I've worn contact lenses for almost 20 years. So, not too long ago, on a day when they were particularly irritating, I decided it was time to get rid of them. Just imagine a piece of dry gummy plastic sliding up into your tearing blinking eyeball and you'll get the idea. It wasn't the first time, but this time it was the straw that broke the camels back. Say hello to laser surgery.
The procedure I'm opting for is Wavefront PRK (photorefractive keratectomy). The wavefront concept is simply some measurement which checks the path of light as it goes through your eye combined with a contour map of the surface. Armed with this, they fire up the laser and do some sculpting. Use the force Luke!
Anyway, this involves having your eyelids held open, having the surface layer of epithelial cells on your eye removed, then having to look at a little light while a laser carves away at your cornea. Your eye is frozen while this is going on, so it isn't really that bad, but it is supposed to be quite annoying for several days while your eye is healing.
An alternative precedure, which I was not interested in, involves slicing a flap on your eye, lifting it, then performing laser surgery. Although healing may be a bit quicker and less irritating, I don't like the thought that there is a slight but permanent chance of blindness if for some reason you suffer physical injury and that flap is torn off. Anyhow, given how I like to express my point of view, there is still the chance I'll get punched in the face one of these days, so, no chance of going this route.
So, it's time to ditch the lenses and do the PRK!
Tags: Vision
