TJ's Lasik Diary

Last Updated: 03/15/2006

See DISCLAIMER
Considering Lasik? Is your eyesight worse than 20/400?
(I'll tell you the before/after benefits)

I had Lasik Surgery performed on Feb. 26, 2001. Here is a journal and documentary leading up to and explaining what it's all about from the patient's perspective. In my opinion, I had one of the "best" perform my surgery. Look for these same qualities when you are choosing your surgeon for this procedure - I can vouch for the approach - and the results!

 I had some graphics here that showed just what lasik did to your eye, but the artist e-mailed me and asked me to remove them because they were copyrighted work, so I did. I'll look for some other examples that are in the public domain (as I thought thse were).. -tj

Eye Medical History TJ's Physical Eye Characteristics

Lasik - Should I or Shouldn't I?

Pre-Operative Exam

The Journal

Maryanne's Journey Begins

Other Sites to Check out for more information:

http://www.seeclearly.com/lasik.cfm

Another Diary with even more detail than mine - but she had 3 enhancements

Another diary - obviously not a Kornmehl case - had many issues with the whole procedure

Here's a few "doctored" photos to give you a clue of just what we "almost blind" people see.....

NO Glasses 20/2000	About 20/300 (my left eye)	What 20/20 looks like!

(Now you can begin to see why Lasik is viewed as a miracle to those of us that can't see.....)

Eye Medical History (If you're interested)

I was born cross-eyed in 1960. Surgery was performed in 1961 to correct the problem and was successful. However, by 1963, it was apparent that I needed glasses. I was fitted with them and they noticed at that time that my left eye was a "lazy eye" (Amblyopic). They attempted to patch my right eye but being a stubborn 5 year old, this didn't work all that well as I pulled off the patch every chance I could. As a result, my right eye became the dominant one and my left eye was delegated to "peripheral vision" only. Over the years, my left eye began to wander a bit as the muscles grew and changed shape. In my early twenties (1981), I had another surgery to completely correct the left eye position.

During the '80s and early '90s I tried a few contact lens alternatives, but all of them were to no avail. I either didn't have enough tears in my eyes to make them comfortable or scar tissue from my eye surgeries got in the way of the contacts.

Physical Eye Characteristcs

Right Eye: 20/2000 , -2 Astigmatism -11.5 Corrected to 20/20 with glasses

Left Eye: 20/300, -2 Astigmatism (amblyopic) - Corrected to 20/200 with glasses

Lasik - Should I or shouldn't I do it ?????

Two years ago (1999), my ophthalmologist said that I should look into Lasik surgery after they (surgeons) had done a number of other cases (I believe that she said "around a million more"). A good friend of mine is an optometrist on Cape Cod - he also had nothing but great things to say about Lasik. Then, at one of my weekly Rotary Club meetings, one our members (also an optometrist) gave a presentation on it. This all got me more and more interested. When I had my appointment with Dr. Roth (my ophthalmologist) for my annual checkup (in Jan. 2001) they had done about a million of them, so I brought it up with her again.... She simply said - yes it works, yes its safe and yes, you would be a good candidate for this surgery. She gave me the names of 3 surgeons that she recommended from the New England area. I checked them all out and ended up selecting Dr. Ernest Kornmehl in Boston.

I discussed the financial issues (around $5,000.00) with my wife, and she was an enthusiastic "yes" to have it done! Now, I had the finance OK and I had selected a doctor, the next step was to actually go see if this was feasible. Maryanne called for an appointment and we were able to get one the next week. I took that afternoon off from work and Maryanne and I headed for Boston....

Just to put it in perspective once again......

This.........	Or This......

 The Journal

 Here's a quick look into my plans for Lasik surgery on 2/26 2001. I've been looking at this type of surgery since "RK" was discussed over 6 years ago and everyone I spoke to told me to wait until better procedures and techniques were developed. Well, after much waiting, it appears that Lasik is the way to go.

Pre-Operative Exam

I went to Dr. Kornmehl last Wednesday in Boston. Check out his web site at http://www.clvc.com/. He does all of the pre-op himself and actual surgery as well as the first 24 hour post op.. Here's a physician who truly is interested in the result of his work.

At the pre-op examination, he dilated my pupils and gave me a complete exam. He also performed a "corneal thickness" ultrasound and did a computer generated map of my corneal surface. Since I am an older candidate (and so myopic), he also wanted me to get a Retinal exam to be sure that there were no tears, creases, etc. in my retina. If there were issues, he wasn't going to perform the Lasik procedure. One of the Retina Specialists in his group consented to "squeeze me in" and she did within a half hour! (I didn't want to go back home, wait for and appointment, etc. just to find out that there were issues). After a very unpleasant 20 minute exam (these can hurt - be prepared!), she said that everything looked fine, so now the decision was mine to make. He also made me sit through a video that completely explained the risks of Lasik, but I had already researched them and thought that there really wasn't a choice here (see pictures above).. Obviously, I was 100% GO! As a "setup", he placed plugs in my lower tear ducts to keep the eyes moist for the weeks leading up to the procedure. I found out later that this minimizes complications due to dry corneas, etc. when the Lasik procedure is performed. Ask your doctor about plugs...

Saturday 2/24/2001

I started the pre-treatment drops 4 times per day. Maryanne is a pro at getting a single drop in my eye. These drops (Ciloxan 0.3%) are used as an anti-bacterial agent to make sure that at the time of surgery there are no unwanted bacterial "guests" at the party. They don't burn at all and I hardly notice them. 48 Hours to go until Lasik.. From what I've read, other surgeons don't do this.. Again, ask your doctor why if he/she doesn't...

Sunday 2/25/2001

Continuing the eye drops 4 times per day. Still no burning or anything. My eyes just feel a bit tired, but that's probably due to the extra fluid that I'm pumping into them a few times a day. I spent the day surfing the Web for other sites that would describe the actual surgery. Until this time, I really didn't want to research it that well! What I found were a number of 2 minute "real-video" clips that were the whole procedure! Yup, in about 2 minutes, an entire procedure could be performed! I am pleasantly surprised and now more ready than ever for tomorrow (Surgery day) to come!

Monday Morning 2/26/2001

Well, the day has arrived. I have a 1:30 "arrival time" at the Laser Center in Wellesley. Since it is a 2 hour drive from my house, we'll probably start the trip at around 11:00. I'm still putting the drops in as directed - my eyes are feeling a bit puffy and bloodshot. It's either the medication or the fact that I was tossing and turning last night in anticipation of today. I took my last "blind" shower this morning and put my glasses on to read the alarm clock for the last time! Those of you with bad vision like I have can appreciate what I mean and why I'm so excited now to just get it done! Wish me luck!

Monday Afternoon

Preparation

I arrived in Wellesley at 1:00. I paid for the procedure and then waited for Melinda (their coordinator) to meet with me. She explained all about the post-op care, the drops, the shields, etc. Then Diane, the RN who is the site manager, came and took my pulse and blood pressure and gave me "booties" and a hair net. She gave me 5 milligrams of Valium and it started to work in about 15 minutes. They also affixed a name tag on me for verification when I entered the Laser Suite. At this point, I'm very nervous (and I mean "scared out of my mind nervous"), not just a little jumpy. My B/P was reading extremely high and my pulse was over 100! At 2:15, Steve (a technician) came out and escorted me into the Laser Suite.

The Laser Suite (Surgery)

I walk into the suite and there are about 5 people there all dressed in scrubs, a big impressive looking white machine set into the center of the room and counters and trays along 2 walls. It all looks so sterile.. They guide me over to a chair to the left of the VisX (the white machine) and I jump up and sit down. The chair immediately reclines and turns into a bed. They hand me a couple of golf "squeeze" balls and ask me if I'm cold. To this I reply, yes! It's about 60 degrees in there due to the climate controls on the laser - be sure to dress in warm clothes. They placed a few blankets over my body and started explaining what was going to happen. Just to kind of explain it in shorthand, I'll outline the steps, then just imagine it being repeated exactly in the same order on the second eye.. If you want to see a real live procedure, please follow this link (http://www.westtexaseye.com/lasik_video.htm) - Remember that is NOT Dr . Kornmehl performing it.

• They position your body and your head (Dr. Kornmehl verifies it) using spongy pillows and grips that kind of envelop the entire back of the head.
  

• They cover the least dominant eye with tape and a patch and begin to work on the first eye to be done.
  
• They put anesthetic drops in my eye
  
• They wash the lids with betadine and some other cleaner
  
• They tape back the lower and upper eyelashes and create a sterile field (more drops)
  
• And more drops
  
• Dr. Kornmehl then checks what they are doing and washes more fluid into the eye.
  
• He inserts an eye speculum that forces my eye open. I expected this to hurt. I didn't feel a thing other than a little pressure.
  
• He then spins me under the laser and they re-calibrate it I see a red target light and a green circle around it. They explain what I'll need to do, which is essentially to stare at the red light and be calm..
  
• The lights go down in the suite and it's show time.
  
• I see a small ring approach my eye, but I don't feel anything.
  
• A "vacuum" cleaner sound starts and I hear someone calling out numbers. Slowly my vision turns cloudy and fades to black. I saw kaleidoscope patterns while this was going on. There is NO pain - only pressure on my eye. They reach a number and say "You'll hear a motorized noise". It sounds like a dentists drill and lasts about 3 seconds.. Then I see perfectly normally again.. (That blinking red light and the green circle) All of the "vacuum" sound goes away and I hear Dr. Kornmehl say "Excellent! Let's proceed".
  
• Dr. Kornmehl then flips the flap back as he is talking to you and everything goes fuzzy. Still no pain..
  
• He tells me to concentrate on the blinking red light, which I do. My right eye required 46 seconds of laser, so he broke it up into 15 second bursts. During this, I feel absolutely no pain. The only thing that I noticed at that point was that I could smell a faint odor. This was far easier than I had imagined. The laser makes a "clicking" sound as it fires, but there is no bright lights or anything - just that little red dot flowing in and out of focus that I try to keep staring at. Still no pain..
  
• Then, it's over.. The doctor flipped back the flap and I could see sharply and clearly. They put many more drops in my eyes and wiped them a few times with "blue" paint brushes (you'll see what I mean). Dr Kornmehl tells me that I did an excellent job (I bet he says that to everyone - his chair side manner during this whole procedure is absolutely excellent - just the kind of encouraging words that you need to hear without being patronizing - of course he's done over 6000 of these...!)
  
• They rotated me out from under the machine and proceeded to do the other eye in the same manner, taping and "Gooing" the first eye to keep the flap in place. NOTE: I felt the pressure in the second eye much more vividly than in the first. They call it "second eye syndrome". By the time that you do the second eye, the endorphins and adrenaline are gone (due to the fact you realize that this really isn't so tough to do) so everything just hurts a little more. I also got a slight "corneal abrasion" made when the microkeratome created the flap. Dr. Kornmehl placed a surgical contact lens in my eye to make it more comfortable during the healing process. It didn't feel any different than the right eye, however.

Note: My surgery was performed using a VisX S3 laser. You can find out all about the laser here .

Post-Operative (Still in the suite)

They turn the bed into a chair again and ask me to swing my legs over and sit up - all with my eyes closed. Then they ask me to open my eyes.

The first thing that I saw was an electrical outlet. The second thing that I saw were curtains. The third thing that I saw were the words "Laser Vision" on Steve's shirt and said " I can read that!"... This was the first time in my memory that I have seen anything more than 2 feet away that wasn't a blur. It was truly amazing! Then they taped eye shields on me and said that I had to wait in the waiting room for 30 minutes with my eyes closed. Maryanne was there rubbing my shoulders and I just calmly waited for the 30 minutes to pass (I think that this is why they really give you Valium! Otherwise, you just couldn't wait to see what your new world now looks like!).

Dr. Kornmehl came out and asked me to stand up and open my eyes, warning me that they were going to sting and burn a lot (which they did).. It passed quickly, however, and he examined me to make sure that the flaps were seated properly. He said that everything looked great and he would call me at around 7:00 that evening to make sure that everything was OK..

Post-Operative (The first Hours)

Maryanne escorts me out. I'm reading signs along the highway (it's a 2 hour drive home).. I'm also reading license plates, but I have to be right on top of them. The doctor said that I should keep my eyes closed for as much time as possible during the first 24 hours, so I close my eyes for much of the trip home. But, during glimpses of where we are, I realize that something quite extraordinary is happening. I am able to see things that I've never seen without glasses... "Burger King" Trucks, "Mile Markers", "Detour" signs.... Things that I'd never be able to even see were there without a pair of glasses in place. NOW, I'm starting to get excited Forget the wall outlet, forget the curtains - I can actually see things! When we get home, I start to look at my normal surroundings in a different way..

Dr. Kornmehl calls me at around 8:30 p.m. and asks how I'm doing. He asks if I can see the television clearly. I hadn't tried, because I was attempting to keep my eyes closed for as long as possible. He asked me to turn it on and walk a few feet away. Is it clear, he asks? Can you see it? Sure can - a little blurry and I can't really read smaller words on the screen, but overall I sure can watch.

He says great and he'll see me in the morning.

I try out the new "headband-style" eye shields (picture below). They don't work very well. I'll try the tape-on shields tomorrow night.

The Post-Op kit (pictured below) has all of the drops, shields and tears that you need - all in a handy pouch to keep it all together.

(Your "friends" for the next weeks/months. Get to know them well!)

(The shields - much better than tape, but they still are a real pain to wear at night!)

Post-Operative (The next morning)

I roll over and yup, I can actually read the alarm clock - 7:14 bright as day.. A little blurry, but it was a cool thing! I took a shower - same awesome feeling as if being able to see for the first time in my life. I still can't really read any words/details, but my vision on objects is really sharp!

Maryanne and I head out to see Dr. Kornmehl. He's waiting for me when I arrive. He immediately gives me an eye test. The result: 20/30 in my right eye and 20/100 in my left. He gives me different drops for my left eye that I have to put in once an hour for the next week. I also have to get the contact lens (in my left eye) removed by an ophthalmologist on Friday (or sooner if it starts to get irritated). I'm not crazy about drops every hour, but it's only for a week. He says that everything is healing up nicely. Because my BP was so high before the surgery, they ask if they can take it again. Diane gets an even higher reading than before surgery! She takes it again on my left side instead and it reads 132/80.. Turns out that my bicep on the right arm must have been too large for the size of the cuff that she was using!

Maryanne drives me home,, My eyes are feeling very tired. I keep pumping the Natural Tears in and that helps a lot. They said that I can use them as often as I want, so I just keep 'em flowing every hour or so.

As the day progresses, I take a few 1 hour naps - not really to sleep, but more to keep my eyes closed. It helps the "dry eye" syndrome quite a bit. My vision flows in and out as far as clarity is concerned, mostly surrounding things that I attempt to read. I still can't read a computer screen at all. This journal is being typed essentially by keeping my eyes on the keyboard and not on the screen. From what I've read, "visual acuity" can take anywhere from 2 days to 5 weeks. I was extremely myopic, so I would imagine that it will take at least a week to re-gain most of it..

I tried the tape and shield combination at night - it was much more of a pain than the "built-in" shields. I'm going to go back to them tomorrow..

Wednesday (40 hours after surgery)

My left eye with the contact in it is starting to become very irritated. I call my ophthalmologist and set up an appt. for tomorrow at 10:30 to get it removed. My eyesight is vastly improved today regarding objects, but I still can't really read or stare at a computer screen. Since my livelihood is computers, I'm starting to be a little frustrated, but I'm sure it will come back..

I again spent the majority of the day just doing drops and taking naps. I drove a few miles to church (Ash Wednesday) and back and noticed a big improvement there. My eyes in general just feel extremely tired... I go back to work tomorrow after my contact is removed. I still won't be able to do much computer work, I'm sure, but I'll work around it!

Thursday (72 hours after surgery)

Dr. Shari Roth removed my contact lens this morning from my left eye. After that, I saw very clearly, although it still burned a bit. She told me to keep up with the PredForte drops every hour, which I do.. My vision continues to improve, driving is no problem, although I still cannot read at close distances (2 feet or better). I'm still doing the Ciloxan and other anti-inflammatory in the right eye 4 times a day.

Since my vision has improved from 20/2000 to 20/30 I shouldn't complain, but I am surprised that no one told me that I should expect a longer recovery than the standard 3 days. In conversation with others that have gone through it, it appears that 3 or 4 weeks is the norm when your eyesight is as bad as mine. Mind you, this only is when referring to "near sight". My distance vision is incredible.

As I write this, I realize that I can for the first time I actually read what I am writing.. It must be the first phase of "accommodation" that my "new" eyes are learning! Remember that I was a -11.5 diopter. As Dr. Roth said - "there aren't too many of me walking around on the planet, never mind those that would consider Lasik". In short, I should expect a fairly slow recovery. This makes me feel better in a strange kind of way!

Friday (96 hours after Surgery)

It seems as though my life revolves around visits to doctor's offices. My reading vision has started to settle down a little bit. I can actually read this as I type it. I met with Dr. Newman (my optometrist) and he could not believe how well my incisions had healed in such a short period of time. He tests my right eye at 20/25 (remember, it was 20/2000) and fully explains what type of changes to expect, etc. Dr. Newman also stresses that whatever I do, I cannot rub my eyes. Melinda had also stressed this, so I guess that I shouldn't do that..

My vision continues to improve by the hour. I think that I'll probably be able to read fairly soon. I read one story to Kevin (my 4 year old) before my eyes gave out. You can read for a few minutes and then it all kind of blurs together

Overall though, I have seen a real improvement today...

Saturday (5^th Day After Surgery)

I did my weekly radio program today I found out just how dry the air in the studio is kept, My eyes were just plain killing me for the entire 2 hour program. I can start to read for brief periods (about 10 minutes) before everything just starts to blur out.. My eyes were extremely tired all day. As a matter of fact, I'm finishing up today's journal entry and going up to stare at a television rather than a computer screen. My vision continues to improve every day. Just when I thought that it couldn't get any sharper, it does..

 Sunday (6^th Day After Surgery)

I can read much better today. This is truly amazing. Although my eyes are still quite tired, the acuity seems to be getting better.

 Monday (7^th Day After Surgery)

My vision just keeps improving. By now I can basically read again, but Newspapers are still really tough. This is my last day of eye drops! From now on, it'll just be natural tears a few times a day. The experts say that you see marked improvement during week 2 because of the lack of drugs being pumped into your eyes.. We'll see (ha ha )..

 Tuesday (8^th Day After Surgery)

I was back to work today actually doing programming. My eyes got very tired about 4 hours into the day, but it was really cool to be able to actually see AND read without the need for glasses. I also noticed that everything just got clearer as the day progressed. It must be due to the lack of hourly "Pred Forte" drops!

 Thursday (10^th Day After Surgery)

It just keeps getting clearer. I was able to work for almost 5 hours directly on the computer screens before my eyes gave out. They get sore, almost to the point of muscle fatigue. I'm applying the "tears" almost every half-hour which seems to help tremendously. I had an eye check with Dr. Newman today - my eyesight is holding at around 20/30 and 20/100 respectively - he also said that my corneas and the incisions are doing great. The swelling in my left eye is completely gone (where I had the abrasion) as is almost all of the direct effects of the surgery. This will probably be my last entry in the dairy unless some other problem comes up. I will, however, keep trying to enhance the page with more photos, etc. as I can..

 Wednesday (16^th Day After Surgery)

Hi! Here's my latest update! I can now go about 1-3 hours between "Tears Naturale" drops. My distance vision is still awesome, My near vision gets better by the day, but it is taking time to really get to see "close up". Those of you with severe Myopia, don't worry! It takes a lot longer than the experts tell you! I fully expect that 2 weeks from now I'll be see my Newspaper clearly!

 Saturday (19^th Day After Surgery - coming up on 3 weeks already!)

I had to drive to a Rotary Conference (small plug here - it's an awesome organization!) in Nashua, NH that started on Thursday evening. I left at around 6:30 - the drive up was a little tougher than I had anticipated. Night vision was difficult due to oncoming headlights - they look like giant white bowling balls! The past 2 days (while at the conference) my near vision improved about 4000%. There are still times that reading black letters on white backgrounds tends to blur - and reading a newspaper is still REALLY difficult, but it's coming along. I have an appointment next Friday with Dr. Newman and I'll bet that overall my vision is somewhere very near 20/20 - I can't wait to find out!

I'm starting to forget what life these past 40 years was like with glasses. I know that it sounds unbelievable, but it's just a fact. I'm still wearing my protective lenses (per Dr. Kornmehl's insistence) and since I've always worn glasses it's no big deal, but to be able to take them off when they "fog up" and still see - to jump in the shower and see the difference between shampoo and conditioner (and to even know the brand!) is just plain incredible..

In short - everything just keeps getting better in small increments every day. This must be what patients in physical therapy go through - very slow, almost unnoticeable improvements until one day they realize that they are "light years" better than they were before..... "Patience is a virtue!"...

I also have noticed that if I start to rub my eyes (out of habit - they are quite tired at the end of the day) they are still somewhat tender.) So, even at almost the 3 week mark, the rule of "DON'T RUB YOUR EYES" still applies!!

  Wednesday (23^rd Day After Surgery)

I had to do a lot of screen work today. It really does tire my eyes out to concentrate on a computer screen for a long period of time. I kept pumping in the Natural Tears and it helps, but in general, the less I have to stare, the better it feels. Other than that I'm looking forward to my follow-up on Friday to see what my vision is reading. It seems like it should be really close to 20/20... I swiped a chart of "Acuity Correction" from another Web Site. Please click HERE to view the chart.

  Friday (25^th Day After Surgery)

I went to Dr. Newman's office today for my "almost 1 month" check up. Guess what?? I'm 20/20 in my right eye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My left eye held at 20/100, which is twice as good as it ever was with glasses. To say that I'm thrilled would be a severe understatement. He also said that the cornea was healing perfectly - in fact I don't need to see him for another month. He gave me a few different types of natural tears to try out over the next month to see which ones help alleviate the eye soreness that I get while working.

  Tuesday (29^th Day After Surgery)

Well, I traveled back up to Wellesley today to see the gang at Dr. Kornmehls office. Nope, not for me - I'm seeing 20/20 - for Maryanne! She was so shocked at my results that she decided to have a consult with him to see if she was a candidate. Guess what we're doing next Monday? Yup, this is the journal that just won't end because Maryanne is scheduled for a 10:00 arrival on Monday, April 2nd!

 Sunday April 1st (Combined Entries)

Maryanne started the anti-bacterial drops yesterday. She said that they are stinging her eyes when she puts them in, but then it subsides. Her big day is tomorrow! As for me, seeing 20/20 is getting commonplace! I still need to use a ton of tears every few hours if I am doing computer work, but other than that, I'm pretty much back to 1000+ times better than I ever was with glasses. It's still amazing to me how clear everything is! I'll write again after Maryanne's sugery tomorrow! Wish her luck!!

 Monday April 2nd (Maryanne's Lasik Day!)

OK, should I have been surprised? No. Should have I expected anything less? No. Should I be really, really jealous of my wife right now? Oh, yeah!.. She FLEW through the whole process without a hitch - no abrasions, no burning, no tears, no nothing! As of 4 hours post-op she could read a damn postage stamp if I asked her to! I guess she is the reason why most people stop their journal/diaries at "The next day I was fine....". I kind of reminds me of a Dave Barry book where he says - "for my first child we recorded everything, every smile, every coo, etc. By the third child it went like this: Joe was born on April 6, 1997. He's now in second grade and dong fine.. We'll update you when he graduates from college..".

We're heading up to Dr. Kornmehl's tomorrow for the 24 hour post-op, but I suspect that she'll be seeing 20/30 or better in each eye - some people are just "peanut butter side up" (or lower presciptions just aren't that big a deal!)......I'll keep you informed of her progress..

p.s. I would have had some really cool pictures to link to this site, but she wouldn't let me bring the digital camera in the building.. Sorry...

 Tuesday April 3rd (Maryanne's FollowUp)

She woke up able to read the alarm clock. Our appointment with Dr. Kornmehl was at 2:30 - during the drive up, her description of the "lack" of distance vision was almost identical to mine. She has total near vision, though, whereas I had NONE on the second day. When Dr. K examined her, she was 20/20 in one eye and 20/40 in the other. He pulled out a "Kornmehl Press" - a tool he had developed - played with her left eye a bit - she then read 20/30.. He intentionally doesn't correct both eyes to 20/20 so that in later years (late 40's), presbyopia (the need for reading glasses) will be less acute. However, he was surprised that Maryanne's eyes were actually the reverse of what he expected (left vs. right) - same result, but a little strange. Since I can't really expound on what Maryanne is actually seeing, I'll update the journal when she can get more detailed! Stay tuned! -tj

 Thursday April 5th (Maryanne's 4th day)

My vision is great! My eyes are not feeling nearly as dry and achy. I only used the tears twice yesterday!

Maryanne, however, is going through that "frustrating" period that I wrote about after 3-4 days. Her near vision is excellent, but distance vision appears to be quite blurry (correction, "fuzzy"). She was outside quite a bit today and of course that dried her eyes out horribly, so she was not at all comfortable this evening. Remember, as soon as it begins to feel dry, pump the tears! She seems to be experiencing the exact opposite of my healing - I couldn't see anything in near vision, and she can't see anything at distance.. I think that it will all settle out, but I'll keep you informed!

  Monday April 9th, 2001

All I can say about my vision is that it is 20/20. My eyes still get tired if I concentrate on computer screens too much, but for the most part, consider me a non-entity in this journal from now on.

Maryanne went to her Optometrist today. It appears as if both of her eyes have settled at slightly under-corrected. (20/25 and 20/30 respectively). Dr. P made a pair of glasses for her that corrected one eye, but not the other.. He was going to call Dr. Kornmehl to prepare a "followup" course of action, but it certainly seemed to include an enhancement to her vision at 3 months... He was also going to discuss some "drop" related therapies that might improve the result, but it sounded like an enhancement was the likely choice... I'll let you know..

  Tuesday April 10th, 2001

Maryanne's optometrist spoke to Dr. Kornmehl today. It sounds like we should wait a while before thinking of enhancements, changes, etc. Both doctors seemed to agree that she is so close to perfect vision that any decisions now would be a little premature. So we'll wait!

  Wednesday April 25th, 2001

It looks like Maryanne is going to require a small prescription to be able to see crystal clearly. She is going to her optometrist on Friday. We'll know then, but she still doesn't see as clearly as she could before the procedure with glasses. As for me, I'm 20/20 (I think) and I also have my 2 month check on Friday. The night vision issues for me have all but disappeared, although oncoming headlights still look a little "fat". I use tears about twice a day. I'll post a final entry here after Friday's appointments to give some final closure to this diary/journal/book/anthology - whatever it's turned into!

  Friday April 27th, 2001

Ok, here's the deal. First, my status. I'm seeing 20/20 and absolutely no need for reading glasses or any prescription in the "plano" glasses that I wear for protection. Dr. Newman wants to see me in six months.. Maryanne, however, had regressed. She has some astigmatism left in her left eye and sees about 20/40 in both eyes. Her doctor wants her to consider an enhancement.. So, I guess that this journal will live a little longer! She got corrective lenses made while she waited today and sees great when using the new "low power" lenses.

  Wednesday May 23rd, 2001

Here's an entry to the diary just to keep you all informed. My eyesight is still 20/20 with some minor fluctuations. I notice that if I am tired or if I overuse them, things at distance vision seem to blur out a bit. All in all, though - I've remained 20/20 with awesome results.

Maryanne seems to have regressed even a bit more.. It looks like an enhancement for her to achieve 20/20 vision. I'll let you know!

We referred a neighbor (Wendy) to Dr. Kornmehl and she had the procedure done 2 weeks ago - She is 20/20 and 20/18 respectively . Talk about a resounding success story!

  Sunday June 24th, 2001

It's now been 4 months for me and everything is great! As I described at 3 months, my eyes get tired from overuse and they get dry if I'm outside in the wind, but that's about the only "down side". I've spoken or e-mailed about 6 others regarding Dr. K and the procedure. Every one of them has said that they were more than pleased with the result.

  Friday August 17th , 2001

Maryanne and I went up for a consult regarding her possible enhancement. She was about 80% convinced that she wouldn't do it, but she wnated to know what Dr. K. thought. He was very open about it, but really explained that an Enhancement is not a problem, but more of an extension of the original surgery. The laser can't sometimes get it all perfect in a single application. They did another complete exam on her including topography, corneal thickness, complete eye exam, the works! Later that afternoon, Maryanne decided to "go for it". Soooo, on Saturday she was back on the Ciloxin 4 times per day and we started the ride one more time!

  Monday August 20th, 2001

Well, she had it done today. We drove up at 7:30 am and he performed the Enhancement at 10am. It was essentially the exact same routine except that there was no Microkeratome involved. He gently pries open the flap and then the laser does its thing and he gently closes it up again. By this evening she was already saying that it was incredible. She feels like she's wearing glasses. I think that he "nailed it" with the enhancement.. I'll keep you all informed. We go back tomorrow for her 24 hour check. Yup, yet another ride to Boston!

By the way, 6 months for me and everything is still great! I still have some dry eye days, but all in all, its fantastic!

  Tuesday August 21st, 2001

We went up to Boston again this morning. Maryanne was saying all morning that she couldn't believe how "crisp" everything looked. Dr. Kornmehl examined her and removed the contact that he had put in her right eye yesterday.. He tested her and she was 20/30 in one eye and 20/20 in the other! GAME OVER!

  Wednesday October 24th, 2001

I just wanted to get y'all up to date on our progress. My eyesight is still tremendous, although my night vision (at 8 months) is definitely not 20/20. I am going to my Optometrist in the next few weeks to get some "night driving" glasses. I'll let you know what it actually checks out to, but I would suspect that it is somewhere aroung 20/50 at night.. I don't have any halos or starbursts any more - they went away about 2 months ago completely..

Maryanne is at 2 months post enhancement and is doing very well. However, she also knows that she will need "night time" glasses.. She is heading for an appointment tomorrow to get her 3 month post-enhancement check (a little early)..

Regarding dry eyes, however...... We both need "HypoTears" to soothe our eyes.. This is still on a daily basis (about once a day for me, at least - 3 times+ for Maryanne).. I thought that I would be over this by now but they still are much dryer than "pre-lasik" (and they were very dry then...). Why this is occuring, I'm not sure, but it sounds like most cases experience it... fyi...

Thursday, November 22nd, 2001

Well, I went to my Optometrist yesterday and he gave me a full exam. It looks like I need a 1.5 diopter correction to be able to see to 20/20! I was surprised because I can still see the charts at 20/25 with no problem. However, once the new glasses were made (in about an hour), I was shocked at how much that I couldn't see (it was slightly ut of focus) without the glasses! Maryanne had a similar result last month where she required a small correction..

If you are considering Lasik, however, this is a VERY tiny issue.. I still love being able to see without glasses (and drive as well!).. From my vision level then (20/2000) to now (20/25), it is amazing..

Thursday, June 6, 2002

Wow! I can't believe that I am updating this site about 16 months after my lasik surgery! As I do this, I am typing without glasses of any kind (for close vision work). It looks as though this web site is being hit about 30 times per week - if you are reading my journal down to this level, please take the time to e-mail me!! I really would like to know who is checking this out! My attitude towards Lasik is still the same - it was probably the best, most life altering decision that I've made to date. To go from where I was to where I am is still amazing to me - I can swim, ski and read without glasses! I use glasses for driving at night and general eye protection, but other than that, I actually see clearer without them! I still suffer from "dry eye" about once a week and use "Hypo-tears" to lubricate them, but other than that, it's awesome!

Saturday, January 4th, 2003

It's coming up on the 2 year mark and I still cannot say anything but great things about the procedure! My wife, kids and I went to an indoor waterpark over the new years break. Normally I would be a wreck in these sort of surroundings because I couldn't keep an eye on my kids. (With my glesses, they would be fogged over constantly - without them I couldn't see 3 feet). Thanks to Lasik, I could watch my kids with no problems at all! That's just one one the HUGE benefits that come to light once the procedure has been done. It is STILL the best decision that I've ever made! As my notes from June imply, there is still problems with "dry eye", but that is very infrequent (about one a week) and the trade off is a no-brainer.

Wednesday, March 31st, 2004

I'm now past the 3 year mark and it's still awesome. I've seen the surgery for $499 an eye now! I'm also sure that the equipment and the techniques have improved even more since I had my surgery. I've seen NO problems other than occasional dry-eye.

I'm now approaching the 4 year mark and it's still awesome. I don't really have any issues except for some of the dry eye that I mentioned last year. It still is one of the best decisions I've ever made....

OK, nows its been over 5 years and I'm still excited about Lasik! Still no problems!

-tj

If you are considering Lasik, PLEASE e-mail me. I'd be happy to correspond with any of you that have questions, etc. It was an awesome experience for me..

 Copyright Ó 2001 T.J. & Maryanne Benoit - All Rights Reserved Worldwide

All of the contents of these pages represent the opinions of its author. No representation or endorsement is implied or otherwise as to the fitness of any or all of these procedures. They are simply two persons' experience with a particular physician that attained a particular and desired result.