Eye surgery, need help

Once again, appealing to the SDMB collective wisdom

Here is the thing: my cousin is planning on having eye surgery to repair her vision. She is myopic (6.5 on both eyes). Her myopia has increased 0.25 in the last year. She is 25 years old.

Basically, she wants to know is if she qualifies for the surgery, that is, since it is restricted to a particular group of people and not advisable for everyone, is she eligible to have it performed considering the specifics of her situation? What are the risks that it can impose on her eyesight? Are there any methods other than Lasik and how advantageous or not are them in relation to it? What is the best place to have such surgeries performed? The States? Cuba? Any other? She lives here in Costa Rica but would like to consider other alternatives, from a safety and price standpoint, to have the surgery performed.

If any of you have had an experience with this type of surgeries, would you please be so kind to share it. And, if you are an ophthalmologist or know one, could you please provide some advice regarding my cousin’s situation?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Carlos.

You already have an excellent source of information on laser vision correction – your computer. Even here on the SDMB, there have been several threads about it. Do a search for laser vision correction. I am going to have my eyes done tomorrow morning (I’m myopic). I checked out several places on their web sites, and visited two. Decided on one, and they did an extensive eye exam on me a couple weeks ago. LASIK is the most popular and preferred procedure - there is another - PRK - do a search here on the SDMB or for other web sites and you’ll learn about both procedures. Don’t know anything about medical expertise in Costa Rica – again, check it out - if you find places there that do the procedure, she should visit, ask lots of questions, and get references before committing to anything. As for cost, in my area (Washington, D.C.) fees have dropped quite a bit. One place I went wanted $5,000. Whre I’m going tomorrow I’m paying $2500. It’s a competitive field, but you want to be sure you’ve got a doctor who knows what he/she is doing. Good luck.

Best of luck! Be sure to post back and tell us how you do.

May the Force be with you! :slight_smile:

Yoda or Yogurt? A dilemma for the ages.

Thanks - I’ll let you know how it went, although I may not be on the SDMB tomorrow evening, depending on how I’m feeling.

In the hopes that some knowledgeable doper will give me a hand with this, I present more info on my cousin;

Astigmatism: 3.

Should that work in detriment of the advisability of having the surgery performed?

Hi. I did it! I’m so excited. I can see without my glasses. They started the procedure at 10:40 this morning, and I was on my way home by 11:10. I’m very pleased. My vision will be even better in the morning. In answer to your last post, I can only say I had astigmatism in one eye,and that did not prevent the surgery; the surgery corrected it. Does your cousin have a regular eye doctor? She should consult with a professional and find out if the surgery will help her. If she does have an eye doctor (or optometrist), he/she can probably refer her to a reputable laser correction doctor. I really don’t think you’ll get a definitive answer to your questions here – she needs to get examined and go from there. I go back tomorrow for a post-op check – and I’ll be able to drive myself…without glasses. I’m very happy.

Congratulations! I feel so glad for you. Good luck with your brand new swt of eyes.

Regarding my cousin, she has been given the green light by her doctor but she is apprehensive since Costa Rica is not exactly at the forefront of medical science. In any case, I just found a site called surgicaleyes.org which especializes on this matters. I hope they can provide further help and ratify is she is indeed eligible for the procedure. I will be posting back to tell you how it goes. Tentatively she is scheduled to have the surgery on Thursday.

When in doubt, consult more than one doctor concerning the surgery.

A family member of mine has carpal tunnel syndrome. Her doctor said she could not have surgery because of her bad heart. She saw a specialist who said she needed surgery and hastily scheduled her for it. She was sent to a physical therapist who decided therapy could help. The Specialist tried to push the surgery so fast that we got suspicious, since he never contacted her primary doctor. She declined the operation and is getting therapy.

We found out that the Specialist who was in such a hurry has a history of being convicted of Medicare and Insurance fraud. He was probably ignoring her heart condition or was willing to take the risk to get that fat fee from the outpatient surgery.

Check around. Ask questions. Take your time because your cousin has lived with this condition for a while and a little longer won’t hurt.