I am Matthew. I had wavefront procedure last week. Pre-op prescription was pretty bad. Astigmatism was approx -6 each eye pre-op.

One eye went black during laser, as expected and I confirmed no problem. Right eye I told Dr I saw red light and it did not go completely black. He continued anyhow. Day after was 20/30 in one eye and 20/50 in the one that didnt go completely black.

Was told the appearance of light had no affect. The black only serves to focus the laser and if light peeks in its ok. Was told the eye with 20/50 spent twice as long under the laser and will take longer to heel. That it will catch up to the other one. The 20/50 eye also blurry and double vision but not pronounced. Together I see very well. The disparity is present when testing one at a time.

1- I request someone kindly explain the "going black" and complicatiuons that may arise in this leg of the procedure.

2- Also explain the longer healing for longer time under laser.

3 -Kindly explain and advise if certain treatment is recommended. Reading here my impression is just to wait a few months until heeling is complete.

4- Does "enhancement" entail actually going under another lasik procedure? If I remained 20/30 and 20/50 is that good enough to be satisfied or would an enhancement be in order?

Your diligent reply is greatly appreciated. I believ it will help many others on the board as well. I do not see questions relating to "going black"

Regards.

Matt

To answer your questions, I would need to know the exact prescription but in general, "going black" refers to the suction ring being applied to the eye to create the flap. Sometimes, the black out is more of a gray out and patients will be able to see although more dull and dimmer. If you have poor suction, you will have a poor flap and typically with a poor quality flap, a surgeon will not usually proceed with the laser portion of the procedure. As for the eye taking longer to heal, a higher prescription or if the eye was farsighted versus nearsighted (with astigmatism) you will find that the eye will take longer to heal. My advice is to give the eyes a chance to heal. You might also want to ask your doc what level your vision is correctable to with lenses at this point. Most surgeons would not do an enhancement at this early stage. The eye needs to heal before and stabilize before any further treatment is deemed necessary.

I hope this helps.

Patrick Chin, MD

Your response was extremely helpful. I will not pretend to know why the eye is weaker, whether it is a poor flap obstructing the vision or perhaps the healing time is a factor. I will wait for healing to be completed and consult with the Dr. as to possible next steps.
Thank you.