My husband was instructed to treat this w/ drops every 1/2 hour. Are there any risks w/ over medicating?

We are both very concerned and needless to say, quite depressed over the outcome of LASIK to his left eye (right eye is fine). Vision is extremely blurry w/ multiple images. Brief background:
7/26/00: partial flap cut, aborted surgery.
11/3/00: LASIK surgery
11/4/00: micro-striae, 1st re-float
11/11/00: hypotonic treatment and re-float (#2)
12/1/00: Scrape epithelium, warm paddles to "iron out" wrinkles.
12/3/00: SOS Grade 2, treating w/ Prednisolone every 1/2 hour. Ciloxan every 2 hrs.

We are now in the "wait and see" stage. A 2nd opinion doctor was also in favor of treating the striae w/ scraping and "ironing".

Our main concern at the moment is treating the SOS. Any comments or words of support would be greatly appreciated.

Your husband is obviously going through alot. SOS is a condition in which inflammation occurs in the interface between the flap and the underlying cornea. It is actually very common when the epithelium is scraped. The inflammatory reaction is treated with agressive use of prednisone eye drops. Even with agressive drops, sometimes it is necessary to lift the flap and wash out the inflammation - but hopefully your husband's situation will improve without requiring this step.
I think that although the situation you describe can occur with any doctor, it is always helpful to get a second opinion from an experienced doctor not affiliated with the original surgeon. In this way, an independent analysis of the situation can help provide direction as far as improving your husband's vision.
I wish your husband the very best of luck. Please do not hesitate to ask further questions.

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Dr. Trattler, thank you for your post and for your words of support.

The SOS has been downgraded to 1. Drops are now administered hourly and vision is less blurry. Typically, how long does this condition take to clear (heal)? We have plans to go to Hawaii for three weeks, leaving 12/15. Assuming the SOS is cleared, would it be safe to make this trip? My husband is looking forward to this vacation to get his mind off of this whole ordeal, but we in no way wish to jeopardize what's left of his vision.

We did see two surgeons for 2nd opinions. One (affliated w/ orig. MD) agreed w/ the epi scrape. The other, not affliated, suggested the problem may be w/ the ablation. Sigh. That surgeon told my husband to go back to see him when the epi scrape is performed and doesn't work (such encouragement!). Our original surgeon feels that if it were an ablation problem, then other patients treated the same day as my husband would have experienced the same vision problems. Is that true? Regardless, having gone through all of this, my husband is hoping RGP lens will be his solution.

Sorry for the long post... and again, thank you for taking the time to respond to these questions.