Pre-Op

I didn't decide to blog this experience until after I decided to go ahead with PRK, so some details may be spotty here...

Background: I'm 30 years old and have worn soft contacts for approximately 20 years, approx 16 hours per day. I almost never wear glasses other than to get in and out of bed.

I went to three different places for pre-op LASIK screening. LASIK was definitely my first option. Of the three places I visited, one (Icon) told me I could do LASIK and two told me I should do PRK instead in the left eye based on my prescription and cornea thickness. The two that told me I should use PRK both used the same facility, Insight LASIK in Layfayette CO. I had initially planned to to PRK correction in the left eye and LASIK in the right eye.

I decided to go with insight over icon mostly for convenience reasons since Insight was much closer. I also did get the feeling that Insight was a bit more thorough and potentially a bit less "assembly line" than Icon in the pre-op screening. The cost was slightly higher at Insight - $2100 per eye as opposed to $1500 at Icon.

My cornea thickness measured 3 weeks before surgery (using the pentacam) was 522 uM left eye and 524 uM right eye. My prescription was -8 diopters in the left eye and -6.5 in the right eye.

As recommended by the doctors I visited in the pre-op screening, I went without glasses for two weeks, then went back for another pre-op visit. The pre-op visit consisted of another pentacam test as well as a test with an ultrasonic instrument used to test cornea thickness. After wearing contacts for two weeks I was told my right eye thickness had shrunk to 508 uM, making the right eye thickness borderline for LASIK. The doctors at Insight recommended I do PRK in both eyes. I reluctantly agreed... I wasn't excited about the potential for a longer and more painful recovery but decided it would be a safer option.