Part I - 16 Dec 2002
Since the end of 2001 I have been looking into corrective eye surgery. One of my new-year's resolutions for 2002 was to kick-off the series of tests involved, and it has taken me nearly the whole year to start.
Today I had the first of many optometrist appointments between now and the surgery. I went to the Albury branch of Peachey Optometry Clinics, since they were recommended by the mob in Melbourne.
What happened? Well, not too much just yet. First there was the usual eye examination whilst the doctor (whom I shall be calling a doctor despite the fact that he may not actually be a doctor (eg phd) of optometry) determined my prescription.
After that, he placed some drops in my eye, and focused an intensely bright light into each eye whilst looking at them. It was very difficult to keep my eyes open with that light in there. There was also some procedure which involved a bizarre folding of my eyelids (no doubt to keep them out of the way) which was weird, but not uncomfortable.
The verdict is that I am not too nearsighted (about 1.5 diopters in one eye and 1.25 in the other), and that there doesn't seem to be any factor which would stop me from having corrective surgery.
My next appointment is on January 6. I will update again then!
Part II - 6 Jan 2003
Today was the second of my pre-surgery tests on the road to laser vision correction.
Today's test involved dilating my pupils - which meant getting drops in my eyes which deaden the muscles that contract the iris, as well as deadening the muscles at the rear of my eye (the ones that control focus in your eye).
Once the drops were administered I had to kill half an hour, then come back for a surface scan of my cornea. This was done using a large machine that was essentially a bright light with black concentric rings on it. These rings are projected onto your dilated cornea, and then an ultrasound maps the surface of your eye. Y'know those cool colour-coded maps you see on the TV ads for laser vision correction? It was just like that.
Anyway, once that was done there were a few more tests to determine my 'true prescription'. This is possible because the focusing muscles are dead, so you have no choice but to use the relaxed lens of your eye to focus on anything.
The verdict: All good. Assuming I don't fail any of the tests in Melbourne (and statistically that's not very possible) then I'm good to go. Hopefully the surgery itself will be in about three weeks time. I'm shitting myself, but hopeful at the same time.
More news as it comes to hand!
Part III - 13 Jan 2003
Small update this time. My appointment has been made. I am booked in for the 29th-31st of this month. That's one day of tests, and one day per eye of surgery.
After that, I'll either have great vision without the need for contacts, or I'll be totally blind and up shit creek. Here's hoping it's the former! :)
Part IV - 3 Feb 2003
Ok, here's the good oil on my trip to Melbourne last week for Laser Vision Correction.
We arrived at 20|20 Laser Vision at about 11:30 Wednesday morning, where Rae the friendly receptionist performed the first few tests on my eyes. These tests were very similar to those I had already had in Albury, where a series of concentric rings of light are projected onto your cornea, and used to make a height-map of your eye.
That done, we had some lunch and waited for the optometrist and surgeon to arrive.
After some normal eye-chart style tests, the real stuff began. The optometrist (Roger) put some anaesthetic drops into my eye, and then used a device to measure the depth of my cornea. This involved a small, pen-like probe, with which he touched the surface of my eye. I couldn't feel much, but it was still mucho weird.
Once those tests were complete, we headed over to the laser centre to have the surgery itself.
Basically it went like this: First, I was given some muscle-relaxant tablets (yeah, man). Then, some stronger anaesthetic drops (ones that don't wear off after ten minutes) were put in my eye. We waited in a comfy chair for about 15 or 20 minutes for that to kick in, and then I was led into the surgery. I was laid down on a soft bench, and my other eye (the one not being treated at that time) was taped shut. Then they taped back the lashes of the eye they were treating, and applied a contraption which prevented me from blinking.
Then, the really weird stuff started. A vaccuum tube came down and grabbed my eye, hard. It pressed down so hard that my vision faded completely. This was uncomfortable, but in no way painful. Then a vibration kicked in while they cut a flap into my cornea. Didn't feel that at all. The surgeon then told me that he was going to pull the flap back, and I saw his hand move from one side of my vision to the other. As that happened, the little red light I was focusing on blurred into a massive blob. My cornea was no longer on my eye!
There was a sort of burning smell as they applied the laser, but I couldn't see it or feel it at all. Then the flap was placed back down onto my eye, and the suction device was released.
A couple of times during the procedure, the surgeon used a brush-like sponge to clean my eye. That was probably the weirdest thing of all, because you could see this brush going back and forth over your eyeball, and could sort of feel it.
Anyway, the whole thing was over within about two minutes, and I was able to walk back to our apartment. I slept the rest of the day, and rocked up on Thursday morning to have the other eye done.
The next day was the same thing, and when I came out from the surgery I had pretty much perfect vision in both eyes. For a few nights I have had to wear some semi-transparent plastic eye-patches while I sleep, so that I don't reach up and scratch/rub my eyes while sleeping.
I have a few optometrist appointments to go (just postoperative checkups), and a week or two's worth of antibiotic drops for my eyes, and then I'll be back to normal. Except with perfect vision.
If you're thinking of having this procedure, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's absolutely amazing, and worth every cent.
Part V - 6 Feb 2003
Just a quick update. I had my first postoperative appointment at the local optometrist yesterday, and all looks good (literally and figuratively).
I may have mentioned that I suspected that my right eye was not quite as strong as my left eye. Well, the optometrist tells me that my right eye (the bad one) is 20/20, and the left is better than that. I wasn't even aware that there was such thing as better than 20/20!!!
So everything's good!