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Laser eye surgery...


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Hi there,

 

I'm just wondering if any camera operators who post here have had corrective laser eye surgery? When I went in for the consultation the doctor told me that their was a small risk of seeing halos around bright lights in the dark? For example, when driving at night..

 

This worried me slightly as, like most posters on this forum, I spend quite a lot of time looking at lights and I don't want the above condition to affect my work.

 

He told me that plenty of photographers have had the surgery and haven't had any problems but i suppose he would say that!! Apart from that concern, I am completely suitable for surgery..

 

Anyway, any insights or experiences would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

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I had Lasers shot in to open up my Eyeball drainage... then had my Lenses crushed and removed and synthetic Lenses (with built in UV protection built in) implanted and then Lasik to clean everything up. I had horrible vision with astigmatism. I had to use added diopters that fit in the eyepieces so I could see focus.. lived like that for a long long time.. glasses and all. had this done and it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. No glasses.. perfect vision... TERRIFIC!

 

Now.. there were some halos for the first month but it did not impare my ability to do my job.

 

Git -r- done!

 

Here is thread that gets into it:

 

Medical Issues Being a Cinematographer

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi!

 

I worked for several years for an ophthalmologist, and got to be pretty familiar with LASIK and PRK procedures. The recovery is pretty fast (and the improvement in vision is instantaneous). You'll just need to make room in your schedule, since you'll have to have several days of followups with the surgeon. The main, most common side effect is that you will most likely need reading glasses in the near future, since the procedure actually reforms the shape of your lens.

 

Have you been screened as a candidate? That's the only other major hurdle. You have to have a lens of sufficient thickness, and some people simply are not a candidate. You'll want to do some research on your doctor as well. The reason being, LASIK and PRK are pricey (2000 to 2500 seems to be the going rate these days), and it's quick for the doctor (ten to fifteen minutes per eye, as opposed to cataract removal or corneal transplant). Best of all, since it's elective surgery, insurance usually won't cover it, so you have to pay out of pocket, which is good news for them (I'd did the doctor's billing and insurance paperwork and believe you me, they really, really, really get screwed by the insurance and medicare). Getting to the point, there are definitely some unscrupulous practitioners out there who would love to do as many of these procedures as possible. If you've been screened and you're only a marginal candidate, some might just say, "You're fine, go for it," without acknowledging your increased risk for complications. And since our eyes are our money makers, we can't do anything to F them up. So take care, do your research and best of luck!

 

Best,

BR

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I've had LASIK 5 years ago and would do it again in a heart beat! I love not being tied to glasses and contacts anymore.

 

The only side effect I have is dry eyes and I use eye drops to solve that. To me that is no big deal because I regularly used eye drops when I wore contacts before anyway.

 

I found a very good Dr that had been doing laser eye surgery for 15 years at the time of my procedure. I didn't even know it had been around for that long (20 years now)! I felt very confident because my regular optometrist had his eyes done by him. He was more expensive than most, but I was shopping for the best Dr not the best price. It's several thousand dollars upfront, but has completely paid for itself in the years since by saving me money on no longer paying for Dr visits for new prescriptions, getting new glasses every year, new contacts and buying contact solution.

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  • 3 years later...

Hello All,

 

I’ve been contemplating for a few years now whether or not to go for laser eye surgery having reached that point when my eyes just aren’t as sharp as they could be.

Focus in both eyes is ‘slightly’ soft with astigmatism being the main problem.

 

About five years ago I opted to go for glasses and not surgery because I believe there’s still a small risk.

My eyes are my income and worry if the worst should happen.

 

I searched and found this thread on the forum and wondered how you guys are getting on with your eyes after four years, and if indeed anybody else reading this has since had their eyes done.

 

Any feedback / side effects - good or bad would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

John S :blink:

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I did it in one eye, still slightly short sighted however I can easily drive & read uncorrected which at 51 is unusual.

I don't have any issues at night however I would never do both eyes at the same time, it's too big a risk IMO.

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As I understand it laser surgery can't correct long sight or astigmatism.

That's not true. I had Lasik 5 years ago for long sight and mild astigmatism. Because of my long sight, I had to go to a specialist surgery rather than a high street provider, and it cost a little more. Other than suffering with dry eyes for a few months afterwards, I had no problems.

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I also had astigmatism corrected. I think its 10 years since I had it done, never a problem and I still say its the best decision I ever made.

 

Is Dougie Slocombe still with us? He must be 100 this year. I remember he had cataracts in the early 80's.What a nice man he was to work for.

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