LASIK – Is it worth the hype?

My definitive answer: Hell, yes.

OK, for the squeamish, truly, it’s nothing. I’ve never has any surgical procedure outside of having my wisdom teeth pulled. When I laid down on that table and saw nothing but surgical masks, gloves and those bright, silver surgical lights, I really started to wonder what I was getting myself into.

But then, the next few events happened in a span of less than 6 minutes:

  • my eye was taped open (weird, but not scary)
  • I was pelted with lots of eye drops
  • there was a fan sound and some air
  • a lot of blurry lights and happenings above my head
  • a few loud buzzes

After all that, I was happy to find the lights and the faces looking down on me back in better focus and the doctor said “you did great.”

What, that’s it? The whole procedure was about 9 1/2 minutes. Wow.

It’s been six days now and I am – and have been – pain free. Every morning my eye is dry, but that’s to be expected for the next several weeks. The only change to my daily routine has been lots of eye drops. I need to use preservative-free artificial tears every half-hour (will be every hour later this week). I also have had to put antibiotic drops in four times a day. Yeah, that’s it.

After Friday’s hearings, it’s apparent that LASIK is safe, but as with any medical procedure, you need to find a competent doctor. This is not a one-size-fits-all, shop for the best price procedure. After sitting in and reading up on a number of doctors in the area, I selected Dr. Scott MacRae at Strong Vision. They took extra time before allowing me to schedule the surgery. They actually made me see a specialist for a consultation because there was a slight concern because I had larger optic nerves than most people in my demographic. It turned out to be nothing to worry about, but Strong’s doctors were more than cautious about not rushing me into it.

Do I recommend it?  Highly.  Just don’t scrimp on the service.