Lasik - Austin 2018

[staboner 4969]

Hey friends, just had LASIK. L Shawn Wong at Eye of Texas Laser Center

Great experience. Came recommend from some of you. Eyes are great, procedure was great, recovery great too. Day to day is up and down, but after one month I should be fully in my new 41 year old eyes 

I can offer a more detailed review of Doc Wong, the procedure, etc. 

Just starting this off as I know others were interested

[Chuychanga 133]

Price?    Was your eyesight deteriorating  consistently prior to the procedure?   Did Dr. Wong give you a guess how long it would take them to deteriorate back to where they were or at least back until you need readers?   That’s what’s stopping me. I wear contacts and it doesn’t really bother me to wear them and deal with them. But I don’t want to pay all that cash only to have to do it again in a few years  or to keep needing readers again soon. 

[Stella Link 534]

Cataracts run in my family.  After my parents had cataract surgery, they both had 20/20 vision.  I figure I'll probably need cataract surgery at some point when I get older, so I'm holding off on Lasik surgery until then.

[staboner 4969]

14 hours ago, Chuychanga said:

Price?    Was your eyesight deteriorating  consistently prior to the procedure?   Did Dr. Wong give you a guess how long it would take them to deteriorate back to where they were or at least back until you need readers?   That’s what’s stopping me. I wear contacts and it doesn’t really bother me to wear them and deal with them. But I don’t want to pay all that cash only to have to do it again in a few years  or to keep needing readers again soon. 

41 years old. constant scrip for 10 years or so. reading starting to fade on me at 39 or so.  vision is supposed to change again till 50 or so. re-evaluate then

LASIK just eliminated the need for contacts. don't quite need readers, but will need readers prob in a few years

$4k or so. thats the going rate. 

Doc Wong is a hilarious dude. Very energetic, seems very natural to him too - the procedure and the general feeling of the benefits and how to sell/explain them

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by staboner

[4th&Five 41506]

he did mine 13 years ago.  glad he's still doing a great job.

[Chuychanga 133]

Thanks Staboner.  My near vision is what's bad.  I can go around all day without glasses or contacts until I need to read something.  Getting lasik and then needing to keep using readers in a few years seems like I'm not getting much out of it.  Mitchell Wong, father of the other Wongs, operated on my eyes when I was 2 years old and was my eye doctor for all of my childhood.  I tried to keep using them as an adult but they didn't accept my vision plan.  Now that I'm in a different job with a different plan I should go back to Shawn or Shannon and get more info about this. 

My current eye doctor tells me I'm not a good candidate for lasik, but then again she doesn't perform it and it's in her best interest to keep me coming to her for contacts every year.  I'd trust any doctor in the Wong family tree more.

[gsoda3 3245]

12 hours ago, Chuychanga said:

Thanks Staboner.  My near vision is what's bad.  I can go around all day without glasses or contacts until I need to read something.  Getting lasik and then needing to keep using readers in a few years seems like I'm not getting much out of it.  Mitchell Wong, father of the other Wongs, operated on my eyes when I was 2 years old and was my eye doctor for all of my childhood.  I tried to keep using them as an adult but they didn't accept my vision plan.  Now that I'm in a different job with a different plan I should go back to Shawn or Shannon and get more info about this. 

My current eye doctor tells me I'm not a good candidate for lasik, but then again she doesn't perform it and it's in her best interest to keep me coming to her for contacts every year.  I'd trust any doctor in the Wong family tree more.

you're 45+ right?  i can almost guarantee you shannon will say you're not a candidate.  he's the most conservative of the three wongs.  

 

also, mitchell is l shawn's dad as well.  

Edited April 25, 2018 by gsoda3

[wherzwaldo 1]

I'm 35 and have been near sighted my whole life, but in the last couple of years I've started to notice my near vision (less than 1ft away) starting to go.  Can LASIK correct both of those at the same time, or will I just have to get reading glasses in a few years?

[RDCanecutter 26378]

You will eventually need reading glasses.

I got lasik early 40s, for a long time I could almost set things on fire just by looking at them, close or far. But near vision will go, or more to the point, the ability to quickly refocus from close to far to back again. Some days my near vision is OK, others, it's like it's "sprung" and only works as far vision. That's when I slap on a pair of 10 dollar specs and carry on.

Good news is it's been 15 years since I had to wear glasses to drive.

[Sandman 3403]

I'm getting Lasik next week. They asked me if I wanted to get a valium and I really don't know. I've never taken one and as dumb as it sounds, I'm leery about taking it. I don't drink or smoke weed, I have a complex about not being in control of my faculties. Not that valium will do anything crazy to me, but like I said, I have complex.

I'm nervous about the procedure but I'm nervous about taking something, too. What's the surly verdict, take the pill or go in dry??

[EvilCaseMcCoy 691]

33 minutes ago, Sandman said:

I'm getting Lasik next week. They asked me if I wanted to get a valium and I really don't know. I've never taken one and as dumb as it sounds, I'm leery about taking it. I don't drink or smoke weed, I have a complex about not being in control of my faculties. Not that valium will do anything crazy to me, but like I said, I have complex.

I'm nervous about the procedure but I'm nervous about taking something, too. What's the surly verdict, take the pill or go in dry??

I took Valium pre-lasik surgery and it had an adverse effect.  I was wigged out and pissed the during and after the procedure. I'd recommend against it.

[gsoda3 3245]

i wasn't nervous at all going in to it.  they offered me a valium, i wasn't going to take it but they convinced me to take it.  don't think it really affected anything.  

[4th&Five 41506]

I took it before mine. Not sure I would have gone through with it otherwise. It’s just going to relax you a bit. Not really comparable to being drunk or high, imo. 

[52-80 19142]

3 hours ago, Sandman said:

I'm getting Lasik next week. They asked me if I wanted to get a valium and I really don't know. I've never taken one and as dumb as it sounds, I'm leery about taking it. I don't drink or smoke weed, I have a complex about not being in control of my faculties. Not that valium will do anything crazy to me, but like I said, I have complex.

I'm nervous about the procedure but I'm nervous about taking something, too. What's the surly verdict, take the pill or go in dry??

I didn't take mine.  It's not going to put you on a trip tho.  Better that than you nervously wiggling your head around while you're under the laser/knife

[wild_turkey 3159]

I do LASIK and I recommend taking the Valium, but we occasionally have someone who does fine without it. Personal preferences, although as the surgeon, I kinda like knowing the patient is relaxed.

It's a baby dose so people may get a little drowsy, but it typically isn't enough to slur speech or start people confessing their naughty fantasies. Compare that to regular surgeries where you have propofol, fentanyl, or versed going and people occasionally say some whacky stuff.

[Lone Star Horn 2016]

I've recently seen ads, one of the Wongs talking about correction for reading glasses. Anyone have any experience with that? 

I had radial keratotomy after wearing glasses/contacts for 20 years. That lasted almost 15+ years, then after 42, I needed reading glasses. Dealt with that for a few years until it started getting harder to see the scores on the TV. I now wear progressive lenses on glasses, and use multi-focal contacts when I don't want to wear the glasses. I've been curious about a fix for needing glasses to read.

[luke duke 6412]

I'm 35 and have been near sighted my whole life, but in the last couple of years I've started to notice my near vision (less than 1ft away) starting to go.  Can LASIK correct both of those at the same time, or will I just have to get reading glasses in a few years?

I’ve met 2 guys that had one distance eye and one reading eye. They said that once they adjusted, they we’re happy. I’m not sure if they do that any more.

[RPM 26315]

I had lasik done in Irving by Dr.Tylock. I had astigmatism so they gave me the one eye near one far option. I tried on a pair of glasses that simulated it and that was for the birds. Probably would have adjusted after a while, but I didn't want to risk it.  Wound up going with far vision and readers. It's inconvenient when I need to read small print and don't have a pair of readers, but I can see a bump on a gnat's ass at 200 yds.

[SDG 3319]

I took a xanax prior to mine. It wasn’t prescribed and i wasn’t offered anything from my dr.  I just knew how much i hated putting my contacts in.  A year and a half later and no issues. Id recommend lasik to anyone who qualifies. 

[Sandman 3403]

On ‎7‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 12:53 PM, luke duke said:

 

I’ve met 2 guys that had one distance eye and one reading eye. They said that once they adjusted, they we’re happy. I’m not sure if they do that any more.

 

They offered me that shit during my consultation, they called it "Monovision". I said fuck that noise.

My surgery is tomorrow and I can't lie, I'm a tad nervous. I wound up getting the valium and I'm gonna take it. 

[PilotsError 2286]

How long is the actual surgery?

[SMUlawUTgrad 81]

I did lasik 3 months ago. I took the Valium. Made me feel drunk but helped me not stress during the procedure. It only takes like 15 minutes.

Lasik is amazing. My vision is 20/20.

[4th&Five 41506]

yep, mine is still perfect after 13 years.  best money ever spent as others have said.

[blacklab 11926]

Had mine done by wong over 20 years ago, had to get glasses for reading about 5 years ago and bifocals a few years back.

The valium is awesome. It's like time travel. They gave it to me and said they would be back in 30 minutes. I opened a magazine and read about 2 paragraphs of an article and then they said it's time to go. I thought it had been about 10 seconds but it had been 30 minutes.

I have considered the one far one near or just getting far fixed but have been too lazy to look into it.

[SDG 3319]

12 hours ago, PilotsError said:

How long is the actual surgery?

After prep the laser ran about 35 seconds per eye.  I honestly thought it would be a much bigger deal than it was; which is why I waited about ten years to get it done.  

Edit to add my total time in the laser room was <= 10 minutes.  I Uber’s home after.  Though I’m told the results could take months,  I could see perfectly the next morning.

Are there any rules around updating your divers liscence?  Mine doesn’t expire for a few years so I haven’t bothered to have the corrective lens requirement removed.  

Edited July 6, 2018 by SDG

[Sandman 3403]

I had the surgery yesterday. I took the valium, I felt extremely tired and a little silly. I did not get the bladeless, so the machine opened my eye with a blade. It DID hurt, less than a paper cut but I didn't expect to feel anything. Then zap, zap I was done. It smelled, too, like when you have teeth drilled. I was in pain for several hours afterwards but it was manageable.

I'm already seeing better today. I'm curious how much better it will get over the next few days/weeks. If you are on the fence about this, just do it. It's worth it.

[52-80 19142]

I did the blade.  The longest and tensest phase of the surgery was cutting the flap.  I think the surgeon had to rerun it a few rimes.

There was no pain.  It was a mild pressure, kinda like getting a Novocaine injection at the dentist where you feel pressure on your guns but not the pinch of the needle. 

The laser definitely made a zapping sound but I didn't smell anything.

***

I did the procedure solo.  When it was done, I walked across the street to eat lunch at the mall.  Vision was hazy kinda like sitting in a sauna.

Forgot whether I taxi'ed or bussed back home.

Next morning vision was slightly blurry and by lunchtime it was 20/25-30 and has been that way ever since.

***

I'd like to see someone do the procedure under 🍄 mushrokm

[SDG 3319]

Yeah, I had the blade or flap cut but didn’t feel any pain. I remember the burning smell and thinking “are they frying my eyes right now.”  

[Dolemite 143]

On 4/23/2018 at 10:31 PM, Stella Link said:

Cataracts run in my family.  After my parents had cataract surgery, they both had 20/20 vision.  I figure I'll probably need cataract surgery at some point when I get older, so I'm holding off on Lasik surgery until then.

Lasik is worth it. You wouldn't believe how much better you will see. 20/20 20/15 range plus you don't know for sure when or if you will get cataracts.

[RPM 26315]

I had mine done when Final Destination 5 was released. When I was laying on the table waiting for the zap to start I said something like "I hope this turns out better than FD5". I heard one chuckle and one "OMG!" so I think I hit the sweet spot with that one.

 

[phdhorn 6224]

Bump.  Gettin' cataract surgery tomorrow.  My right eye "went off the table" in the last 2 years as my optometrist put it.  Left eye is decent but 'passes the insurance bar" to get it corrected, otherwise, ugh, not into the "one contact" scene.

Billionaire-who-we-all-know's-name-on-computers' brother's doing it.  So far I really like the staff/crew/etc.

I also have acute astigmatism, so I'm opting for the "cut", a procedure where they laser your "front eye" and knock it out, that's out of pocket, a thou an eye, almost no insurance would cover that as it's deemed "cosmetic" but without it I'd still need far-seeing glasses/contacts.  This will remove the cataracts while 99% guaranteeing me permanent far vision, will almost certainly need mild glasses to read, etc. but being an eyewear wearer for all but the first 5 years of my life, no biggie.

FIrst eye-gouge is tomorrow, second is Friday.  Here we go...

[PilotsError 2286]

Got LASIK on Thursday at LASIK PLUS by Westwood.  The actual procedure was eight minutes.  Went home, napped, and when I woke up everything was completely clear.  Highly recommend. 

Also I'm 45 and everything is good.  I know I'll need readers at some point  

[4th&Five 41506]

I didn’t know they did it for people 40+. Figured a lens replacement would be the better option. 

[PilotsError 2286]

When I asked if I was too old, he seemed confused.  Said they routinely do people in their 40s and 50s. The woman who was in before me looked about early 50s.

Certainly different than what was said upthread about the Wongs.  

[morehornsepower 887]

On 7/5/2018 at 10:34 AM, Sandman said:

They offered me that shit during my consultation, they called it "Monovision". I said fuck that noise.

My surgery is tomorrow and I can't lie, I'm a tad nervous. I wound up getting the valium and I'm gonna take it. 

I know this post is a bit far back, but just wanted to offer my 2 cents on this, after having elected to do "monovision" 4 years back: don't fucking do it.

90% of the time, your brain adjusts, and you don't even notice.  but the other 10% is bullshit.

- do you shoot?  Make sure your 'near' eye is the one you use for the sight, and the 'far' eye is the one you use to look downrange.  If you get it backwards, it sucks.

- do you drive?  If you have a cup of water or coffee and take a swig, make sure you aren't covering up the 'far' eye, or the whole outside world goes blurry.  And you may need to turn your head completely to make sure your 'near' eye can focus on anything you want to see clearly on the dashboard.

- roll over in the morning to glance at the clock to see the time?  better hope your 'near' eye is not in the pillow or you won't see shit.

- Watching something in unbalanced lighting (like, say, a lamp to one side of the sitting area while watching TV)?  Be prepared for one eye to take over based on lighting, overriding whichever eye you actually need to use for watching.

 

All of these are blatantly obvious when spelled out...and perfectly logical looking back.  But all I heard before was "your brain will adjust" - and it does...for most situations.  Do not recommend.

[HiggyBaby 2529]

41 minutes ago, 4th&amp;Five said:

I didn’t know they did it for people 40+. Figured a lens replacement would be the better option. 

My eye doctor says lasik won’t work for me but I am a candidate for lens replacement (I’m farsighted). He didn’t give me many warm fuzzies about the potential side effects but that was a few years ago. Has the tech advanced to the point where side effects are limited? If so maybe I should revisit. 

[4th&Five 41506]

1 hour ago, HiggyBaby said:

My eye doctor says lasik won’t work for me but I am a candidate for lens replacement (I’m farsighted). He didn’t give me many warm fuzzies about the potential side effects but that was a few years ago. Has the tech advanced to the point where side effects are limited? If so maybe I should revisit. 

I haven’t dug into it all that much but my doc said I’ll definitely want to consider it in the next 5-7 years. I had LASIK in ‘05 and still had perfect vision until I had a retina detachment a couple years ago. Because of that my eyes are nowhere close to the same prescription, which kind of sucks.

[wild_turkey 3159]

I didn’t know they did it for people 40+. Figured a lens replacement would be the better option. 

You can do it for people 40+ as long as their expectations are reasonable.

If you target distance vision for both eyes, there is a good chance they will need reading glasses by their mid-40s. LASIK doesn’t change that because it’s a problem with the lens inside the eye not focusing up close. That gets worse throughout your 40s and 50s, hence, reading glasses or bifocals.

Or you can set the non-dominant eye a little bit nearsighted to delay the need for reading glasses. That’s monovision (one distance eye, one near eye), which is typically only a good thing to do if you have a successful trial period of monovision using a contact lens, prior to surgery.

Once people get into their late 50s, it’s usually better to do lens replacement surgery, because they are getting into cataract territory. If someone gets LASIK at age 60 but needs cataract surgery 5 years later, they didn’t get much mileage out of LASIK.

I’ve done LASIK on people in their 70s who had already had cataract surgery and weren’t happy with their refractive result afterwards. Cataract surgery was fine other than the person still needed prescription glasses due to astigmatism or whatever, and they didn’t want glasses. It’s not common but it happens occasionally, and there are rare situations when LASIK (or PRK) might be a good option for people in that age group. I actually had one guy in his mid-80s who turned out great.

Which reminds me, as a medical student I rotated with a plastic surgeon for a bit. We had a 90 year old lady schedule a consult for a boob job because her husband had passed and she wanted to date again. The surgeon rightfully turned her down. I still get a little chuckle out of that one.

[CoTex 1160]

I recommend Lasik.  I used Tyrone McCall when I was 42.

Cornea Associates of Texas: Ophthalmologists in Dallas, TX - Fort Worth - Plano (corneatexas.com)

If I had one comment about the surgery it is that I never think about it, I just don't wear glasses anymore.  If I have eye dryness, etc., it is generally because I drank too much alcohol and not enough water.

Now, a few years down the track, I use reading glasses when I read but can survive without them - just a convenience thing.  I don't "need" reading glasses, but if I'm in a dark restaurant and they give me the damned fine print receipt, the glasses help. 

I asked him about the monovision thing.  His comment was something to the effect of "my goal is to give you 20/20 or better vision.  If you want me to intentionally give you something less now, planning on a future date when it may make things easier... I will, but I don't recommend it."

For driving, sports, outdoor activity, etc., I just wear normal sunglasses without drama.

 

[gsoda3 3245]

14 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

The surgeon rightfully turned her down. I still get a little chuckle out of that one.

lol how did he say it?

[CoTex 1160]

21 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

lol how did he say it?

"Look old girl, you need an estate planning lawyer and a life-alert clicker.  Not tits.  Get the fuck out of my office - I've got twenty-year-olds to examine."

[wild_turkey 3159]

lol how did he say it?

Female surgeon. I wasn’t in the room for the conversation but I understand it was something to the effect of “You’re too pretty the way you are and also the risks of surgery are high.”