"No LASIK for you!"
I have been wanting to have LASIK surgery for years, but could never afford it until recently. My eye surgeon had told me a couple of years ago that my vision was within the range that would make me a good candidate for it, so I got all excited and went to see him today for a consult, only to have him tell me that there is no way I can have LASIK surgery, for a variety of reasons -- apparently, rheumatoid arthritis precludes one from having the surgery, and my other eye issues for which I had surgery last year are also a factor. Dammit.
Then he said that if I were willing to pay $8,000, there is another option. I said I'd drop $8K if it meant I could open my eyes in the morning and be able to see clearly. He said, "Okay. There is a lens implant we can do. I've never actually done it before. I took a class on it, and I've just been waiting for the right patient to come along." I think by now this guy has marked "medical freak of nature" down in my chart somewhere. Anyhow, he said that this particular surgery is not that much different from the cataract surgeries he's been performing for years -- it's just that instead of replacing the natural lens with an artificial one, he would be inserting an artificial one over my natural lens. He told his assistant to sign him up for another class on it, with the idea that I would then get to be his guinea pig.
I was a little taken aback by the fact that he's never done this particular surgery before, but I was still leaning towards doing it because I really, really want to get my vision corrected and not have to bother with glasses or contacts any more. Upon talking it over with sane people who are not blinded (no pun intended) by a burning desire to have normal eyesight, however, I've decided it would probably not be a good idea to have major eye surgery performed by someone who's never done it before. I know he's a very good eye surgeon, but this is my vision we're talking about here. I don't want to wind up blind because this guy was using me for practice.
So, I think I'm going to do some research and try to find a surgeon who is experienced with this type of surgery. I may have to have it done out of town, because my doctor is considered one of the best in Austin, and if he's never done it, chances are no one else in Austin has, either. Hopefully I can find someone in Houston or Dallas who specializes in this lens implant surgery.
Then he said that if I were willing to pay $8,000, there is another option. I said I'd drop $8K if it meant I could open my eyes in the morning and be able to see clearly. He said, "Okay. There is a lens implant we can do. I've never actually done it before. I took a class on it, and I've just been waiting for the right patient to come along." I think by now this guy has marked "medical freak of nature" down in my chart somewhere. Anyhow, he said that this particular surgery is not that much different from the cataract surgeries he's been performing for years -- it's just that instead of replacing the natural lens with an artificial one, he would be inserting an artificial one over my natural lens. He told his assistant to sign him up for another class on it, with the idea that I would then get to be his guinea pig.
I was a little taken aback by the fact that he's never done this particular surgery before, but I was still leaning towards doing it because I really, really want to get my vision corrected and not have to bother with glasses or contacts any more. Upon talking it over with sane people who are not blinded (no pun intended) by a burning desire to have normal eyesight, however, I've decided it would probably not be a good idea to have major eye surgery performed by someone who's never done it before. I know he's a very good eye surgeon, but this is my vision we're talking about here. I don't want to wind up blind because this guy was using me for practice.
So, I think I'm going to do some research and try to find a surgeon who is experienced with this type of surgery. I may have to have it done out of town, because my doctor is considered one of the best in Austin, and if he's never done it, chances are no one else in Austin has, either. Hopefully I can find someone in Houston or Dallas who specializes in this lens implant surgery.
posted by Catherine at 11:09 PM
5 Comments:
Tell him you'll be his guinea pig for 4 thousand.
beaj has a good plan ... though if it didn't work - well your eyesight is important!
i've been bother by BAD floaters in one eye lately ... this aging thing ain't for the weak of heart!
Ha, Wino, I thought about doing that! And Saija, you're right -- I don't want to risk being blinded even for a discount. :)
A paralegal in my office, as luck would have it, had this lens implant surgery on Tuesday! I talked with her about it yesterday and she said that her surgeon does 20 of them a month! And, he charges $2500 per eye, which isn't much more than LASIK. I'm going to go see him!
P.S. - Saija, I'm sorry to hear about your floaters! Are you going to get that checked out?
P.P.S. - Saija, I love the new pic!
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