What if Lasik screws up? Get a retinal implant

Filed Under Body Modification, News on 2008-03-12, 15:57

Retinal Implant

The number one question in my mind that deters me from laser eye surgery to correct my vision is “what if the doctor screws up and I’m blind?” My sight is an important part of my life, as it is for most people, and I can’t imagine trying to function in life without it. I’ve joked in the past that I’ll get lasik when they have replacements on hand in case something goes wrong. Well, now they will. It has taken them 20 years, but the Boston Retinal Implant Project has designed an implant that will “provide patients with a sense of their surroundings – to detect shapes and obstacles in their pathways”. It’s not a perfect replacement for your natural eyesight yet, but it will allow you to get around on your own without a guide dog or a white cane. Most of the hardware is kept outside of the eye, with only a small strip of plastic actually implanted. This plus the reports that LASIK can improve eyesight beyond 20/20 continue to make the procedure more attractive to me. If you want to check out more info on the retinal implant, there’s a good article on The Boston Herald with more details on how it was designed.


Comments

  • clive holtam
    had sugery 3 months ago big mistake lots of complications eyesight now very bad when trying to read and long distance deteriorating
  • Since my previous post, our organizaion presented the USAEyes Competence Opinion Relative to Expectation (CORE) patient survey to the US Food and Drug Administration Ophthalmic Devices Panel. Based upon the patients who responded:

    99% report quality of life as expected, better, or much better after vision correction surgery

    98% state day vision as expected, better, or much better

    98% report no complications or complications that are seldom problematic

    98% would recommend surgery to family and friends.

    97% would have surgery again, knowing what they know now

    96% wear corrective lenses as often as expected, less than expected, or much less than expected

    96% report postop vision without lenses as expected, better, or much better than expected when compared to preop vision with lenses

    96% report overall quality of vision as expected, better, or much better than expected

    91% report no complications at any time

    91% state night vision as expected, better, or much better than expected

    7% report complications seldom problematic, however 91% of these same patients would have surgery again

    2% report complications frequently or always problematic, however 22% of these same patients would have surgery again

    The full survey is available at the FDA's website at http://tinyurl.com/6492rv

    Glenn Hagele
    Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance
    http://www.USAEyes.org

  • Lasik     changes the shape of the cornea (clear front) of the eye. The laser energy does not affect the retina, which is the light sensitive membrane inside and at the back of the eye.

    I work for a nonprofit Lasik patient advocacy. We do not provide Lasik. We provide Lasik information and certify Lasik doctors who meet patient outcome requirements.

    Many studies have shown that Lasik is safe and effective by medical standards. A recent evaluation of studies involving over 2,000 patients found a Lasik
    satisfaction rate     of about 95%. Satisfaction may not be perfection, but it is satisfaction.

    Lasik is surgery and all surgery has risks, but risk to the retinal is highly improbable.

    Glenn Hagele
    Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance
    http://www.USAEyes.org
  • If LASIK goes wrong, 99% of the time it's the cornea that's damaged, not the retina. Don't ever consider LASIK -- it's an inherently harmful surgery, even though it can correct refractive errors. Complications after LASIK are common. I have researched LASIK risks and complications extensively. My website contains many excerpts from medical studies that show an alarming percentage of patients suffer dry eyes and night vision impairment. Furthermore, medical studies have proven that the flap only heals to 2% of the cornea's original tensile strength, and that the biomechanical strength of the cornea is permanently reduced by about 50% in all LASIK patients. Corneal nerves are severed when the flap is cut and never fully return to normal densities and patterns. You can read more about LASIK complications on my website:
    www.lasikcomplications.com
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