I am 33 years old. When I was eight, I had developed holes in my retina. They performed surgery and placed a buckle on the eye to fix the problem. When I reached 22, more holes developed and I had laser surgery. I have a high degree of myopia and only a slight astigmatism problem. I have had no more problems since then and my vision has been stable for years. By having had retina problems, would that automatically exclude me from LASIK surgery?

It would not exclude you from LASIK surgery. However, you should have a complete retinal examination which your ophthalmologist will likely do. Good luck.

>I am 33 years old. When
>I was eight, I had developed
>holes in my retina. They
>performed surgery and placed a buckle
>on the eye to fix the
>problem. When I reached 22,
>more holes developed and I had
>laser surgery. I have a
>high degree of myopia and only
>a slight astigmatism problem. I
>have had no more problems since
>then and my vision has been
>stable for years. By having
>had retina problems, would that automatically
>exclude me from LASIK surgery?

>I am 33 years old. When
>I was eight, I had developed
>holes in my retina. They
>performed surgery and placed a buckle
>on the eye to fix the
>problem. When I reached 22,
>more holes developed and I had
>laser surgery. I have a
>high degree of myopia and only
>a slight astigmatism problem. I
>have had no more problems since
>then and my vision has been
>stable for years. By having
>had retina problems, would that automatically
>exclude me from LASIK surgery?

tanya,

with regard to retinal holes and detachments and lasik, no prospective studies have yet been performed to evaluate the potential risk. However, based on review of patient records with high myopia who have undergone lasik, the consensus amongst refractive specialists and retina specialists is that lasik does not increase the risk of retinal tears and/or detachments.

your situation ,however, is somewhat unique in that your have preexisting retinal problems. A panel of retinal specialists at the most recent Academy of Ophthalmology meeting held a forum in which they commented on just your situation. in summary, the consensus opinion was that any patient undergoing lasik should have a comprehensive retinal exam to rule out retinal disease including holes/tears and that any retinal findings which may predispose to retinal detachment should be appropriately treated. Once this is done, lasik can be performed without any apparent increased risk of complications.

So, your previous eye problems do not make you ineligble for lasik. I do recommend that you make sure that your retina is completely stable before considering lasik and if so, that you understand and accept the fact that nothing is completely risk free.