Can I have a second LASIK surgery?

October 8, 2008 5:56 PM

Can I have a second LASIK surgery?

I had a LASIK surgery back in 2004 for correcting my bizarre myopia (-9.00, -9.50) and mild astigmatism (don't remember the pair). At the time, the doctor examined my cornea and decided it wasn't thick enough so she would not try to completely eliminate both.

As a result, most of both problems are gone, but I was left with a bit of myopia and astigmatism. I have a good "social" vision, can be around without glasses but I find it unconfortable to: 1) work (computer job) 2) drive at night without them. So I was thinking of having a second surgery to zero everything and get rid of the glasses for good.

Is it possible? Safe?

posted by dcrocha to health & fitness (7 comments total)

If your doctor indicated that it may be unsafe to do so initially after an exam, the only response that has any weight at all is "Go and get re-examined by a qualified doctor/optician".

Nothing else here, no matter how good it sounds, will be worth a thing as advice. This is a decision only a qualified person can make on a case by case basis.
posted by Brockles at 6:02 PM on October 8, 2008

Everything I've heard says that Lasik is once per lifetime.
posted by Class Goat at 6:58 PM on October 8, 2008

Tiger Woods has apparently undergone Lasik twice, so unless there is something special about Cablinasian eyes, I imagine that the answer is that it is possible in general, but possibly not for your eyes. Actually, it appears that 1 of 7 patients have the surgery twice, if you believe this press release. Only your eye doctor, however, can tell you whether you are a candidate for having the surgery a second time.
posted by kindall at 7:20 PM on October 8, 2008

From my experience, I'm really surprised they were able to correct -9.5. I'm at -11.5 and many, many doctors have told me there is only so much they can scrape off, and that stops at around -8. That being said, there is only so much to scrape off, so more than likely, you're stuck with night/work glasses, unless you go with ICL implants.
posted by banannafish at 7:23 PM on October 8, 2008

Even a well referenced answer (that suggests there's nothing wrong with a second Lasik per se) will suggest that every case is unique requiring independent medical evaluation.
posted by GPF at 7:23 PM on October 8, 2008

Things have changed in the past few years. Maybe what seemed like not a proper thickness 5 years ago is enough today. You should find a good surgeon and have a free consult with them.

Yes it's very possible to have it twice. In fact, for up to a year they have a tool that can suck the flap open from the initial cut.

If you are in the DC area I recommend Dr. Rubinfeld http://www.washingtoneye.com/html/contact.html
He did my surgery 3 months ago. He's a corneal surgeon that happens to be one of the best LASIK people in the world.
posted by zephyr_words at 8:27 PM on October 8, 2008

I had it done twice.

12.5 diopter correction the first time, uncovered an astigmatism once they finished it.

He did it by hand to make sure he left enough cornea for a touchup. The second correction was 6 months later and was handled by the computer.

Went flawlessly, but the recovery for the second one actually hurt. They have to burn away the flap end to flip it back up and it sorta feels like someone took a soldering iron to your eye.

So basically, if you have enough cornea, yeah, otherwise, no.
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:15 PM on October 8, 2008