LASIK Surgery

On Monday (President's Day) Andy got LASIK surgery done at Hoopes Vision Center in Sandy, Utah. The surgery has been a long time coming, so Andy was both excited and nervous to have the procedure done. I posted a video of a LASIK vision correction surgery I found on You Tube. It's obviously not Andy's actual surgery, but it's basically what happened to Andy on the day of his surgery. Just a warning, if you are squeamish about eyes, you might not want to watch it. It's really not that bad, but I just wanted to warn. :)



Here's another example:



So the first part of the surgery when they put that plastic bracket on the eye, they are cutting the corneal flap with a laser called Intralase. This is a fairly new technology. A lot of LASIK vision centers still use a blade to cut the flap, but at Hoopes, Andy's flap was cut with Intralase. So when the laser cuts the flap a lot of bubbles form where it is cut, so it makes it difficult to see after the flap is cut. Andy sat in a massage chair while we waited for the next part. I got to join him, too because there were no other patients waiting!! Then in the next part, the flap is loosened and folded back while the laser corrects the vision, then the flap is replaced and the surgery is done! Pretty genius.

Andy's surgery went very well. We went in the next morning (18 hours after the surgery) and he was seeing 20/25 in each eye separately and 20/20 with both eyes together! The doctor said that his vision should improve even more, and should fluctuate for the next three weeks. Right now he puts lubrication drops in his eyes every hour he is awake and has a steroid drop and an antibiotic drop that he puts in four times a day. The lubrication drops will need to continue for the next two months, but the other two will be finished a week after surgery.

It's pretty crazy to have Andy drive and watch TV and do everything without glasses!! Here is a picture of him on a hike in Zions: