Eye Surgery for Racers

I think this has been covered before, but I haven't found it.

With FLEX being due this week, and finally being in a position to afford eye surgery, I wanted to ask the all mighty GRM brain trust what you think the best eye surgery type for a racecar driver would be. I've heard that LASIK might not be best for activities in a high wind environment. PRK is another option, but results don't seem as quick with more side effects. Other options?

What is your experience? Thanks in advance!

Phil

High wind? Are you driving an open cockpit car and don't have a mask on your helmet?

I got LASIK and had essentially no issues. The worst I had to deal with was my eyes being more likely to dry out for the first couple months. Not a big deal. I just applied wetting drops before and after a driving session. After a few months, my eyes went back to wetting themselves just as well as before. The flap is not going to suddenly pop open.

Other racers I've talked to who have had LASIK are pretty similar.

PRK should be similar. You won't have the same wetting issues, but the overall recovery time is longer. In the end the results will be similar.

From what I understand, the LASIK flap is weaker than before but not that big a deal. Unless you take a hit right on the surface of the eye, it shouldn't have any issues. So, you probably don't want it if you're going to take up something like boxing, but racing is fine.

I've had contacts pop out when I was driving a FSAE car about 10 yrs ago. I also run with my visor cracked a small amount for air flow.

from what my optometrist has told ... PRK is much better in the long run.... does much less damage to the nerves in the eye... healing is longer, but worth it.... my LASIK surgery didn't turn out as well as I had hoped ... but I have had several yrs of not needing glasses ( able to pass drivers exam w/out them ) so worth it as far as I'm concerned ....

keep in mind that this IS surgery... anything can and will happen... some people have amazing results ... all the way down to actual loss of sight ....

go into this with "your eyes open".... sorry 'bout the pun...

CGLockRacer wrote: I've had contacts pop out when I was driving a FSAE car about 10 yrs ago. I also run with my visor cracked a small amount for air flow.

That is not going to affect LASIK. At least not past the point where you'd be comfortably healed enough to want to get back in the car again (about a month).

The flap is on there a lot better than a contact. It's on about twice as strong as a contact as soon as you're done with surgery. It does knit and get stronger as time goes on.

With contacts, just rubbing your eyes can move them around. With LASIK, it depends how healed you are. Within the first week, you might dislodge the flap. From about a week to a month, it would probably hurt. From about a month to 4-6 months, you'll maybe be reminded that your eyes had surgery.

My surgery went awesomely. The results were better than the doctors expected. Within the first week I was 20/15. Within a month, I was like 20/13. Only downside has been possibly being more sensitive to glare, but that could also be that my glasses were photograys that always had at least a slight tint.

PRK and LASIK both have pros and cons. Your best plan is to talk to the optometrist about what would be best for you. They have the capability to either, and have no stake in one being better than the other. They're not going to push one because it makes them any more money or anything.

The most important thing to do is find the best optometrist around that you can find that specializes in laser surgery. Don't try to shop for a bargain.

Thanks for the advice folks. I've got two consults with different eye docs this week for consults.

Maybe it's an atypical result, but a motorcycle racing bud had LASIK done and now he says at night all the street lights etc have halos. It's so bad he quit driving after dark. He said more than once if he knew that might happen he'd have stuck with glasses. His experience is one reason I still wear them even though they are progressives (that's another word for 'bifocals' for all you young punks out there).

In reply to Curmudgeon:

That's why I'm chicken to have LASIK done. The halos aren't that uncommon of a side effect that I'm confident I won't get them, and I need to be able to see and drive in all conditions.

I'm seriously investigating intraocular lens implants. There are 2 that are FDA approved at this point, and one is advertised as being heavily used by the US military for vision correction. The one think I really like about this option is it's totally reversable and if my vision gets worse I can get the lens changed out. Halos are still a potential side effect but supposedly not as bad as with LASIK.

In reply to pigeon:

I'm looking into the implanted lenses also. However its 2x the price of other methods right now. Like you, I need to see in all conditions (esp. night driving in endurance racing). So I'm not going to do this without lack of confidence or knowledge.

I already have halos pretty badly with contacts, so i guess that doesn't scare me much.

CGLockRacer wrote: In reply to pigeon: I'm looking into the implanted lenses also. However its 2x the price of other methods right now. Like you, I need to see in all conditions (esp. night driving in endurance racing). So I'm not going to do this without lack of confidence or knowledge.

How much are the quotes for LASIK and PRK? I've seen low-ball prices at $299 but that just makes me think of the old adage about "getting what you pay for".

Implants rule; I have them in both eyes as part of cataract surgery. Which also raises questions about family history and eye conditions. Would elective surgery now mean possible complications if/when future procedures are really necessary?

I have lousy vision, 20/400. Have worn contacts for 50 years. I went to Bascom-Palmer two years ago for an exam and was told that a corneal transplant was my only option, at about 5K per eye. For now, my contacts are quite sufficient, see very well, and only a minor inconvenience in the AM. If I develop cataracts, the transplant is covered by my insurance, so will consider it then. But for now, contacts are safe and provide very good vision.

Contacts and glasses for me. I'm chicken of the surgery. If one person has ever lost sight because of the surgery (either one) then I'm not doing it.

I had PRK almost 5 years ago and I am still seeing 20/12 in both eyes (I was 20/300 in one of my eyes before the surgery with a slight astigmatism). I had PRK out of necessity rather than LASIK. At the time, the Army wasn't approving LASIK for pilots, but PRK was okay. I had mine done in the civilian world for $1500/eye and I have never regretted it. It did take a little longer to heal (couldn't water ski for 6 months afterward), but I don't have any halos at night (I did for the first few months after the surgery) and my night vision hasn't been degraded at all. From what I understand, the biggest reason for halos and irregularities is from when people move their eye during the procedure. The more still you can hold your eye, the better off you'll be -- even during testing and consultation exams.

I've heard that halos are one of, if not the most common side effect. They're supposed to be a problem with both LASIK and PRK. I'd heard they are more common with PRK.

I recall the doctor saying that the machine he did my surgery with would detect when your eye was aligned correctly and only shine the laser then. I'm certain that advances in technology are decreasing the incidence of side effects.

Along that lines, look for an office that only leases the latest and greatest equipment.

My LASIK cost $1900/eye, including all pre and post exams and meds, and a free second round if the initial results were not to my satisfaction. My only regret is not getting it done sooner.

my eye problems were almost exclusively astigmatisms which are the least correctable of the LASIK procedures ... even though I didn't get the results that some get, I'm glad I've had the 7 - 8 yrs without glasses

I know someone who had LASIK and has bad halo problems, but she was an early adopter, well over 10 years ago and they hadn't refined the procedure as much as it is today.

Here's a slightly different question to those who have gone through it (LASIK, PRK, whatever). I have a serious phobia of anything coming close to my eyes. It's so bad I can't bring myself to do contacts, or even eye drops, so I wear glasses. I can handle regular eye doctor visits now that they don't do that stuff that touches or blows air directly into my eyes. How freaked out would I get from whatever they have to do to perform either of these procedures?

Corrective surgery? I could buy coilovers with that money! So I'll stick to glasses...

White_and_Nerdy wrote: I know someone who had LASIK and has bad halo problems, but she was an early adopter, well over 10 years ago and they hadn't refined the procedure as much as it is today. Here's a slightly different question to those who have gone through it (LASIK, PRK, whatever). I have a serious phobia of anything coming close to my eyes. It's so bad I can't bring myself to do contacts, or even eye drops, so I wear glasses. I can handle regular eye doctor visits now that they don't do that stuff that touches or blows air directly into my eyes. How freaked out would I get from whatever they have to do to perform either of these procedures?

VERY freaked out. That's why I don't have contacts and/or LASIK.

Sky_Render wrote: Corrective surgery? I could buy coilovers with that money! So I'll stick to glasses...

White_and_Nerdy wrote: I know someone who had LASIK and has bad halo problems, but she was an early adopter, well over 10 years ago and they hadn't refined the procedure as much as it is today. Here's a slightly different question to those who have gone through it (LASIK, PRK, whatever). I have a serious phobia of anything coming close to my eyes. It's so bad I can't bring myself to do contacts, or even eye drops, so I wear glasses. I can handle regular eye doctor visits now that they don't do that stuff that touches or blows air directly into my eyes. How freaked out would I get from whatever they have to do to perform either of these procedures?

VERY freaked out. That's why I don't have contacts and/or LASIK.

Don't confuse corrective surgery for elective surgery; one is nothing like the other. Lasik/PRK are elective alternatives to correct problems that can be solved with other means.

On the flip side, there are conditions that can only be addressed with corrective surgery. What's going to freak you out more, blindness or an irrational fear?

White_and_Nerdy wrote: Here's a slightly different question to those who have gone through it (LASIK, PRK, whatever). I have a serious phobia of anything coming close to my eyes. It's so bad I can't bring myself to do contacts, or even eye drops, so I wear glasses. I can handle regular eye doctor visits now that they don't do that stuff that touches or blows air directly into my eyes. How freaked out would I get from whatever they have to do to perform either of these procedures?

Probably very. I'm pretty cool with contact lenses and I was still doing breath exercises to try to keep myself calm to stare as still as possible. They will almost certainly do the puff of air in the eye test as a preliminary to the surgery.

It was not painful, but it was weird. They clamp your eyelid open. Then they put a suction device on the front of your eye to hold it perfectly still while they make the flap. It was kind of like having a small beetle standing on your eyeball.

White_and_Nerdy wrote: Here's a slightly different question to those who have gone through it (LASIK, PRK, whatever). I have a serious phobia of anything coming close to my eyes. It's so bad I can't bring myself to do contacts, or even eye drops, so I wear glasses. I can handle regular eye doctor visits now that they don't do that stuff that touches or blows air directly into my eyes. How freaked out would I get from whatever they have to do to perform either of these procedures?

For PRK, they also clamp your eyes open and then press down on it with a ring. In the middle of the ring they squirt a liquid that softens up the outer layer of your eye, then they use a very tiny squeegee to remove that layer. Then they hit it with the laser. So, that just might creep you out. They gave me a video of mine and if I can find it later when I'm home I'll see if I can post it for you to see exactly what it's like...

OK then. Thanks for the first hand reports. As much as I would enjoy blur-free peripheral vision and not having to juggle my glasses every time I put on or take off a helmet, I'll stick with the glasses.

I'm like all glasses wearers; I naturally turn the whole noggin to look to my sides thus getting around the whole 'fuzzy peripheral vision' thing.

Just a follow up for you all. I had two evaluations at two different places (one "chain" and one at U of Michigan). After discussing everything with the doc, I'm going to hold off for now. While the risks are fairly low, the biggest reason for me holding off is the night halos. With my combination of prescription, pupal size, current sensitivity to light and glare, and a couple of other factors, I can't take the risk at this point; esp. if I want to continue endurance racing with night stints. Hopefully in a few years they'll be able to avoid them all together, but for now, I'm not going to do it.

Thanks for all the feedback!

I was worried about the night halos - until I was driving home one night and realized that I had halos from my single contact lens. I've never worn glasses so I don't know how much they affect your vision at night.

Put me down in the "shoulda done it earlier" camp. I never realized just how much my eyes bothered me until I had the surgery. Much of the time, they hurt. After the surgery, I've got much better night vision than I did driving home from work after wearing my lens all day.

My surgeon wasn't a big fan of PRK, and that's considering I'm the sort of person who's probably fairly high-risk for dislodging the flap.