Hey everyone,

It's been a scary couple of weeks for me. I had laser eye surgery done a few weeks ago and had some complications. I won't tell the whole story here but have posted it to my trip blog at www.heretohere.com

Fortunately things are getting better but at this point I'd certainly rather have my glasses back than go through this again.

C.J.

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RTW from Calgary to Calgary in 2008 www.heretohere.com

I read your post with interest. I'm really sorry it went that bad and I hope you'll get better soon.

I had laser surgery about 3 or 4 years ago, and before that I spent probably 3 or 4 years thinking about it and doing research about it. I read many horror stories and that did put me off at first!
Fortunately I came across an excellent eye surgeon and the outcome was good.

For those of you thinking about it check this website: http://www.lasik-eyes.co.uk

It contains very useful information, describes all techniques, pros and cons of each, risks, and for UK people there is a list of all the clinics and patients can put a rating/outcome etc...
I had my eyes done a St Thomas Hospital, by Dr David O'Brart, a top surgeon. He is used as a specialist witness in court when patients sue their surgeons, he also picks up the pieces when big high street clinics mess up tehir patients' eyes!

Few words or warning if you're thinking to have surgery:

- most clinics (in the UK) use GPs not qualified surgeons. That's why it's cheap! Ensure the person doing your eyes is qualified! It takes 14 years studies to become a consultant.
- Have both eyes done 3 months apart. Not only is this useful to avoid being messed up on both eyes at the same time, but also for this reason: when the surgeon correct the eye, they will overcorrect, because the eye normally regress a bit. This overcorrection is an average. For my 1st eye for example, I was -6.5. The surgeon overcorrected by +1. i.e just after the surgery I was +1. Expecting a bit of regression. The thing is, it did not really happen. I'm just not average. So 3 months later the surgeon did not overcorrect and my right eye went spot on.
- ensure you see the surgeon well before surgery, during and after. You don't want to deal with assistants or nurses if things go wrong. You have to be able to see your surgeon post surgery quickly in case of problems. For my 1st eye, few days later, I was in a lot of pain, so I phoned David and he saw me the same day to check that all was ok...

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Sorry to hear about your experience.

But the same as Maria, i had my surgury done by Mr O´Brart. I was less than -3 in both eyes so had them done at the same time. that was 2 or 3 years ago now, and the only problems i have had are with slight sensitivity in the eye with grit or dust. Noe i have 20/20 vision in each eye.

I couldn´t recomended Mr. O´Brart enough. very professional. On my first consultation with him he recommended not having it done if i was happy to live with glasses, as the long term risks are not fully known. He was the only one to fully explain the risks of the operation and of the outcomes, compared to the other companies i spoke to.

If you are planning on having it done , make sure you understand the risks and allow time to heal, and for complications before trying to travel etc, would be my advice.

But in my case it was a success.

cheers
mike

Generally this type of surgery is successful and complications rare, but when they happen, the effect can be catastrophic. this is currently the fastest growing area of medical litigation, not because the surgery necessarilly goes wrong but sometimes due to unrealistic expectation, so go in with your eyes wide open, so to speak!!
also re the above, be careful about only having one eye at a time done. if you are a medium'high prescription this can give significant problems in the interim with anisekonia, i.e loss of binocular vision. this is what you need for estimating speed and distance and general coordination. this could lead to temporary suspension of your driving licence. not all surgeons (even ophthalmic ones) understand this concept, so speak to your surgeon and your optician first.

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

YEs correct! No way you can wear glasses to correct vision on the "undone" eye in that case, only a contact lense. I already had that problem because my eyes were -6.5 and -3.5 so wearing glasses was not really good. After surgery in my left eye (the weakest) I had to wear a contact lense in the right eye to correct. That way it was ok. But no way I could wear my old glasses (after removing left lense!).

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

"Eye" just wanted to give everyone an update now post-op by nearly four months.

My dominant eye, after swinging between near and far-sightedness has settled down to 0.00 - pretty much perfect vision. My left eye did the same swinging back and forth and settled down at -0.50. I'll take it.

Rather than have two follow-up appointments in six months, I've been back to the clinic about 12 times to have my vision checked. EVERY single checkup my vision was different!

I think the saga for me is now over and I can concentrate on my trip planning. We are almost exactly one year away from our RTW tour!

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RTW from Calgary to Calgary in 2008 www.heretohere.com