Tucson Ophthalmologists

Lasik and Menopause

1'm 46, menopausal, have had 30 yrs of contacts, have thick corneas (-7,-8) While I'm scheduled for surgery soon, I'm afraid. Will I have dry eyes forever? Can nutrition help with this condition? Will it get worse as I age? (ie When I'm 75 will I need drops every 1/2 hour???)

A: LASIK, Menopause and Dry Eyes Dry eyes following LASIK can be very bothersome, even though you might never have been bothered by the symptoms before. Some patients even end up newly dependent on artificial tear drops following their procedure, which can be very frustrating. (I practice in the middle of the desert in the American Southwest, where nearly everybody, LASIK or not, develops dry eye at some point in our lives.) If you already suffer from dry eye syndrome and its attendant symptoms, it may stand to reason that LASIK could potentially worsen your condition, and certain medical diagnoses such as thyroid disease, collagen vascular disease and others, may interfere as well. Even certain medications, including over-the-counter allergy pills, can make things worse yet. Couple this with the understanding that as we age, our eyes produce less and less tears, plus the fact that hormonal imbalances don't help, and you may have reason to be concerned. So the question of whether you will have dry eyes forever is best answered, "yes, you may." However, most LASIK patients who have dry eyes following their procedure notice improvement over the first few months following their surgery. Nutrition in the form of flax seed oil and other supplements may be of benefit. Now, having said all this, there are other refractive procedures that may not worsen or bring on dry eyes as significantly as LASIK, and you should discuss these with your provider. They include such things as PRK (PhotoRefractive Keratectomy), ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens), and if you already have the formation of cataract, Lensectomy. In our experience, we have found that the ICL, for example, is an excellent alternative for patients with higher prescription amounts (such as yours), and dry eyes. Thanks for your post, and best of luck as you consider your options for excellent vision.

What if the LASIK Doctor Says That They Are Unable to Answer Additional Questions?

I had a consultation recently with a LASIK doctor who is offering a discount price on the Wavelength Allegretto Process. I thoroughly researched him on the Internet before the consultation. After the consultation, I emailed the doctor's office to ask some additional questions about my diagnosis and future testing (as well as ask for some patients to talk to) and was told he was unable to provide patient names due to HIPAA regs and was unable to answer my other questions. Should I run?

A: Your Doctor Won't Answer Email Questions About LASIK

In thus electronic age, many patients have learned to utilize such things as email, Facebook, and other means (this website being a prime example) to get more information regarding their procedure, or to contact their physician's office for more details. Every indication is that this trend will continue to rise, and like it or not, physicians will also have to learn to use this medium to communicate with their patients. If your physician is not comfortable communicating via email, it may be due to any of a number of factors, but if it is important to you that your provider be available via email, then you should continue to look elsewhere. Also, most successful LASIK practices maintain a list of very helpful patients who have indicated their willingness to discuss their experience with other potential patients. If no such list exists for this practice, that doesn't mean that they're any better or any worse than the next one. However, if this is important to you, the same applies, and you should seek another provider who is more to your liking. My only other suggestion would be to let the practice know exactly what has led you to make your choice, if your decision is to find another surgeon to perform your LASIK. Best of luck as you make your decision, and thanks for posting your question!

What is PRK? Is It Painful?

A: PRK--What is it and is it painful?

PRK stands for Photo-Refractive Keratectomy, and is actually a very effective treatment for people with refractive errors--myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, and astigmatism.  In the simplest of explanations, this treatment involves the use of the excimer laser to remove corneal tissue and reshape the surface of the eye, similar to LASIK.  However, this differs from LASIK in that there is no corneal tissue flap created.  Rather, in PRK the surface or epithelial cells are removed from the cornea, and excimer laser is then used to reshape the tissue.  The procedure itself is painless, but the recovery can be somewhat uncomfortable.  To prevent postoperative pain, typically a very thin bandage contact lens is placed on the eye, and oral pain medications and mild numbing eye drops are prescribed.  From the patient's perspective, PRK is more uncomfortable than LASIK, and the vision takes longer to recover, typically becoming stable 3-4 weeks after the procedure, as compared to a few days with LASIK.  Once healed, however, the vision is very good following PRK; several studies have been performed to compare PRK to LASIK, and some studies show the vision very slightly better with one versus the other, and vice versa.