My PRK Experience - Toronto, ON

A few days ago, I went to a consultation for laser eye surgery at Herzig Eye Institute. I went through a number of tests, most of them with an optometrist. The consultation included a standard eye exam, as well as some other procedures that I’ve never been through. I would say the strangest was the use of numbing drops so that the optometrist could do some tests that involved using a device to touch my eyeballs…it only took like 10 seconds for each eye but felt strange to have something touching my eyeballs.

The total appointment ended up taking about 1.5 hours, including the time I spent talking to a salesperson on the cost and the potential dates. I was told by the optometrist that PRK would be the preferred method as my corneas were on the border of the thickness required for Lasik. One eye would be eligible however, for Lasik but rather than do two different procedures I am opting to do PRK on both eyes. It costs $2,500 per eye for any doctor except Dr Herzig himself, which is an additional $200 per eye. I was a bit annoyed when the salesperson told me the price, as my friend is getting her PRK done at the same facility this week and is paying $4,500. So I inquired about this and she informed that this was a promotion for Jan/Feb and that I would need to do my procedure during this month! Somehow I felt as though this was a tactic to get me to book ASAP as some of the surgeons still had availability. But for savings of $500 and a flexible work schedule, I went ahead and booked! My procedure is next week so I will update at that point.

Some things that I was told:
1. Soft contact lenses to be out a minimum of 1 week prior to procedure
2. I’ll need a follow up appointment about three days after my procedure to have the contact lense bandages removed
3. It will be about a week before I can drive again.
I plan to do the procedure on a Thursday and return to work on Tuesday. Fingers crossed that I heal quickly!
I'm definitely super nervous about the procedure and really hope that I have perfect vision after it's all said and done. Right now I have a prescripiton of -5.75 (L) and -5.50 (R) with astigmatism.

Quick update - it is now day 4 post custom wavefront PRK procedure (had it done on Thursday morning) and until last night I've pretty much been out of commission and even now I can hardly see what I am typing!

Day of surgery - arrived at Herzig and had a few tests done. I took the valium that was offered to calm my nerves, had a nice back and hand massage, was given instructions on my post op meds (mostly ieye drops) and then met with my surgeon. He did a ew more tests then I was off to the surgery room. The entire procedure is quick - my surgeon was fanstastic - telling me what he was doing and what I would expect (i.e. my vision will be blocked for a few seconds, the contact lense bandage was being placed on my eye). The actual procedure with the laser took 20 seconds per eye (literally - they were counting down). The most "uncomfortable" parts were: the smell of the laser burning (similar to the smell of laser hair removal for those of you who have experienced that) , the cold water flushed into my eye and feeling the metal clamps holding my eyes open (for which i requested more numbing drops and then no longer felt the cold metal). That being said, nothing was painful or very uncomfortable - just strange. Once it was done I could see! Things were a lot more clear than what I would normally have been able to see without contacts or glasses, but not perfect. During the drive home I could not open my eyes even though it wasn't a sunny day and I had the heavy duty sunglasses from the doctor's office. Also the numbing drops wore off during the short ride home and I wish I had taken one of the T3s given to me. That being said, it wasn't painful, but a bit sore. I ended up taking a T3 when I got home to help me sleep off the soreness in my eyes every time I blinked - but I would have just taken Tylenol Extra Strengths if I'd had some on hand.
The day of surgery my vision was quite good, but my eyes were too tired so all I did was sleep.

Day 1 - Went for a post-op appointment that took all of 5 minutes. Again, I slept most of the day, and rested my eyes. My vision was much blurrier than it had been the previous day. My eyes were quite sore at night and I took a Demerol. I had been told it was like a T3 but would make me drowsy so to take it before bed. BAD IDEA. This is a very very strong painklller and while the T3 does not affect me, this Demerol made me extremely ill - I took it at 9pm and was unable to functionthrough to the next day! Be sure that your body can handle it before taking such a strong medication.

Day 2 - Still not able to do much of anything- spent the day fighting off the effects of the demerol I had taken, and resting. My vision was actually worse than the previous day, but I ould also feel my eyes healing as they felt a bit uncomfy.

Day 3 - For most of the day I could not do much - my eyes were still sensitive to light even with the sunglasses on so I couldn't watch tv. Towards the end of the night I was able to watch tv, although everything was pretty blurry.

Day 4 (today) - still off work but I was able to at least read on my ereader - font size XXXL. Surprisingly throughout all of this my eyes have not been dry but I am using the lubricating drops every 2 hours as instructed as it helps the healing process to ensure your eyes are lubricated.

Tomorrow I am heading bback to work - pretty concerned about how that will go when I can hardly see still! In the afternoon I have an appointment to have the contact lense removed and am hoping this will improve my vision.

Update - it's been about 10 days since my procedure. After having the contact lenses removed, my eyes were insanely dry and being at work staring at a computer (magnified 150% lol) did not help matters. I was using lubricating drops every hour or so. Over the weekend,I felt like my eyes improved ever so slightly, eyes were less dry (lubricating drops needed only about 4 times a day), and light sensitivity improved (could watch tv without my sunglasses for a bit, but for long periods it was more comfortable to have sunglasses on). I still cannot drive as my vision is still quite blurry!

The Systane Balance lubricating drops are my favourite ones - they work great.