I had lasic performed on my left eye on 12-28-99.
2.0 no astigmatizm before surgery. I had blurred vision and severe discomfort imeadiatly after surgery. I was told that I had abrasions on the surface of my cornea. After serveral days my discomfort eased and my blurriness began to improve. At about two weeks after surgery I woke in the middle of the night with moderate discomfort in my left eye and increased blurriness. Ater a few days I went in for a follow up exam and was told that the abrasions had healed and that the flap looked fine. I was told I was seeing 20-40 but could not be refractively corrected to 20-20. More accuratley the blurriness is more multiple images or ghosting. It is much improved when in bright light when the pupil is smallest. I was told to give the interface more time to heal and that they expected the multiple vision problem to improve. Does all this sound right? Am I getting nervous for no reason?

Your course, although not typical, is certainly possible. There are always risks of inflammation with LASIK, and with your initial surface problem, it is possible that the corneal surface still has not smoothed out completely. As well, you should talk to you doctor to see if your eyes are lubricated sufficiently

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

hi there. I had great sympathy when I read your message as I have had exactly the same problem. I had lasik on October 1 1999 ( in England) From being severely long sighted I am now short sighted and have astigmatism which I did not have before surgery. The first few weeks were horrendous and I had great dificulty seeing. The doctor said it was because the cornea was being slow to heal and gave me F.M.L. steroid drops for 4 weeks. At present I am 4 months post op and the bluuring, ghosting, double vision (or whatever medical term the doctors like to use) is very slowly starting to ease. I can now focus to about 10 feet without ghosting whereas as the start is was about 2 feet. Be patient, I know its frustrating!and life is probably unbearable at the moment but it will get better, albeit SLOWLY.

I had my right eye lasiked 9-18-99. I'm due to go back for another checkup this week. Last time the doctor said I "had no astigmatism." Yet I have double vision. About a block away, a traffic signal is two blobs, one on top of another. Signs have another image below them far off, then as I come closer they merge. At my last visit, the bottom portion was more like "ghosting" -- now it's darker & seems to be almost a "dark" as the top image. Early on after my surgery, I could read the numbers across the room on my calendar. Now I can't. Why would it be getting worse? When I called to ask the doctor if they would be getting the soon-to-be-available computerized laser you talk about on this site, she didn't know what I was talking about (that made me uncomfortable). Does it sound like a central island? She said "it could be." But with the laser they have now, I shouldn't have an enhancement on it, should I? Should I wait for the new technology? My vision seems better on my way to work when it's dark out. If it weren't for that darn other image, it would be perfect!

Your doctor needs to do a complete exam to determine why you are having the symptoms. Possible causes include;

1. Dry eyes
2. Residual astigmatism that can be corrected with glasses and eliminate your symptoms
3. Irregular astigmatism (diagnosed with topogaphy). Potentially corrected with a rigid contact
4. Central island (diagnosed with topogaphy). Potentially corrected with a rigid contact
5. Flap wrinkles - if this is the cause, your doctor may need to lift the flap and remove the wrinkles.

I hope this info helps as you prepare for your office visit with your doctor

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Today, the doctor (a surgeon) said I have a central island. They took a topography of my eye & he said it's right in the center of my pupil & it should be easy to fix. He said they had a (Summit?) laser before & they were limited with it. A couple of weeks ago, they got a Nidek (?) & it's much better. He said they had about 1% of their patients developing central islands. I have an appointment with the surgeon who did my eye before on Saturday. He said that new laser you talk about on this web site won't be available for another year probably. He also dialated my eye & said everything looks good. Thank you for your time & reply.

Treating central islands with the Nidek, summit, VISX, or Chiron is not easy. The safest and best treatment is topgraphy-driven, which is still under development. The autonomous laser may be the first to be able to treat very accurately central islands and irregular astigmatism, because the autonomous is using a new technology called wave-front analysism and it has an eye tracker. The wavefront analysis sends light-waves through the cornea to the back of the eye (retina) which then bounce back and are interpreted. This gives a precise measurement of the entire eye's refractive error, and it can precisely map central islands and irregular astigmatism. This information is then fed into the laser, which can then reshape the cornea. Since an eye tracker is used, the specific chnages needed for the cornea can be placed in the correct position.
There are ways to currently treat central islands, so you should talk with your doctor about the risks with the current technology and your doctor's success rate.

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Thank you so much for your response. When I went Saturday, the surgeon put a disolving plug in my tear duct (the top one was too small)--said it may lubricate the eye to smooth the surface & do away with double vision. It hasn't done anything so far. In fact, I had to use drops last night. He discourages enhancement & says there's 3-4 days of very blurry vision & much discomfort. I should probably just put up with this until the newer computer comes out--I'm practically reading the 20-20 line. But if it's past Sept 19, they won't cover an enhancement (that's no fair!). Since you say even with the Nidek it's difficult to treat a central island, I think maybe I'll wait anyway.
Thanks again for your time & advice.

Since your problem developed early in your post
op course your surgeon may consider extending the
time limit on your enhancement. It's worth asking
about so maybe you can relax about that issue.
Leonard Friedman MD Washington, DC......

www.slackinc.com has an article posted on the Corneal Smoother, which can remove central islands without surgery. I don't have the exact URL, but you could go to their site and search for it.

You are dealing with your eyes. Forget the money, find you a doctor who has a clue what is going on. Your doctor seems more reactive than proactive. Many doctors seem to want to tell you that it is normal, sometimes, overlooking or ignoring those items that are not normal. What is more important, some cash or good eye sight. Out.

I appreciate your advice. I will ask for an extension--& will check out the corneal smoother!

i'm having a similar problem to Ann from the UK
would love to chat with Ann if possible as i have real problems with my left eye vision
double blurred