That’s pricing the risk that it messes up your eye at zero. I don’t think that’s the right way to go about it.
I don’t recall the exact numbers, but the risks were sufficiently tiny that I was not concerned about them. Anything that laser eye surgery can do to the outer layers of the eye I fully expect to be fixable in the ~30 year future before age-related eye issues become a problem for me. A great deal of the remaining “messes up your eye” scenarios are fixable by the surgeon. The truly horrific stuff means a malpractice lawsuit (or settlement under threat thereof).
I did some more reading on the risks from the website and handouts from the place I got my eyes done. 7% have their eyes over or under corrected and get re-correction in the first year. Serious complications are much more rare.
It goes without saying that you should do your homework and go to the best place you can find.
The risk of dry eye is because LASIK cuts a flap in the cornea, severing many of the nerves that sense irritation and dryness. Other procedures like epi-LASEK or PRK don’t involve cutting into the cornea, so their risk of dry eye is much lower. Unfortunately, those procedures are more painful and take months to heal. They involve scraping the epithelial cells off of your cornea, zapping your eye, and then letting them grow back. On the bright side, there is no flap that can be dislodged by a blow to the eye.
I got wavefront-guided epi-LASEK a few years ago. My vision went from 20⁄200 to 20⁄15. It can be pricey ($5k), but it’s definitely the best money I’ve ever spent.
My eyes have gotten noticeably drier since I got laser eye surgery, and I consider it minor—it’s significantly less annoying than glasses. I may not have as severe a version as some, though.
I don’t recall the exact numbers, but the risks were sufficiently tiny that I was not concerned about them. Anything that laser eye surgery can do to the outer layers of the eye I fully expect to be fixable in the ~30 year future before age-related eye issues become a problem for me. A great deal of the remaining “messes up your eye” scenarios are fixable by the surgeon. The truly horrific stuff means a malpractice lawsuit (or settlement under threat thereof).
I did some more reading on the risks from the website and handouts from the place I got my eyes done. 7% have their eyes over or under corrected and get re-correction in the first year. Serious complications are much more rare.
It goes without saying that you should do your homework and go to the best place you can find.
Persistent dry eyes is probably the most significant risk. Sounds minor, but isn’t.
The risk of dry eye is because LASIK cuts a flap in the cornea, severing many of the nerves that sense irritation and dryness. Other procedures like epi-LASEK or PRK don’t involve cutting into the cornea, so their risk of dry eye is much lower. Unfortunately, those procedures are more painful and take months to heal. They involve scraping the epithelial cells off of your cornea, zapping your eye, and then letting them grow back. On the bright side, there is no flap that can be dislodged by a blow to the eye.
I got wavefront-guided epi-LASEK a few years ago. My vision went from 20⁄200 to 20⁄15. It can be pricey ($5k), but it’s definitely the best money I’ve ever spent.
My eyes have gotten noticeably drier since I got laser eye surgery, and I consider it minor—it’s significantly less annoying than glasses. I may not have as severe a version as some, though.