iLasik blade free eye surgery in Austin (Emory: school, university)

[Kgraham05]

Has anyone had LASIK done?
What was your experience?
I'm looking to get information from someone who has had LASIK done in Austin.
I'm ready to get out of contacts. Just trying to narrow down my options of where to go and what the general cost range is.

[Trainwreck20]

Mine was 15 years ago, and not 'blade free', I don't think (not sure on what all has changed since '99); however, I can tell you I don't miss contacts a bit. I just recently started wearing reading glasses, though .

At the time, it was about $3k. Pick a Dr. (not just a place) that has done many thousands of the procedures. The rate of complications is almost directly proportional to the experience of the Dr.

[mark311]

I'll be watching this thread as well to see if anyone has recent experience.

I did my usual amount of fairly extensive research about 2 years ago and decided that when I get this done, I will go with Dr. Dell at Dell Laser Consultants. It was just under $6000 for both eyes which is more expensive than other places so I'm still waiting on the right time, but it really looks like they know what they're doing there. I definitely don't want to skimp on something that involves someone slicing my eyeballs with lasers. There are many positive reviews out there.

Intralase LASIK | Laser Vision Correction | iLASIK Procedure | Austin TX

[Austin97]

i got mine done about 6 months ago at austin eye. They were good and about 5-6K.

keep in mind that lasik creates a flap that never fully heals. PRK takes longer for you to see and hurts more (3-5 days instead of same day), but there is no flap that can come up.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You can always wait until you're old enough to need cataract surgery. That fixes your eyes permanently.

[cp102]

Both my husband and I did, it and worked great for me ,it did not work very good for my husband he still has to wear glasses . Would I do it again for me yes Hubby No!

[Austin97]

Imhad mine done 2 months ago at austin eye by the older DR wong. They were very good, cost about 5K and I could see the same day.

They used machines to measure my eye vs doing a manual eye test.

As I mentioned before, look at PRK because lasik creates a flap that never heals. It also cuts the nerves in the eye that are responsible for tearing. This is possibly what causes people a lifetime of dry eyes.

[Kgraham05]

Thanks for the info.
Austin97 I will definitely look into PRK. I deal with dry eyes now, one of my reasons for wanting LASIK. The Texas heat in the summer does not help. I'm 33 and have been wearing contacts since I was 11. I'm so ready to be done with them.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Imhad mine done 2 months ago at austin eye by the older DR wong. They were very good, cost about 5K and I could see the same day.

They used machines to measure my eye vs doing a manual eye test.

As I mentioned before, look at PRK because lasik creates a flap that never heals. It also cuts the nerves in the eye that are responsible for tearing. This is possibly what causes people a lifetime of dry eyes.

"Never heals?" That is a bit dramatic. It obviously DOES heal. I believe the data shows that most Lasik patients have temporary dryness.

PRK also carries a higher risk of infection than Lasik.

I had Lasik done almost 15 years ago. My vision is no longer 20/20 - hence I am considering an update.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

"Never heals?" That is a bit dramatic. It obviously DOES heal. I believe the data shows that most Lasik patients have temporary dryness.

PRK also carries a higher risk of infection than Lasik.

I had Lasik done almost 15 years ago. My vision is no longer 20/20 - hence I am considering an update.

LASIK Flap Dislocation - The Flap Never Heals

Dr. John Kanellopoulos: “There was evidence presented by Emory University’s Henry Edelhauser at this year’s Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day at the Academy of Ophthalmology meeting that the LASIK flap never actually heals onto the underlying stroma, especially centrally... This was a real eye-opener for me..." (Review of Ophthalmology 2/1/2009)

"To put it more simply, the corneal flap after LASIK provides no more corneal strength than the wearing of a contact lens." William Jory, MD. J Refract Surg. 2004 May-Jun;20(3):286.

"There is a high risk of potential traumatic flap problems after LASIK and it is not recommended in army service". Xiao JH, Zhang MN, Jiang CH, Zhang Y, Qiu HY. Laser in situ keratomileusis surgery is not safe for military personnel. Chin J Traumatol. 2012 Apr 1;15(2):77-80.

"These flaps can be lifted forever, and I guess they can dislocate forever, so we have to inform our patients of that." Samir A. Melki, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School. (EyeWorld, September 2001)