Am interested in this procedure. Anyone got any tips,recommendations, personal horror stories?

Update: I finally did it. Just want to share my own laser surgery experience.

When: End November 2007.
Where: OPTIMAX TTDI
Who: Dr Chuah
Power: Right 450myopia/200astig Left 400myopia/250astig
Treatment: Had custom wavefront intralasik. Basically same as lasik but they don't use the blade to cut. My corneal thickness meant I could have had the cheaper lasik option but I opted to have custom wavefront,which means the computer guided laser thingy does the cutting according to shape of each eye-this is supposed to give better result especially for glare/night driving problems)
Cost:RM 7000. (If had done the basic lasik would only be half the price,done at HUKM and TTDI also)
My age: 30s (old dude but still vain )

Current situation
Power: Right myopia gone, 50 astig, left myopia gone/astig gone.In fact my left eye is seeing 20/15,which is better than 20/20.
Any problems: None. First 5 hours there was sharp pain which faded when I went to sleep. After waking up next morning still blurry. After 3rd day, totally clear. Dryness if in car with open window or in cinema (very very cold) or office central aircon(very very cold and recycled air)
Aftercare from optimax: very very good. Have to go to checkup at any OPTIMAX branch on next day, 1st week,1 month and 3 months. Free consultation for life. Free re-correction if the result doesnt stick (not that that is a good thing necessarily)
Overall result: Full marks! Surpasses my expectations. Very little complication. Manystories of dry eyes and seeing floaters, but so far touch wood,none of those have happened to me.

This post has been edited by LYFfan: Jan 3 2008, 04:31 PM

you should go to tun hussein onn eye hospital in pj for a consultation. just walk up to the 4th floor and see the consultants there

no...the procedure is easy and fast. u can take off the bandage the next day and go back once a week for check up. as long as u hav $$, u dun need any tips. each eyeball cost u rm2k+

Consult the Lasik people first, they would do pre-check to determine whether you are suitable for the surgery

my colleague did it, his eyes were red(bloodshot) for few days, after that all went well.

What this Surgery are ?

I want to know how much to make a laser surgery that i no need to wear spec after it.
Anyone can tell me how much it cost ?

refer my post above...

Optimax in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
I did my lasik there =) and so did my family and my friends..
if you wanna get their contact i can give you coz my friend is working there as well ...they're good

Hi xcutelilgal,
I heard optimax is good. so is the lasik centre(?).

Wanna ask u, did u have astigmatism and if you did, was the lasik able to correct it?

You will hafta go in fer a checkup 1st before you are recommended to what type of treatment will suite you. It will also depend on how healthy your eyes are. I didn't have astig so thats why i did lasik..my dad had it he had a different one.
If your eyes are not healthy enuff for an operation they will tell you not to do it and remain in glasses.
Optimax is good..so far all that i know who went there are in good condition. =)
Its very fast also the operation. You can go fer a checkup..no harm at all..
you're not forced into doing the operation or anything.

the operation painful or not xcutelilgirl?

is there any % chances of it to get fail and people get blind?

durnig operation not pain coz got anesthetic and it is only 5 minutes..very fast
but after that u come out jor..anesthetic gone..super pain..
all u can do is go sleep..after that wake up ok jor..
hafta drop eye drops fer few weeks then check up for few times
if u look after ur eyes properly nothing wrong de..
fail ar..if ur eyes not healthy they won't ask u to do it..
there is possibility but not high..
all my friends and me did it there
all of us are fine..
optimax is trustable

wat do u mean by "eyes not healthy" ?

uh i'm not very sure how they define it but if they see ur eyes too watery or too dry they won't be able to do the laser thingy..
i'm not the optometrist sowee..onlie they wil knoe

try this

http://optometry-updates.blogspot.com/

on the right side of the page under the title of "PREVIOUS POSTS"

u can choose to read what u want to know about LASIK eye surgery.

its all about the latest updates that u cant find in the net coz they r from medical journals.

I intend to undergo lasik surgery but is undecided which surgeon should I go to.
Has anyone see Dr Stephen Chung (Optimax), Dr Chuah Kay Leong (Optimax) or Dr Aloysius Joseph (Vista) before?
Is there any other recommended surgeon?
Has anyone undergo lasik in Vista or TLC besides Optimax?

Many thanks

Lim

I am the product of TLC
I have high-powered eyes hahahaa
did the surgery, no need bandage also... hmm
just got into anesthetic and then into the op room. Mine was done with the flap-opened operation. There are a new one that doesn't require to open flap (of course it will be more expensive).

The procedure is first to test your eye... Check on your eyeball... roound or not, the inside surface clean or not... Then, make an appointment for the operation when YOU ARE READY FOR IT.
My case was mine inside eyeball is not smooth, so have to go through another procedure during operation to smoothen it out then have my laser correction. Operation was fast an pain-free, just stress when u have to look at a green lite while the doc shoot laser into your eyeball to make the correction. Was cool... and FAST

After op it was all blurry.... But I know that I can see WAY WAY better. Go home, put on the eye mask (to make sure that I dun accidentally scratch my eyes) and sleep. My op was done in the morning, so by evening, I can see clearly already.

IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. But costly and also you need to make a HUGE decision because anything happens, you are on your own ASS to blame. Sign by you mar the letter of concent.

Anybody have any horror stories? Considering doing mine in Optimax but can hardly get any info about problems likely to happen. Their doctors' experience is also from 5~11 years. Wondering if there are any prior cases with problems.

well, the only thing is to go there, have your check and then decide later also can. The center I think wont force your to take the surgery one mar.

Check it out first, and then the decision is totally up to you. There are a lot of LASIK centers out there. VISTA also not bad according to my friend who did it. I went to TLC under recommendation of my friend's mom who knows the surgeon.

I recomend go to Shukry & Hardeep Singh Eye Specialist Centre,one of the best eye specialist in Malaysia, located @ Jln Ipoh near RHB opposite Shell

Many thanks for the input.
From the forum, most of the ppl recommend Optimax.
However, when i asked Optimax about the number of cases the surgeon has done in the past, Optimax cant give me some figure. They only said the surgeons have done it for 5-7 yrs or 11 yrs for different surgeons. However, Vista did gave me some figure.
Comparison between optimax and vista, in vista, pre-op eye examination is done by the surgeon himself whereas in optimax, it is done by optometrists. However, optimax offers LASEK and LASIK and etc. but Vista only offers LASIK. one plus point for optimax is the huge volume of LASIK they have carried out (since they are the first refractive centre established in Msia). pricewise, i think they are pretty similar.
Dagg3r, do you mind if I asked which surgeon did you see in TLC?

Both my aunt and her husband went to Vista. Her case was successful, but as for his, it wasn't. In fact I see him squinting his eyes whenever he needs to read something. According to aunt's husband, even his colleague tried Vista due to friend's recommendation and both cases unluckily were unsuccessful. So...beware. Of course in the fine print of any Lasik centres, they will always say there is no absolute guarantee the procedure will work....but hearing about more than 1 unsuccessful case is bad enough for one single centre.

Yeah....It's really important because if anything goes wrong, your eyes could be affected for life. Then again Optimax offers something like a lifetime warranty, they'll do any remedial surgery on your eyes for free, for life. Just wondering if anybody has any more bad experiences with lasik in Malaysia. It's a comparatively new field anyway, only 10++ years here so far

Many thanks for the input.

Yeeck, do you know which surgeon yr aunt and her husband see? Did they undergo Lasik or other surgery such as cataract or LASEK?

Snorlax, i think Vista has a lifetime plan as well. Btw, do you have any preference surgeon in mind if you go to Optimax?

TLC dont offer intralasik (laser without blade), right?
For info, Vista introduced intralasik 2 yrs ago whereas Optimax introduced last year September.

So far, i havent heard any unsuccessful cases in Msia besides www.afterlasik.com and the recent post by Yeeck (the place you can find honest feedback is in forum as Lasik centre will not reveal much). However, there are lots of unsuccessful cases around the world.

I am still trying to gather feedbacks from those who have seen Dr Stephen Chung, Dr Chuah Kay Leong and Dr Aloysius Joseph.

Having a remedial surgery for free doesn't mean it will correct things, in fact it could even get worse. There's a Chinese saying of not allowing anyone to mess with the bodyparts from your chin upwards, so for those who are afraid about the risks, better stick to glasses (contacts would be my 2nd preference).

Well, i'm a total noob here too, so i have absolutely no idea which surgeon is better at Optimax. Dr Chung seems to be the most senior though. Then again, i may go for the RM3300 student package at HUKM, also from Optimax, but by Dr. Norazlina.

Yeah, which is why we're all gathering as much info as possible. BTW, most of the more serious problems i read online are caused by misdiagnosis before surgery, and problems during surgery. Trying to get as much info on Optimax as possible, since there's absolutely no way they'll tell you about anything serious there ehehe

FYI, If go for Dr Chung, need to pay extra RM500/eye.
I would luv to go for wavefront/customised intralase to reduce higher order abbreviations which then reduce the symptoms of halo/glare and also the 1% risk of flap complication. Of coz, this depends on the surgeon's advice after my eye examination.
If go for the highly experienced surgeon and the most up to date procedure, it will cost about RM8k to RM10k. This money is worth it if the surgery is successful and dont cause much complications.
Man, failure is not an option as the complications are permanent if the surgery is not successful.

My dr was dr noazlina she was very nice

Anybody went for Lasek? Any pros/cons other than the pain and increased recovery time? I hear the chance of complications is less though

i would love to go for lasik coz me too also hav high power nearsightedness. But after researching and asking my eye doctor's opinion, I choose to do it later when there is newer technology. I also got frens who hav succeded doin the lasek but their eye power is not high. Mine is different case and its quite risky to do it.

Now still wearing contact lens which is the convetional type. Very frustrated coz it gets dry easily. And will recent issue of R solutions.

Why i dun wear disposable ? coz im out of the range ...

my friend is a ophthalmo student, who told me that his lecturer (an eye specialist in TUN HUSSIEN ONN) doesnt recommend LASIK as no 1 really knows whats the side effects 20 years later after u have it done.

btw, have u seen any eye specialist have got lasik done on their own eyes?

well, to be honest, i myself is very interested to have it, but reading all the medical reviews in OPTOMETRY UPDATES make me think twice.

to thread starter : pls keep us updated once u got ur eyes done.

cheers

Hello there! I haven't done it yet because I have similar concerns. But I will keep this updated with whatever I find out or if I do do it.

I'm scouting around for viewpoints from those who have done it here in malaysia. I know of relatives who did it and had great results.One is my uncle who did lasik at 50 over years about 7 years ago. He had very bad myopia. Till today his eyes are near perfect. Another is a cousin who did it at age 29.Bad myopia also,thick cokebottle glasses. Near perfect up till now.He had the lasik where the opthalmo surgeon cut his
lens with a scalpel. This was 5 years ago. No side effects or problems. His was in London. Another cousin did hers at age 34 correcting high myopia and moderate astigmatism about 3 years ago. No problems reported there too. She did hers in Singapore.

I done customise intralasik 1 wk ago in Optimax by Dr Chuah!!!!
No complication but there is 75 and 25 shortsightness left in my right and left eye respectively and astimatisgm still there too (b4 lasik my power is -3.75 for both eyes. Hope that my vision will continue to improve over the next few wks as i heard customised lasik takes longer time to recover.
May I know for those who have undergo lasik, how much power is yr eyes?

hi lim00

whats the price for that customize lasik. I know its much more expensive then normal one

I paid RM6600 for both eyes (custom intralasik).
For custom lasik, is RM2500 per eye. Optimax having promotion now for all custom laser surgery.

Any new update about lasik?

Sorry for BUMPING this old thread, I wanted to know any new updates?
Price changes?

Btw lim00 is your eyes below than 40/25 now or still 75/25?

vista's plan is good, but costly some are very costly indeed. But i heard that they are good.

just a word of advise, get your eye tested out first... That's the most important thing to do before u even deciding on to do lasek surgery or not.

A good doc will advise you whethere u eyes are capable or lasek or not... and then you will have to decide yourself and sign the consent form as well to take responsibility if the surgery doesnt go as planned. That's a huge decision to make... a costly one also if things doesnt go right.

i did my lasek at 2004... it was good.. never regreted it... DID it at TLC (midvalley), using blades ler... also cost me 6500 already because my inner eyeball surface was not smooth and have to do some corrective surgery to smoothen it before the real lasek surgery.

hello all... does anybody have any idea about whose technology is better among optimax and vista? vista is much more expensive than optimax as I know, do they have more advanced technology?

how about ExcelView at MidValley? good or not?

I did my LASIK surgery 1 year ago before I got married at OPTIMAX TTDI, the Dr was Dr Norazlina Bachik.
My power used to be 900 (very high astig of 150) and 850 (some astig) for Left and Right Eye. After 3 months the power stabilised at 100 (some astig) on left eye and 50 (zero astig) on right eye. This is consider still good, can drive, read, do work without wearing spec.
I am supposed to do enhancement surgery which is FOC (under warranty) but I was too busy outstation and travelling.
I will do it around this month before puasa just to reduce the power more.

Btw, during that time the cost (normal LASIK) was around RM4200 for both eyes and EPF withdrawal was allowable (policy on EPF withdrawal changed in Nov 06). It was the best investment ever!
Now the price is only around RM1400 for 1 eye.
Anybody who wants to do LASIK at OPTIMAX can quote my name: ADIF ISMAIL :-)

Well you guys are lucky. I have one normal eye (LASIK capable) and one 'lazy' eye (LASIK not capable).

So my eye sepcialist said that they wont performe the operation because if something wrong with my right eye, i'm screwed...

Anyway, hopefully medical technology will advance in the next 5-10 years to correct this.

i will perform the lasik operation at optimax..so who want me to mention his/her name? (for the rm100 per eye) hehe..pm me..

update: tawaran ditutup...hehe..

finally, i did my enhancement lasik yesterday with Dr Norazlina of Optimax TTDI, 1 year after the 1st operation... this morning went to do the post lasik check-up... power left around 25... I can already read the smallest line (dunno what kind of vision 20/? but the Doc said that I have already achieved superman vision hehe). Doc said it will reduce further as the complete healing process will take up to 3 months...

hmm wanna ask
my fren say people with.. er.. "power" over 600 on an eye, cannot do laser surgery
is it true?

can la... my "power" was about 900 on each eye...
it depends on your cornea condition... that's why u need to go thru the check-up first, they will scan your cornea, measure the thickness etc... from there only they can decide whether you are a suitable candidate for lasilk...

lasik? wats tat? laser surgery issit? i heard the side effects of laser surgery on the eye can give an increased chance of 20-30% of getting blind later in life

can i know the percentage of people who pass the test? ned to check so many things, if 1 tak ngam, den cannot do liao hor

wa lao !?

how to go to the Optimax TTDI? how far the place from Kelana Jaya ?

Hi. May I know can this LASIK cure eyes with only Astig n little shortsight? Or is it more to curing shortsight only?

if you are familiar with ttdi, optimax ttdi is inside the Bangunan AHP... right at the centre of the ttdi town/shop area...
from kelana jaya u can take the LDP... just after uptown, take the right junction... it should take around 10mins from kelana jaya...

lasik can sure astig, short and long sighted...

can LASIK just one eye only?

of course can if the other dont need lasik.. if both eyes need lasik then why not do both?

the other not suitable for lasik but also short sighted..hehe

This post has been edited by BraDeRz: Oct 7 2006, 01:11 PM

i hear there are eye exercises that can cure your eye problems --heres the website www.rebuildyourvision.com

it is said that the methods are developed by a doctor named william bates...but not sure if its effective or not coz i haven tried it myself

http://www.lasikathome.com/

my friend shop at ss2
they say very good wor
expecially old ppl

guys,

do you recommend

Optimax or Vista to do your laser eye surgery?

juz wanna ask ...how much have you spend for the surgery??? i mean for the whole procedure....curious about it...

ok guys,

i'm going to laser my eye this 18th January 2006

i'm paying RM6600 for Custom Intralase Lasek for both eye.

doing in OPTIMAX.

alright
good luck !

Gladys,

Thanks for your well wishes...

To everyone else,

Is this procedure painful?!

Hey neo18..
i'm jus lookin into this eye lasik thingie
kinda worried ler..

having v high short-sightedness..
haven go for prelim check yet..
but now doubting should i do or not..
so far..seems optimax is quite stable n stuff..
good luck for u this thursday!!
keep us updated will ya?
pm me oso on details if can
thanks!

another 2 days la.. hahaha.. a bit nervous... but i want to get it over and done with!!!

check this forum out for more bout LASEK

http://www.lasereyeforum.com/forum/

Hope it goes well. Its a great freedom for those people who have always worn glasses.

i did my lasik and lasek yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!

er, i want to ask, after the surgery, will my eyes get short sightness problem again in the future? and what is the min age for the surgery?

neo, can u see clearly now without specs/ lens?

This post has been edited by Grajindo: Jan 20 2007, 09:19 PM

There is no minimum age for lasik.

However, your power must be stabilise at least 3 years before you perform lasik

hey neo18..
congrats..
so how was the surgery?
wat's ur cost?
n wat kinda lasik u did? custom intralase?lasik or lasek?
i'm v worried..
jus did prelim..optometrist said can do lasik..
promo price now
but i haven stablizie for full eye check-up yet..

neo18..
hope u can detail the whole process..
is it PAINFUL?
how long to recover?

ya ah, i hope to know more too

Past my pre-screening test at Vista. Yet to make any decision whether I should go ahead or not.

Doctor agreed that I am suitable for the test. Enough tissues, enough diameter length .. good cornea. -3.75 & -4.25

But it's a decision of the lifetime .. sounds like every candidate here have made their right choice huh ?

20 minutes of operation .. change your whole life .. from blur to clear .. or more blur ? (blur blur now already)

Any advice i should have know, guys ?

Whoah, after all this year the cost for lasik still very expensive >_>

Why not do LASEK? I think its less damaging to your cornea right?

---

Added on July 17, 2007, 12:35 pmFound out that EPI-LASIK is better than LASEK and LASEK is better than LASIK/IntraLASIK.

New device creates alcohol-free epithelial flaps to improve healing and reduce haze

Roibeard O'h�ineach�in
in Munich

A NEW technique combining LASIK and LASEK characteristics may create a healthier epithelial flap, improve postoperative healing and reduce the risk of haze, according to its developer Ioannis Pallikaris MD.

The technique involves the mechanical separation of the epithelium from the Bowman's membrane with a specially designed epithelial separator device. Since it does not involve the use of alcohol it has no toxic effects on the epithelium, said Dr Pallikaris, who will be presenting his findings here at the XXI Congress of the ESCRS.
Dr Pallikaris and his associates carried out a study involving 10 eyes of 10 patients who underwent de-epithelialisation either through alcohol-assisted LASEK or with the new customised epithelial microkeratome.

Microscopic examination of the removed epithelial sheets showed a smooth and undisrupted basementl membrane in those created mechanically, while in those created with alcohol the basement membrane had significant disruptions, he noted.
"We found that mechanical separation of the epithelium preserved epithelium stratification and integrity with minimal trauma and oedema," Dr Pallikaris said.

In the six eyes which underwent mechanical epithelial sheet creation, the sub-epithelial separator cleaved the epithelium at the level where lamina densa of the basement membrane makes contact with the Bowman's membrane. Moreover, the lamina densa and lamina lucida of the mechanically separated epithelial sheets all had normal morphology along nearly the whole length of the basement membrane.

In contrast, in the four eyes which underwent alcohol-assisted flap creation, the cleavage plane was within the basement membrane. Furthermore, the lamina lucida layer of cells demonstrated significant interruptions, while lamina densa cells were almost entirely absent.

The concentration of alcohol used in the conventional LASEK group was 15% or 20%. The solution was left on the eye for 20 seconds, he noted. In eyes which underwent mechanical flap creation, Dr Pallikaris used a suction ring and then applied his specially customised epithelial separator to the epithelium.

"It looks like a LASIK microkeratome but it isn't. It has a dull plastic blade which doesn't cut through the cornea but only separates the epithelium from the Bowman's membrane. It is then easy to fold the flap back using a merocel sponge," he said.
Dr Pallikaris noted that LASEK was introduced a few years ago as a means of correcting refractive errors with the comfort and rapid rehabilitation of LASIK and the safety of PRK.

Early reports indicated that patients undergoing LASEK did appear to experience less pain than they would with PRK, although still slightly more than LASIK. They also had a more rapid normalisation of their epithelial tissues with less postoperative haze.
The advent of customised ablation has brought about a resurgence of interest in PRK, as refractive surgeons became aware that the creation of LASIK flaps induces aberrations in an unpredictable way.

Several reports, notably those of Marguerite MacDonald MD and from Dr Pallikaris' own centre supported the theory that customised surface ablations produced more predictable results than customised LASIK.
Subsequent studies have indicated that LASEK has several of the same advantages as PRK, and that just as with conventional non-customised ablations it achieves the advantages with less pain and less haze.

However, some centres have reported more equivocal results with some cases of delayed healing and haze. These effects are more pronounced when higher concentrations of alcohol are used, Dr Pallikaris said.

"The major problem with LASEK is related to alcohol. It has been histologically proven that alcohol has an effect on the basal epithelial membrane and generally 80% of cells in a LASEK epithelial flap will die within the first postoperative day. Furthermore, when we use alcohol we separate the membrane between the two layers of the basal membrane, the lamina densa and the lamina lucida, undermining the integrity of the separated epithelial sheet.

"With Epi-LASIK however, the basal membrane remains intact and the epithelial cells are able to generate hemidesmosomes which can serve to anchor the flap to the stroma. Furthermore, the intact double lamina can act as a shielding mechanism and prevent the activation of keratocytes. With LASEK and PRK the activation of the exposed keratocytes induces the production of disoriented collagen fibres, which is the origin of haze."

Dr Pallikaris said he and his associates have so far used the epi-LASIK technique in 30 eyes in 30 patients. All of the patients underwent PRK in their fellow eye and nearly all cases have had a follow-up of three months and some have had six months follow-up. He noted that while it is still too early in the study and the groups were too small to quantitatively compare haze outcomes, all of the epi-LASIK eyes so far appear to have almost no haze while the PRK do appear to have noticeable amounts in some cases.

As a further enhancement to the technique, Dr Pallikaris has begun using dehydrated contact lenses to lift the epithelium. After performing the laser ablation he uses the contact lens to flip the epithelial flap back in place. After a few days, when epithelial healing allows the flap to adhere to the stroma, he removes the lens. It is alternatively possible to remove the lens by rehydrating it, which automatically separates it from the flap without lifting the flap from the stroma, he said.

Ciba Vision is planning to market the new microkeratome under the name Centurion SES(tm). Versions will be available for both LASIK and LASEK. Dr Pallikaris said he expects CE mark and FDA approval for the device within the next month.

Ioannis Pallikaris MD
Heraklion University Hospital, Crete, Greece

This post has been edited by gogo2: Jul 17 2007, 12:35 PM

this info is very useful! thx =)
btw.. i still dun think lasik will do any harm.. should get abit more infor about lasik too if u really wanna compare both.
what about intralase?

intralase is same as Lasik. Instead of using blade to cut ur cornea, it uses laser to cut ur cornea. the
accuracy is way better than Lasik. But still, ur cornea is being cut. and cornea that is being cut
is no longer strong. cannot do rigorous activities such as boxing.

Woa, I'm new at this thread n first thing i see is 'i'm having my lasik surg'

OW! Doesn't it hurt?? (influenced by that pramlee movie, what's the title again.. kasim selamat? Cucuk mata with the fork one ><)

did my Lasek on 9 August. Not perfect eye sight yet but can drive and working liao.

wow.. congrates! hhaha~ i'm lasik, and perfect eye sight now, just got dry eyes problem, need time for that, overall very good.
u encounter dry eyes?

dry eyes are perfectly normal symptoms. after doing refractive surgeries (lasik or cataract) do apply the artificial tears (lubricant) to moisturize the flaps and it will also reduce the uneasiness that you might want to rub your eyes or close your eyes tightly that will cause the flap to be off.
Use as often as you can, you can buy these artificial tears in most pharmacies, they are called "refresh plus". Dry eyes might go on to 1 month or even longer.



for any surgeries there are risk. Some doctors will say there is minimum age of 21, or 19, or 23. all depends on what the doctor evalulates on the risk of getting short sighted again. Doctors says no minimum age but with 3 years stabilized (while other doctors say 2 years) is again, risk management. Some doctors want you to do it once and bye-bye-that's-it. Some just want to do Lasik for you and then deal with the aftermath professionally because he knows how to make things right when it goes wrong. Vista is having (or they already had but no more) a special package where it includes the main lasik and then an enhance lasik "for free[usually one enhance charged RM800]" (when sight changes due to any factor). It's a good package when it comes to money matter. But I doubt they filter and choose the best candidates or they just want you to do lasik.

Intralase or blade, both used for microkeratome (to do incision on your cornea to create a flap). one side says intralase is safer, less mistakes or less pain, less uncomfortable. blade side says it's cheaper, it's faster and it does a good job as well. Well, it's already a fact that intralase takes much longer time than blade, some might not be comfortable with the most frightening process. Blade on the other hand is much faster, like seconds. cases of intralase better than blade? there is no significant prove because if one is much better why wouldn't everyone use that? Doctors update the machine but not the microkeratome. This alone tells there are doctors have high confident with their microkeratome techniques in intralase or blade. So far in Malaysia there is none with complications caused by microkeratome techniques, in fact nobody has gone blind in Malaysia because of Lasik.

P/S: I've not done Lasik yet, planning to but not anytime soon. But I've worked in a Lasik centre for 3 months to get these knowledge.

i have this voucher for eye checking in optimax, anyone interested pm me.

Which Lasik centre you have been worked for? Have you done ur Lasik yet?
anyone heard of the Advanced Vision Lasik centre at uptown? they are now doing promotion which is only RM2888 for both eyes but is using blade...

Why must it only be deemed as complications when blindness or permanent sight damage happens? complications can be risk of other visual annoyances after the surgery, such as double vision, halos etc etc , which CAN also affects the standard of living . Potential patients whom are plaqued with poor vision, naturally would wish LASIK/LASEK WILL solve their problem FOREVER, this means, ZERO visual defects of any kind after surgery. But if there are still visual problems of any kind that they still have to bear with after putting their $$$ into such surgery, it's ALSO a complication*.

* this is subjective depending on tolerance level of patients. Some with extreme sort-sightedness before surgery, when done with LASIK/LASEK, might get a 20/20 or 20/40. Even though a small portion might have glares afterwards, they're generally happy with the outcome. But this DOES NOT MEAN zero complication in general terms. It's merely " ah... I can live with that" kinda issue in the perception of each individual patient only.

This post has been edited by alanyuppie: May 26 2008, 11:41 AM

sorry for bumping old thread.
I'm getting interested to do a LASIK.
Really annoyed by my so imperfect vision.

Currently, most seems to recommend Optimax.
My mom did intra-Lasik there
previously more than -10.00
all goes very well. Just still left some presbyopia

But after some researching, I'm focused on Vista.
They seem to have some more advance tech.
Check out their NASA iLASIK.

NASA approves a type of laser eye treatment for their astronauts.
Got a few commercial names. Checking the equipment Vista is using for their iLASIK seems to match those that are approved by NASA

Very expensive though.
Normal price: RM6500/eye
Bank promotion: RM5000/eye
Can get 0% installment up to 48 months (select credit cards) = RM210/month for both eyes.
Follow up care of 24 months
Lifetime warranty

Looking at the price might seems expensive but as I intend to take the installment, I guess some extra won't be felt too much.
Always better to get the best that we can afford.

Anyone done this type of treatment?
Or knows anyone else?

try out Dr Ching Wing Seng from Pantai Cheras. he has the best LASIK system in the country. Allegretto Wave Q. It's a system that can basically treat almost all complication of myopia and hyperopia. With the customize Q wave technology it can do presbiopia too. On top, the system runs at 200 Hz ( if he has not upgrade his to 400 Hz ), the repititation rate of the laser is very important and with an digital micro real time scanning system fpr tracking the eye movement.

i can't say more as it might this might turn into an advert. Dr Ching is one of the country very few Ocular Plastic Surgeon ( ophthalmologist too as well but more specialize in ocular plastic ) and a very well known ophthalmologist in the country.

well..u do sound like an advert
anyway, i'm quite sold on the nasa ilasik.
It gave great confidence when the military & nasa approves it for their employee

The statistic of 100% of the ilasik patient gets 20/40 vision or better is very assuring.
& i think it is 98% 20/20
some even reach 20/15 vision

i want lasik too. will get it if my eyes refractive error stabilise for the next 2 years

Have to agree he's a good one. Took my mum there (commendation by family doctor) for cataract surgeries (for both eyes on different dates) and it was done without any complication. He's also friendly and very helpful. I asked tones of questions and he answered me patiently.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Jul 14 2017, 06:03 PM

er.. allergic to pain?
means u will go into anaphylactic shock when u are in pain?
House goona love u

Yes long term effect is unknown.
& those who are not ready to accept the risk, don't do it.
Anyway, it all depends on how u calculate the risks.
IMO, the benefits outweight the risks tremendously.

Same as contacts.
Got risks but for some people, the benefits outweigh them.

The eye will be anesthetized.
Your eyelids will be held with a device to keep it open.
Dont worry if u move your eyes away from the laser point.
The system will know & compensate.
If the eye moves out of range of compensation, it will stop the laser.

Not much pain.
some report says some pain persists for 2/3 days then disappear.
Some no pain at all.

U need to do more research if u intends to laser your eyeballs.
Btw, it is not a laser pointer. The laser is called excimer laser.

Lasik can go by many names and Vista's lasik is actually no different than the ones you find in Optimax or any other lasik centres in Malaysia. What is different is the machines they use at the respective centres. Vista uses the Visx machine which so happens to be authorised by Nasa but that being said, it does not mean it will guarantee a problem free procedure.

You can have the best machine in the world but if it is at the hands of the wrong people, things still can go wrong. As for me, I went to Vista for the initial eye scan and in short, I wasn't convinced by them as the person attending to me was a bit blur (as I did some research on lasik b4 I went there) and he couldn't quite answer some of my questions satisfactorily.

<- Bumping ancient thread again.

I just came back from the free preliminary at Vista.
Going for the 2nd rm150 test on thursday.
Gonna do the procedure ASAP as I'm currently in semester break.
Hopefully as I get back to class, I can already impress my friends

Lasik is a very machine dependent procedure.
There is very little human intervention.
For the 1st test, I as usual didn't ask much questions.
I did my homework already.
I don't expect the staffs to have the same knowledge as the doctor anyway.

After the simple test, the staff concluded I'm only suitable for custom lasik as my pupil size is quite large (7mm) & tissue thickness in rather low.
I can take the Bausch & Lomb system (cheaper by around 4k) or the nasa ilasik.

Most probably I'll choose the chinese doctor which is also Vista co-founder.
He's a certified VISX & Bausch & Lomb trainer. He do travel a lot to train people using the machines.

Wish me luck
I don't usually have excessive anxiety in procedures that I'm confident in.
let see

so how, done the LASIK already??

yup.
done yesterday.
went smoothly without any complications

Initially my eyes were very dry.
Hard to keep open even 10 seconds.
After about 2 hours sleep, getting much better already.
I follow the eye drop instructions closely.

3 types of eye drops.
Artificial tear - use anytime we want. No harm.
Anti-inflammatory eye drop - prevent inflammation
Antibiotic eye drop - prevent infection

They gave a dark sunglasses to use.
A pair of eye guard to wear during sleep - avoid accidentally rubbing the eyes.

The procedure:

An optometrist will put anesthetic eye drop.
Use a kind of pencil to mark on the eye ball.
Might seem scary but no pain. Just pressure a bit.

Keep all my personal stuffs in a locker.
Wash face thoroughly
Wear a surgical gown.
take off shoes.
Wear foot cover (same like the gown)
Wear surgical cap.
Went into the operating theater.
Lay down on the intralase laser - doing the flap
Anesthetic eye drop.
Put on eye holder.
Suction on it - dunno how they suck it but can feel the pressure
Lower the laser - will feel it pushes the eye in a bit. No pain. Just pressure. Anesthetized already.
Look at the center.
Laser start tracking.
Fire.
Few seconds. Done.
Stop suction.
Remove holder.
Next eye. Same procedure.

Get up & go to next chair.
Lay down on the VISX laser.
Look at the orange LED in the center.
Doctor will tape both eyelids on one eye first.
The eye holder.
The doctor will use an instrument to open the flap - bit difficult to keep looking at the center coz once the doctor start moving the flap, my vision start distorting & the led move everywhere & the doc keep asking to stay still.haha.
Flap opened.
Look at the center.
Laser tracking.
Fire. It sounds quite loud. Kinda knocking sound. Some people smell something burning but I don't. Maybe due to the fact that I'm a mouth breather (yes i breath sometimes through my mouth)
Doctor will say 25%, 50% then an assistant will start count from 10.
Stop laser.
Close the flap.
squeegee with a kind of wax instrument to remove bubbles & smoothen it.
Next eye. Same procedure.

Done. Get up.
The assistant ask to look at the wall clock & tell the time.
Get out.
Remove the overalls.
Take my stuffs.
Assistant will brief about the eye drops instructions.
An optometrist will check again using a type of scope to see if the flap is properly placed.

Done!
At this time, can see already. Lines are sharp but all hazy.
Lights glow like mad
& can't open the eyes for too long.
Wear the provided sunglasses or your own.
Go back & sleep

Today 2.30pm I'll be going for a review.
Next review will be 1 week from now.
Then every month for a year.

I think i can drive already
Just maybe not at night due to large amount of halo around bright lights.
Recommended for everyone interested to get rid of glasses or contacts

wah,seems like and easy and fast procedure. so do u need to use eye drop and antibiotic every day? lifetime?

This post has been edited by alip5225: Dec 6 2008, 08:40 AM