My L.A.S.I.K. story begins like so many others. Since childhood I had worn glasses and with each passing year my prescription became greater and greater. Before my surgery my prescription was -6.75 in my left eye and - 8.5 in my right eye. Both eyes also had a mild degree of astigmatism and a minimal nystagmus. At the age of 5 I had surgery to correct a muscle imbalance in my right eye.

     I began thinking about L.A.S.I.K. many years before I had the surgery. I hated my glasses and contact were a major hassle. The turning point in my decision to have L.A.S.I.K. was on a trip to Hawaii when I took off my glasses to go in the ocean and then couldn't find my towel when I got back out. I had reached a point in my life were I was in a good paying job and decided that the cost of  L.A.S.I.K. was no longer prohibitive so I started to do my research.

    My first inquiry about L.A.S.I.K. was with friends who underwent the surgery. Both confirmed that this was the greatest thing to happen to them and they both highly recommended having the procedure done. One even commented "Boy, the price has really come down since I had the surgery, you can do it now for less than $1000, I wouldn't pay for one of those high price doctors today". Luckily, I did not follow my friends advice and used the internet to research the best doctor I could find in my area. I then made an appointment to have a L.A.S.I.K. screening.

    I choose to go with UC Davis Medical Center. My doctor was Mark Mannis the head of the refractive surgery department. I choose Dr. Mannis after reading his bio which included a great deal of experience in corneal surgery. I had also read an article from Time in which Dr. Mannis was interviewed and labeled a conservative voice for L.A.S.I.K. surgery. During my initial exam I had the normal prerequisite testing, orbscan, pupil measurements, tear test, corneal depth testing and optic examination. This work up can be viewed in the Topographies section. I was also given all the information about the procedure including the informed consent form. After the techs had worked me up and explained all the benefits of L.A.S.I.K. (which all had had) I met with Dr. Mannis for about fifteen minutes.

     Dr. Mannis examined my eyes, explained the surgery and recommended bi-lateral  L.A.S.I.K. Dr. Mannis also explained that I might still have to wear glasses at night time and that when I hit a certain age I would still need reading glasses. He asked if I had any questions and I asked him if I was really a good candidate for the surgery. He assured me I was and stated "I'm confident we can get you to 20/20 in both eyes".

     Excited with my visit I came home to talk it over with my fiancée'. She was extremely supportive and genuinely excited for me about the prospect of being glasses free. It was then that the final decision to have the surgery was made. Due to a hectic life several months went by before I actually moved forward with the surgery. The date for my L.A.S.I.K. was December 11, 2001, 6 months before my wedding.

     On December 10th I had an appointment to see Dr. Mannis to do one more round of corneal depth measurements, he wanted to make sure that I have enough corneal tissue in my right eye to complete the surgery. Dr. Mannis used a machine shaped like a ballpoint pen to take the measurements which consisted of poking my numbed eye several times to take a reading. He concluded that I had enough tissue to perform the surgery and sent me home to return the next day in the afternoon for bilateral L.A.S.I.K.

     The next morning when I awoke I had significant pain in my right eye which persisted throughout the day until meeting Dr. Mannis again right before my surgery. After I has made my payment and returned my copy of the informed consent I made it a point to tell Dr. Mannis about my pain and inquire if it was wise to proceed the surgery. After a brief examination he assured me it was OK to proceed. Later after massive complications in this eye Dr. Mannis admitted this should have been "a red flag".

     I was prepared for my surgery by placing numbing drops in my eye and led into the operating room for the "20 minute miracle". Once inside the laser suite I lay down on the table and Dr. Mannis calmly described how the procedure was to take place. First my right eye was done and then my left eye. As far as I know there were no complications during the surgery however I was informed that I had bandage contact lens in my right eye to help keep the flap in place. Within 20 minutes I was back in the examination room under the slit lamp and my surgery was pronounced a success.

     That night my wife drove me home with protective shields covering my eyes. My vision was extremely blurry and I had minor discomfort in both my eyes. After a quick glass of wine and a small dinner I went to bed dreaming of the perfect vision I would have in the morning.

     In the morning I awoke to significant pain in my right eye and minimal pain in my left eye. My right eye felt like it had a foreign object in it and every time I blinked it was painful. Much to my disappointment I could not see very well and had to have my wife drive me to the doctor's office that morning. When I arrived I was examined by Dr. Mannis who noticed that my flap had shifted during the night. He reassured me this was a minor problem and took me back to the laser suite to reset the flap. I was sent home with the instructions to come back the next morning. Visual acuity was 20/60 in both eyes.

     The next morning my vision had not improved and I was starting to get worried. My visit to the doctor brought reassurances that everything was going fine, continue using your drops and come back in the morning. This process was repeated for the next seven days as my vision began to rapidly deteriorate.

     On December 18th I was diagnosed with DLK in my Left Eye and persistent epithelial defects in my right eye. Both eyes also had flap folds or straie which ran through or close to the pupil. My vision was 20/100 in my right eye and 20/30-2 in my left eye which left me visually incapacitated and unable to function in my day to day life. The DLK was treated aggressively with a strong dose of oral and topical steroids which left me physically agitated and raised the toxicity of my eyes to such a level that my doctor upon examination stated "these eyes are toxic, just toxic". My eye drops were slowly lowered and my vision began to improve over the next couple of days to the point where I could at least function in my day to day life but with extremely poor and altered vision. At this point I could not drive and had a very difficult time reading or even watching TV.

     Over the period of the next couple of weeks I continued to see my doctor on a regular basis. My vision was fluctuating wildly and the persistent epithelial defects were not healing leading to decreased visual acuity and major glare and halo effects. On January 9, 2002 I was diagnosed with an epithelial inclusion in my right eye which might require a flap lift and scrape in order to resolve. On January 22 I has an episode of central epithelial sloughing in my right eye which required my doctor to scrape the debris from my cornea and a mild haze was noted in my left eye. Visual acuity was 20/100 in my right eye and 20/30-2 in my left eye.

     By this point weeks had passed since my surgery and I was unable to drive and unable to work. My life was nothing less than a nightmare. This level of stress took its toll rapidly as I lost 24 pounds in the first months after my surgery. I could not eat, sleep, or enjoy my life. My doctor had no answers for me and continued his "just give it more time" routine. It was at this point I knew I was on my own to find out what problems I had with my eyes and how I was going to fix it.

     My appetite for information on L.A.S.I.K. complications was voracious. I managed to find every last web site that dealt with my complications and even bought textbooks on the clinical anatomy of the eye and preventing and managing L.A.S.I.K. Complications. It was during this quest for knowledge I began to uncover the seamy side of  L.A.S.I.K. Surgery. I found out about doctors who perform surgery on patients who never should have had  L.A.S.I.K. and doctors who made major mistakes during surgery and told their patients to keep waiting for better eyesight until the time when a malpractice suit could no longer be filed. I even read stories about patients losing significant eyesight when a co-managing optometrist missed vision threatening complications after surgery. Again and again the same theme ran through my research and it was, if you have complications your screwed! There is no "Plan B" and most doctors would rather move you on than treat complications from L.A.S.I.K.

     At this point I took charge of my complications by seeking second opinions. My first second opinion was at two months post op and another one at 5 months. My second opinion doctors confirmed the numerous complications I had experienced after surgery including a decentered ablation in my right eye and a possible central island in my left eye (see topographies). They both suggested following up with my own doctor. For the next 6 months my visual quantity and quality slowly improved as I finished using my eye drops and let my eyes actually heal from the trauma they had been through. 

     Several years later my vision is functional but not as sharp as it was before surgery and I have lost one or two lines of best corrected visual acuity due to L.A.S.I.K. I know most doctors will tell you that L.A.S.I.K. does not guarantee results but this is after your money is in their pocket. During the pre-op examination you hear "we can give you 20/20 vision" and "complications are extremely rare and easily treatable". Well, to date I have several flap wrinkles (striea) in both my eyes, some which cross right through the pupil. In my right eye I have a decentered ablation and an epithelial inclusion that will need to be monitored for the rest of my life. In my left eye I have a possible central island and interface haze left over from the DLK. In both eyes I have decreased contrast sensitivity and increased high order visual aberrations.

     Despite what my doctor says and wants to believe so he can sleep at night, all is not well with my eyes and none of this will heal with more time. Although my doctor gave up on my eyes after treating the most obvious complications I am grateful that he didn't screw things up even more by attempting further surgical interventions. I am at a point now that I have functional vision which is more than many other L.A.S.I.K. casualties can say.

      My L.A.S.I.K. experience was a nightmare and I tell my story so that other may learn from my mistakes as well as my successes. If you are thinking about L.A.S.I.K. you have now been informed about potential problems. Don't let a doctor sell you anything! If you are suffering with complications get a second opinion and research your problems. Also, feel free to contact me and I will do everything I can to help you through this dark time in your life.

If you are a L.A.S.I.K. doctor reading this, know that your patients deserve to know the truth about L.A.S.I.K. and take some responsibility for the fact that your "miracle" surgery has mangled the vision of too many people you were supposed to help.

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