Denver Ophthalmologists

PRK Instead Of LASIK For Thick Cornea? What Is The Healing Time?

my thickness for both eyes corneas are 470 and 472 and i have a little congenital cataracts, the doctor recommended PKR instead of Lasik. Im a good candidate and she also said since my cornea was so thin they wont be able to do enhancements and my eyes could revert back to what it is now in 5 or 10 years. is this true and do you think it is safe to go ahead with the procedure. also on average about how long is healing. If i have a friday surgery, can i go back to school on monday or tuesday?

PRK would be about the only refractive procedure I would consider on a patient with thin corneas like yours.  Having said that, your surgeon needs to be careful your cornea is not abnormal.  Before I considered PRK, I would have a Pentacam scan and have the predictive software programs run to see if you fall into a "normal" category for refractive surgery.  And, the decision will also depend upon the amount of your refractive error.  In the past, before we had the software we have today, I would not consider you a candidate.  Now, patients like you can be PRK candidates.  LASIK is probably out of the question.

Stuart Lewis, MD

Denver Ophthalmologist

I Am 50 Interested in Intralase Eye Laser Surgery, Should I Be Hesitant Since I Have Dry Eyes?

I am 50 yrs old. I have myopia and seeing a very reputable surgeon in New West to do the Intralase Eye surgery. I am terrified as I have dry eyes. Will my farsighted vision be taken away after this surgery ? I am in two minds? Pls help asap?

We always have concern whenconsidering lasik on a patient with dry eyes.  Having said that it is a matter of degree and the what refractive error with which we are dealing.  Small amounts of treatment are not as concerning as larger amounts.  Farsightedness has worse dryness complications than nearsightedness.  Pre-treatment of the dry eye problem is very helpful.
 

Stuart Lewis, MD

Denver Ophthalmologist

Can LASIK correct a 5.0 diopter astigmatism?

What are the limits of LASIK eye surgery concerning the correction of astigmatism? 

I have had success in correcting high levels of astigmatism (over 5 diopters) but not using the wavefront technology.  This is especially true for patients who have had RK in the past.  But, on certain patients, re-treatment of the astigmatism is necessary.  This is all dependent upon the patient having a thick enough cornea to start and a reasonable corneal curvature.  One of the great success stories here is a patient who had residual astigmatism after a corneal transplant.  In that case, I was able to correct his astigmatism using PRK which is also a great option.
 

Stuart Lewis, MD

Denver Ophthalmologist