LASIK: Female, 43

August 17, 1999
Web posted at: 11:44 a.m. EDT (1544 GMT)

Female: This patient asked to remain anonymous because she plans to return for further treatment.

Age: 43

Residence: Atlanta

Procedure: LASIK

Which eyes: Both eyes. A doctor referred her to a surgical practice.

Cost: She paid $5,000, which was supposed to cover the cost of a year's follow-up and enhancements. But she developed an infection five days after the procedure that the doctor who performed the LASIK determined was unrelated to the surgery.

She was changing insurance coverage at the time of the procedure, and as a result, the new insurance company deemed her eye infection to be a pre-existing condition. She has had to cover the cost of all the aftercare, including visits to five eye doctors, prescriptions, and multiple eyeglass prescriptions.

The doctor she is currently seeing, the third she has seen at the practice that originally performed the surgery, has agreed that any enhancements she has after the infection clears will be covered by her original $5,000 payment. He has also agreed to perform the correction on one eye at a time.

When done: December 1, 1998

Why did you do it?

She said it was "just absolute vanity." Her eyes would not tolerate contacts any longer, and she didn't want to wear Coke-bottle glasses anymore.

Would you call it successful?

"Well, no, because nine months later, I'm still wearing glasses, and I'm still on steroid drops once a day." She is still battling the infection.

Three days after her LASIK, she went for an eye exam for a new driver's license and placed her eyes in the vision testing machine. She thinks that may be where she contracted the infection, but she believes the surgery made her more susceptible.

Two days after the driver's eye exam, she came down with the infection. When her eyes started swelling shut, she returned to her eye surgeon.

She was told it was the worst infection they had ever seen, and she was asked to leave the clinic because they were afraid of contagion. She said the treatment she received was awful.

After seeing her original surgeon, she went to four other doctors, but no one wanted to prescribe her anything. The doctor she is currently with, who is with the same practice as her original surgeon, has been helpful.

He prescribed both oral and eyedrop steroids. Because her eyes were extremely dry, she also had artificial tear ducts placed in her eyes to help them produce more tears.

Her infection began around Christmas. She said she was giving large holiday parties and had to wear sunglasses at them.

"The doctors can't predict when I will finally be free of the infection. We've tried to have fewer eyedrops, for instance every other day, but when we did that, I ended up with spots on my cornea," she said.

Because of the infection, the surgeon does not know when she will be able to have an enhancement surgery. In the meantime, she is not clear on what, if any, damage is being done to her eyes.

What was your vision before the procedure?

She was severely nearsighted, a -9 and -10.

After:

She is currently -1.7 and -2.5. Right after the surgery she could see, but with the infection her vision became progressively worse. For five weeks she could not see to drive: Her eyes were swollen shut.

Finally they were able to prescribe glasses. She has had four prescriptions since then, and with each pair she has needed less and less correction.

Did this procedure meet your expectations?

"No. I expected not to be someone with complications, and I expected to be able to see without my glasses for the rest of my life," she said. "You never think you are going to be one of the small percentage that has a problem."

Would you do it again?

"No."

Any pain?

"It (the LASIK procedure) wasn't bad, but the pain of the infection is awful."

How would you describe the experience?

"It was kind of surreal in a way. You literally have this thing kind of dancing around on your eyeball, the laser. It was very amazing, because I went from looking at a blur thing on the ceiling to actually being able to see it. For someone who has worn glasses for 30 years, it was pretty amazing to see how my vision was improved."

What risks were you made aware of ahead of time?

She was told there were risks of double vision and blurry vision, but she was told that if she were one of the small percentage who ended up with complications, the procedure could be adjusted to correct the problems.

Did you seek out the treatment, or was it suggested to you by a doctor?

She had been keeping track of the progress of refractive surgery for years, but her vision was so compromised that no doctors would perform RK on her.

She said her regular eye doctor told her last year that LASIK could help her. He indicated that he had several patients who had gone through it and that he felt he could recommend it to her.

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