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In a message dated 6/22/99 4:58:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time, nlevake@pi*.co* writes: > Have any of you guys had laser eye surgery, specifically PRK or LASIK, for > myopia? The doctor assures me that recreational scuba diving is safe > following the procedure, but I'm curious about decompression dives. I had LASIK last February. I had a high degree of astigmatism and near sightedness prior to the procedure (reaching the upper ends of their ability to do the procedure today!). I have not been back for the 3 month follow-up, but at the one month, I was seeing 20-20 in one eye, and 20-25 in the other, with more improvement expected. Now I can see EVERYTHING well. There definitely has been improvement since the one month visit. The astigmatism is totally gone (they do a contour map of your cornea before and after). Of the three procedures: RK, PRK, and LASIK, LASIK has the fastest recovery time, and the least number of potential complications. I was able to dive 2 weeks after the procedure. I have not noticed any ill-effects, and I was told there was no reason there should be any, from doing deco or deep dives. This was a consideration in doing the procedure. If I couldn't do the dives, I would have stuck to using soft lenses when diving. In LASIK, a thin layer of the cornea is cut to create a "flap". The flap is folded back, and the laser reforms the shape of the cornea to correct the vision. The flap is then put back into place. It adheres almost immediately, similar to the suction of a contact lens. You are told to rest your eyes on the day of the surgery, but you can see right away. I took 2 days off of work for the procedure. Some people go back the day after, but since I look at computer screens all day, I thought I'd give myself a break. With my extreme correction, the laser was used on my eyes for 75 seconds per eye, in three 25 second bursts. Most people need FAR less (15-25 seconds total per eye). There was no pain associated with it, just an uncomfortable feeling (of pressure) in the few seconds it took to create the flap in each eye. They do one eye, and then do the next, at the same time. If you want more details, email me privately and I'll be happy to tell you more. Jan
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