Hacker News Reader

Comment by Seanambers | Hacker News Reader

Will strongly recommend people not to consider laser treatments. Got SMILE done and its awful 4 years later - at least my eyes don't hurt anymore.

The entire business model exists only by not informing you of everything that can go wrong.

Ironically I now know more about these procedures than I ever did before, and all I've learned is how the entire industry is aligned to not tell patients about what things effects the outcome and how little they actually can do if the results are not good.

Edit : If you google lasik/Smile complications and so on you'll just find a rabbit hole of despair from people who had their eyes ruined. I'm kinda amazed that medical professionals actually has the conscience to perform these procedures. Theres also this tendency to blame dry eyes - which is just the industry's way of camouflaging the real issues.

View on HN

My eye-doctor an old guy just before retirement said after being asked about laser treatments: He had a patient that spent 5k on a laster surgery. Nothing went wrong, but it didn't improve his eyes. It would have been better to go on a good vacation.

There is sadly no guarantee that they help, and they can damage your eyes in the worst case.

A digression, there is a meta-strategy here I like to use: when researching anything you're interested in getting, try searches like "complications", "issue", "troubleshooting", they'll often reveal a lot about what can go wrong that you won't find out if you only search for stuff like "opinion" or "review" etc.

Good idea. With the prevalent issue of positive review spam, I often look for negative reviews first to see a thoughtful one where the buyer actually used the item, rather than the flood of positive "reviews" of short-term usage.

I got relax smile 1 year ago with 34.

It is one of the best things I did.

I read up on it before and didn't read something totally crazy but as with everything there is always risk to it.

That's one reason why I have problems to just suggesting it to everyone/anyone while my results are great.

But I also had 5 Dioptrien.

I don't dismiss your concerns. I remember reading about them at the time. And to be honest, the older I get, the more surprised I was to risk one of the most important things I have.

However, I did Lasik, maybe 10-15 years ago, no problems now and never had a problem.

The industry did feel a bit sketchy though. Not sure if it's improved. I'm sure most of the professionals involved are excellent - but at the time, it felt very private, and not in a good way.

/anecdote

Let's start a thread sharing some experience with laser treatment:

A friend of mine did a Lasik surgery, but lost his sight after a week (1/10 on one eye). AFAIK, there was no wrongdoing from the doctor side, so no financial compensation.

I did LASIK surgery when I was in my 20's. After almost a decade, my vision is pretty much perfect. Recently, Ive been prescribed with glasses only for when I work with computers because Im getting visually tired quicker.

I think it was a good decision in my case, mainly because in my 20's I used to be into decently active activities (5ks runs, long distance biking, etc), so I didn't have to choose between seeing correctly or enjoying what I was doing to the fullest.

Contact lenses are a thing.

Not everyone can use them. I have sinus allergies and astigmatism. The combination makes it hard to fit me with lenses that actually correct my vision well enough to be useful and makes those lenses very uncomfortable almost immediately.

Google the complications of contact lenses...

I had ReLex SMILE done 4 years ago. Total costs were around $5k. Easily one of the best decisions of my life. I score the absolute maximum on the tests, there were no complications and it only took a couple days to heal. I actually took the bus back to my apartment after the surgery by myself.

I know that outcomes vary but for me by now I don't actually remember what it was to be shortsighted and all outdoor activities are soo much nicer without contacts or glasses. I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat.

I somehow ended up on the FDA page about the surgery, which told of the odds (20 years ago) of any complication from reflections that impair vision while driving at night to blindness, and described what the complications were like. I didn't like the odds.

My mother got lasik and everything went fine. Her vision started to decline a bit some 15 years later but her overall experience was positive. I would wager "most" people have a good experience, but the risk of a big negative is probably not worth it.

I have very dry eyes. Does that mean I can never get lasik?

It’s a mark against you being a good candidate. Doesn’t mean you can’t get it.

I had dry eyes post surgery. First 6 months I was miserable. Had to put goop on my eyes at night the viscosity of Vaseline. Felt like years before I got to a normal state.

It’s been about 16 years. I wear glasses again, but I can get by without. Still occasionally have dry eyes.

What are they? 1 month post prk and the night vision is a mess. I guess I'll have to learn to live with it

But it would be great if people do research before hand before going laser treatments.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com