PRK experience?

[Habtual_Linstpr]

Glad everyone else is happy...

Just a little about myself before I go any further, I was 24 yrs old with no medical history whatsoever. I had PRK performed on me at the Keesler AFB, MS hospital. To be honest the actual surgery itself was a breeze. Recovery was a dirty whore, but that was expected. I started out with a -5.25 in one eye and a -6 in the other, so my eyes were under some pretty heavy correction. Things seemed to be going well for me the first month or two- I took all meds/eyedrops EXACTLY as the doctor told me to, and my vision was 20/20 within days. Around the 2 month mark, I started to notice my night vision was decreased (daytime was alright), so I took a trip to the doctor. They placed me on a regimen of opthalmic steroids (multiple drops a day). Turns out after months and months of steroid eyedrops, I had a severe case of corneal haze that was not only not getting better, it was still getting worse. After over a year of treatment, it was decided that I should undergo the surgery again, but with a more aggressive post treatment plan. I had the PRK performed for the second time in April this year at Wilford Hall Med Center @ Lackland AFB, TX. This surgery was WAY more painful both during the procedure and afterwards by the way... The surgeons decided to use mitomycin-c this time (a drug applied immediately after the procedure to inhibit corneal scarring). I wish it worked but it didn't. Within a month I could tell the scarring (haze) was going to become a problem. The first surgery and its complications was/were mearly an annoyance, but the second has left me scared. Durring the day, everything has a glow around it now. My vision is good enough that I don't need glasses, but everything looks crazy. Nighttime is the REAL problem now though... EVERYTHING blends together at night. As you can probably imagine, this makes driving at night almost unbearable. Going back and forth to work, taking the kids to soccer practice, riding my motorcycle after dark- they all suck now! I'm on steroid eyedrops like the doc's got stock in the stuff! Worst part is not knowing how this is going to end...

I still don't try to talk people out of having the surgery. Why you ask? Most people don't have the craptastic luck I've got, and it works out in the end. All I do (and am doing here) is inform people that there are possible complications. I try to tell everyone thinking about this to research the hell out of it, and be sure that they are willing to take the risks associated with it... Am I sick, no. Am I dying, no. Do I wish I never did the procedure, yep.

To anyone thinking about doing this, remember there is no guarantee, and you only have one set of eyes. For those that still decide to take the plunge, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[blackjack_rj]

I am enlisted right now, and I had the opportunity to take advantage of PRK for free. I was like 20/600 in both my eyes, and now I am 20/15. Needless to say, I have no regrets about it. It was so quick, and I was reading print on the wall further than I have been able to for years. It has also given me the chance to be selected for STA-21 Pilot Option. Get it done, especially if you need it! The whole procedure took me 10 minutes. There was just a lot of waiting for other people in front of me. Hope this helps.

 

[bunk22]

My first flight physical back in 92, I had 20/20 but a weak 20/20. Next year at NAMI, I had 20/25 by their standards but good enough for pilot. By 2003, my eyes had stabilized at 20/80 (-1.50 I think) and I had PRK as part of the pilot study program. Almost 3 years later, I still have 20/12 each eye. The only two side effects of the surgery is dry eye in the morning and I'm very sensitive to sunlight. I wear sun glasses when it's sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc. Even worse, is suddenly waking up in the morning at popping my eyes open. Feels like I just ran sand paper across the eyeballs. Other than that, I'm very happy I did the surgery. That best vision I had growing up was 20/20 and age 36, I've got eagle eyes.

 

[TheBubba]

Got lasered in October of 03. I was 20/400 or so in both eyes... ie the big bold E at the top of the chart was fuzzy. I'm 20/25 in both eyes (or so the docs claim).

It took my eyes almost 10 months to stabilize at 20/25. The worst was for about the first 6-8 weeks after the surgery, everytime I'd blink, my eyes would open with a new focal point it seemed. Threw my depth perception off quite a bit. Even now, I think my depth perception was degraded by the surgery. My flight physical down here in P-Cola was the first time I've ever missed one on the raised dot test.

Like bunk, I still get the dry eye in the morning. Mine feels more like my eyelid ripping itself from the surface of my eye rather than sandpaper.

Overall satisfaction: High. It was a good decision and I'd not be in flight school had it not been for getting PRK. No regrets.

 

[spitfiremkxiv]

I had it two years ago. On a bright, moist day when I'm not tired I can see better than 20/20 but as my eyes get tired and dry and the day turns to dark my vision gets a bit weaker. I still use eyedrops daily. Overall though it's 10x better than wearing contacts or glasses, and it was a huge plus not to wear BCGs at OCS. The intial pain and suffering is definitely worth the outcome.

 

[sundevil_av8r]

are the dry eyes and sandpaper scraping feeling only during the recovery or is it permanent?

 

[bunk22]

are the dry eyes and sandpaper scraping feeling only during the recovery or is it permanent?

In one month, it'll be 4 yers for me and I still get the sandpaper scraping in the morning. Not every morning but a few times a week and it still hurts. I'll take the trade though, still have 20/12 each eye.

 

[BACONATOR]

While I have not gotten PRK, I plan on getting it once in the fleet. I have done a LOT of reading on the matter and you can take my opinion as opinion or fact if you wish.

Previously, PRK could only correct the two main aberrations that affected most people: refractive and astigmatic error.

However, with the advent of wavefront technology and its integration into modern laser surgery technology, higher order abberations are able to be corrected in addition to the more basic corrections (refractive and astigmatic error).

 

[ItsTurboTime]

Had PRK custom at TLC april '06, went from 20/400 both eyes to 20/12. Healing sucks, my vision is great.

 

[othromas]

Wavefront guided PRK in August of 2004 and November 2005; started at -5.25 in the left, -5.50 in the right, and now I see 20/20 in both eyes though it may have degraded slightly. The doc talked me into doing it one eye at a time--bad idea, incidentally, if you can find someone to take care of you for three days. The light sensitivity was unbelievable while I was healing; I'd complain about it being too bright in my room and my mom would tell me it was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

The first surgeries were separated by about a week, then another in November to correct a severely overcorrected right eye (things didn't match up in size). It don't think I could have gone back for a fourth visit--it's kinda freaky once you know what's going on. This is one time ignorance is bliss.

My right eye is now better than my left which I've gotten used to even though I'm left eye dominant. Only things I notice are light sensitivity outdoors, some dryness at night or if I get too dehydrated (lose a little acuity as well then), small sunbursts around lights at night (not a big deal; actually noticed them when I was wearing contacts, so there may have been nothing anyone could have done for me with regards to them), and sometimes it's a little hard to read backlit lettering. I'm a huge perfectionist, and the surgery isn't perfect, but it can work really, really well. I'd recommend wavefront guided unless anyone else slaps me down since it's supposed to help with twilight vision and the surgery uses the contours of the eye itself to determine how it will reshape the cornea as opposed to a more cookie-cutter one-size-fits-all approach.

 

[Lonestar]

When I got it done in August, wavefront guided was not waiverable. It could be different now as it was being reviewed at that time.