The Pre-operative Procedures

The next step was a more comprehensive exam to fully measure my prescription and do a few more tests. One involved counting the cells in my cornea, to determine if they were healthy. No problem there. I had my eyes "refracted" which seems to be the technical term for measuring your prescription, which I'm sure everyone reading this blog has done many times. Then I had another "refraction," this time with my eyes dilated. Hey, they can do anything they want if it helps them to get my prescription right. I always feel that I'm being inconsistent when I answer whichever lens is better, and I'm never confident that my prescription will be right. If anything, this has been my biggest worry with this procedure. Not getting the right prescription in contact lenses is one thing- you just order another trial pair and move on. When inserting a lens into your eye, you want it to be right. Granted, Dr. Bob said that if he didn't get it quite right, he'd do a Lasik touch-up for only the cost of the materials needed, but who wants that?

Anyway, after testing my eyes in myriad ways, I was done. Off to the surgical coordinator for scheduling. This turned out to be a bit complicated, based on the doctor's schedule and mine, as I am moving in about a week. She said that usually the doctor waits two weeks between the two eyes, but that it could be one week or even three. If I was confident that it would be one week, I would have scheduled for the 14th of March, because then it could have been all done before the week of my move. But instead, I scheduled for the 21st (he only operates on Wednesdays, as most of his practice is Lasik), thinking that the 4th or the 11th would work.

Next step, the iridotomy. I scheduled this for Friday the 16th, before the surgery which would be the following Wednesday. If you recall from the earlier post, the doctor had said that this is the more uncomfortable procedure, and the surgical coordinator had mentioned that people sometimes get bad headaches. So I was nervous. I didn't sleep well the two nights before it was done, mainly because of it (though I was also stressed out from moving issues and a complete moron who was pestering me at work).

Let me explain the purpose of this procedure. Basically, the iridotomy (also called the YAG-laser iridotomy, though my doctor called it an LPI, which I think stood for Laser Peripheral Iridotomy) is needed to compensate for the one significant complication that arises from the Visian surgery. Apparently, the lens covers the pupil to such an extent that optical fluid cannot move back and forth through the different chambers of the eye, sometimes leading to a spike in pressure in the eye (essentially, glaucoma). The iridotomy basically creates one or two small holes in the iris that allow fluid to move back and forth, keeping the pressure low.

As I've mentioned, Dr. Bob and the surgical coordinator both mentioned that some people find this uncomfortable. So I had visions of lasers burning through my eye and intense pain. I wish I had found other information on this before, because in the end it wasn't bad at all. The intense pain some people feel is caused by the eye drops that constrict your pupil. The doctor mentioned that I would get a headache, but I had some Advil so I popped three ahead of time. I also don't get many headaches, so I imagine those who do are more susceptible to getting one at this point. Fortunately, the Advil worked like a charm. I did get a slight headache, and the room got very dark (making your pupils small will do that), but it really wasn't a problem.

The iridotomy itself wasn't too bad, either. Dr. Bob used a lens against my eye to hold it open, and I imagine to help aim the laser at the proper point. He then used a foot pedal to shoot the laser. I'd guess it took six to eight shots to create each hole. I think he only did one in each eye, but I was so focused on holding still that I didn't count. Each shot felt like a little pop inside the eye, but was only painful for a split-second after each shot. I was very pleased when it ended, considering how nervous I had been. I stayed around for about 45 minutes to make sure my eye pressure hadn't spiked (are we sensing a theme here?), but then was free to go.

Only one problem, though. I couldn't see. The drops had constricted my pupils so much that I couldn't see a whole lot better with my glasses than without, and trust me, I don't see well. The doctor and technicians seemed surprised when I said I couldn't drive, so that was a bit interesting. So I had my wife come pick me up, which was a pleasant experience seeing as how the torrential rain that had consumed the day had turned into sleet. We managed to get my car to my aunt and uncle's house a few blocks away (that was a scary trip, but I knew exactly where I was going), and then we headed home. I first put the drops in around 2 pm, and though my pupils were constricted for about two days, I was able to see reasonably well again by about 7 pm.

So nothing left but the surgery. First eye was to be the following Wednesday, which was yesterday. More on that to come...