Re: [Leica] Beware laser surgery & Night (long) Vision

[Jesse Hellman <hellman@home.com>]

The advice to be careful about medical procedures is very wise.
Everything in medicine is a question of balancing risks - sometimes no
treatment is a greater risk than the than those posed by treatment. In
my case I had been using contacts for years and was starting to get some
blood vessels coming into the edges of the cornea, because of some lack
of oxygenation. So I knew I would have to stop using the contacts or at
best restrict their use a lot. My uncorrected eyes were so bad that I
could not even see that there was a letter on the chart - a minus 9
correction was needed.

The Lasik was wonderful for me, and the results unusual. While there is
a very slight double vision in the right eye in dimmer light (sort of
like the rangefinder patch showing a slightly out of focus state) I am
aware of it only if I look for it - as I am left eyed and use the left
eye with the M6 (LUG Leica Content) it is of no importance. Both eyes
are at least 20/20, with the left a bit sharper, usually 20/15.

What happened that is most surprising is this: in reasonably bright
light, even in the examination room where I have my eyes checked, with
my left eye, without reading glasses, I can read print as fine as the
"swiss made" printed on the bottom of my Rolex watch dial - take a look
at how small that is, any of you that have one!

This has not happened with the right eye. No opthalmologist with whom I
have spoken can explain why the left eye is like that, because I have
needed reading glasses with both eyes for years, along with the
contacts.

Yes, I am lucky the left did what it did, but even if the right eye
result were in both I'd be OK. As I grew up with coke-bottle lenses, I
was willing to take the risk, as two opthalmologists said I was an
excellent candidate for the Lasik.

But years ago I noticed that virtually no opthalmologists used contacts
- - and I suspect few get Lasik, too -

Jesse