for you (WHOPEE!)

Second Consultation: Bochner Eye Institute

My Second Consultation: Bochner Eye Institute (March 16 2012) 

A week after my consultation with Herzig, I wanted a second opinion.  So, I made a visit to my optometrist while I got my vision checked.  My optometrist, Dr. Bonnie Wan is a super nice, helpful, informative and caring optometrist.  I told her I was thinking of getting laser eye surgery and what she thought.  She said good things about it and also the risks and after-effects of it.  She recommended 2 places to me that she has had good reviews back from other patients, Bochner and TLC.  With this tip, I went ahead to book my second and third consultation.

Types of Corrective Eye Surgeries

Before proceeding to my other consultations experiences, below is a quick explanation of the different kinds of corrective eye surgeries.

LASIK

(Description below taken from Wikipedia.)

LASIK, stands for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis, is the most common type of corrective eye surgeries, and also the most well known kind. It is commonly referred to as, laser eye surgery.  It is a type of refractive surgery to correct myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism.

Basically, LASIK is performed by creating a corneal flap using a Wavefront-guided laser (Intralase) and then laser treatment is performed under this flap to reshape the eye's cornea to improve visual acuity.  When the laser treatment is completed, the flap is repositioned. No bandage is needed as the flap will remain in position by natural adhesion until its completely healed.

PRK

(Description below taken from: http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/prk.htm)

First Consultation: Herzig Eye Institute

After landing a steady job in a well-established corporation, having completed my undergraduate degree, and making a decent salary, I decided its time to get this item off my bucket list. First off, going for a consultation.  I started googling online for well known laser eye clinics and vision care centres in Toronto.  The first five results returned were (in no chronological order): Herzig, Bochner, Lasik MD, TLC, Yonge and Eglinton.

Lasik MD immediately range a bell since I have heard so many commercials on the radio from them. Makes me wonder...is it really that cheap? I started to read up a lot of reviews on it, they were about 50/50 positive vs. negative feedbacks. So, I decided to put Lasik MD on my wait list.

Then, I went ahead to book some consultations... since they were all FREE anyways!

My First Consultation: Herzig Eye Institute (February 2012) 

PRK Journey Intro

My PRK Laser Eye Surgery Journey!!

Hi all!

So... I recently went in for my Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) laser eye surgery!!! 

Scary yet super exciting! 

My prescription as reference:

Right (OD): -6.25 with -1.75 astigmatism

Left (OS):  -6.00 with -2.75 astigmatism'

I personally made my decision based on very thorough research, reading numerous blogs,
and countless reviews! I find the blogs the most helpful and thus prompted me to share my
experience with everyone and hopefully, I can help many others whose planning to undergo this procedure.

I am beginning to write this journey in retrospect as today is the 4th day after I had the surgery,
So, please bare with me if there are grammatical errors and typos... my deepest apologies!!