No rush but thought that my question on the 'Ask Before Surgery' page might have been over looked. The subject is about high myopia -14.5o. Thanks, dave

I answered your question. Here is the copy of the question

Sure you are a candidate, but there are higher risks for patiens who are over -12.0. The problems include glare and night time vision problems. At -14.5, you surely will decrease the amount of myopia. But the quality of vision may not be satisfactory. And after LASIK, even with glasses or cotnacts, you "may" not be happy.
However, there certainly are patients with your level of myopia who have had excellent results and are very happy. But the risks are much higher for someone in the -14.5 level.

I hope this helps. You will need to talk with your surgeons and make sure they discuss the increased risk and also the chance that you will end up witht 20/40 or better vision. I would think that that number would be much lower than someone who has -8.00 myopia or less.

Best of luck. Sorry it took so long to answer your question

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Dave:

My weak right eye has been also termed as an lazy eye, so I really never used it. I use basically only my left eye. My right eye was -14.00 with -2.50 astigmatism x 180. After lasik my eye was

-2.00 with no residual astigmatism. My vision in my right eye before surgery was termed as count fingers only at close range. Now my vision is 20/200 in that eye. Compared to before (even with corrective lenses my vision in that eye was never clear. Now at least I can recognize people, shapes, objects within 5-10 feet, instead of blurs. I still can't read any letters unless larger letters at say 5 feet, but I can vatch a 32" TV screen at say 8 feet fairly acceptable. In other words, I now have at least vision in that eye, not clear nor sharp vision but an eye that can see objects. I think at 20/200, this eye is still termed as legally blind.

Right now, I'm having more issues with my left eye , which started at pre-op of -5.00 -1.25 x 45 and 20/60 vision. I was told I could expect 20/30 or at least 20/40 in my left eye. One week after the operation I'm still seeing 20/60 but my numbers improved to -0.75 x -1.25 x25. My myopia decreased but my astigmatism stayed the same. I still experiencing blurriness especially in darker rooms or at night.

If the best your eye could see prior to surgery in your right eye was 20/60 - even with glasses or contacts - then LASIK can not improve your best corrected visual acuity. LASIK is a surgery that can reduce the amount of the prescription one needs to see with - but for people who do not see well even with glases or contacts - it can not improve the vision.
Let me clarify - you stated that you started off before surgery with -5.00 diopters of myopia with some astigmatism in your left eye. The best this eye could see with glasses or contacts was 20/60. After LASIK - you state you have the same best- corrected vision. If the statements you made about your left eye are correct, then this would be what was expected with LASIK. LASIK can not improve one's best-corrected visual acuity.

For example - let us say someone has a retinal problem so their best vision is 20/100. Even with LASIK, their best vision would remain at 20/100. Conversely, if someone has 10 diopters of myopia and has 20/20 best-corrected vision - then that person may indeed wind up with 20/20 vision after LASIK.

I hope this clarifies your question. Of course - it is very important that you talk with your surgeon about these issues. Your surgeon should be able to explain to you what your current vision is, and what he or she can do to make it better.
It would also be great if you could please report why your best vision before suregry wass only 20/60.

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Dear Dr.Trattler,
my best regards on you..
The main problem with me is that with RGP's i see very well the last line on Snellen tabelle but it's hard when i read or work with PC - for close work at all... This is a refraction problem, isn't it? Could it be solved with LASIK so i can read again without problems?
Thank you

gordon,

i hope you read dr trattler's response regarding your best possible vision. lasik is only able to correct your vision to the level you were able to see with glasses or contacts. from your posts, it seems that you were able to see 20/60 prior to the surgery, and that currently that is your uncorrected vision after the surgery.

please let us know if you have moer questions
debra tennen md

Dear Dr. Trattler and Dr. Tennen:

Today is my eleventh day after lasik surgery and I must say my dim vision is improving. I had temporary distance glasses prescribed to me one week ago and I had to have a new prescription because my left eye has improved. I asked the doctor what was my best corrected vision 4 years ago when I last visited him. He stated my vision in my left eye was -4.25 and with new glasses I was corrected to 20/20. Just prior to lasik, I came in at -5.00 -1.25 x 45 in my left eye with vision at 20/60. He stated with new glasses I would be corrected to 20/30 +2 lines. After lasik on the 3rd day I was tested as 20/60 with -0.75 -1.25 x 45. Today I was tested in the left eye with the following results: 20/50 plano -1.00 x20. I can see a little better ( sharper less blurrness) in dimmer lit situations like indoors, but in low light situations I still go blur like in dark indoor parking lots. Hopefully I will continue to improve in vision and in clarity. I noticed as I drove in the evening last night that I could see fairly clear, approximately 80% of the time especially if there are bright lights ( like headlights and store lights), but once I am driving in very dim light like a dark highway with only a few red taillights my clarity drops off and I once again see more blurry. I tried on my one week old glasses and they were too distorted. Today I requested a revised prescription, which my doctor prescribed at plano -1.00 x 20, and the clarity sharpened up noticeably. In one week my left eye's myopia went from -0.75 with -1.25 astigmatism to plano and a reduced astigmatism of -1.00 x 20. Hopefully my astigmatism in my left eye will continue to improve and my vision will get closer to the goal of 20/30. My next visit to my doctor is scheduled for 3 weeks from now. As my doctor said because I was a predominately a one eye (left eye) person I was overly worried and impatient and I needed more time to continue to heal. I hope my vision will continue to improve and don't regress from the current improvement. Thanks again for all your comments, My highlight of the day, is to check this bulletin board to see if there are any new replies or input.

LASIK in a person such as your self that has only one eye can be very risky. As you can see - you are totally dependent on your only eye. Preop it could only see 20/30 even with glasses. I wonder why it could not see 20/20? Do you have a cataract or some other ocular condition?

Thank you

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL