Anyone had Lasik done ? | FerrariChat

Anyone had Lasik done ?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by PerryJ, Feb 7, 2005.

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  1. PerryJ

    PerryJ Formula 3

    Jun 5, 2003
    1,909
    N. Alabama
    Full Name:
    John Perry
    My wife and I signed up today, anyone had it done ?

    How were the results/ what should I expect ? Would you do it over ?
     
  2. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 30, 2003
    18,066
    Savannah
    well i got the damn database error and i cant type all that in again, i must go to sleep. suffice it to say i had DR IMHOFF do my eyes about 8 years ago and i would do it again. i wore glasses from the third grade on and i am now 33. i do need to go in this year to be seen for a check up i guess.
    i was nearsighted, and when i was born i was " stuck" and the right side of my face was crushed by the doctors , i have sinus issues and eye problems to this day on my right side. anyway since LASIK i can see 20/20 out of my left eye and close to 20/20 out of my right. please feel free to ask me any questions here or by PM if i may help you or your wife. Michael


    my understanding is that DR IMHOFF helped perfect the laser and the procedure with the Russian doctor that invented it. he ( IMHOFF) used to live here in Savannah GA.
     
  3. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
    13,477
    Never home
    Full Name:
    Dr. Dumb Ass
    I had it done in 2000. Very happy with the results. Ken Rentiers in Houston did mine. I've been 20/15 since then. I started off 20/100 or so.

    Take the valium during the procedure. It gets very un-nerving when you realize that "fade to black" portion is you going blind. Not cool, but the drugs help.

    Use the drops as often as possible. If your eyes dry out within 2-3 days after, it feels like you have a pound of sand in them.

    For the first 5-6 months after, I noticed that my eyes were more prone to getting tired during night driving. But that could also come from me getting older.

    I would do it again.
     
  4. Dan Ciezniewzky

    Dan Ciezniewzky Formula 3
    BANNED

    Sep 6, 2004
    1,351
    Indianapolis
    About how much does something like this cost??
    I just failed the vision part of my driving test, but later passed with old glasses I had when I was 12, but still blurry. I have 20/50 vision and am now suposed to where glasses when I drive, like that's gonna happen.
     
  5. PerryJ

    PerryJ Formula 3

    Jun 5, 2003
    1,909
    N. Alabama
    Full Name:
    John Perry
    My insurance is covering half of ours, it will run,
    1700 for each of us. (895 per eye)

    without the insurance is 3700 each. (1850 per eye)
     
  6. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
    13,477
    Never home
    Full Name:
    Dr. Dumb Ass
    I paid $1050 for both eyes out of pocket. Insurance didn't cover it. Good old Ferrari owner discount. :)
     
  7. BigHead

    BigHead Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2003
    995
    Outside of Boston
    Full Name:
    Dennis
    Amen to what Erik wrote! Dr. Ken Rentiers, fellow Ferrari nut, performed custom LASIK on me in October of 2003. I brought my wife and baby daughter down to Houston (from Boston) for the procedure. Dr. Ken and his family were incredibly hospitable - we had some great Mexican with them the night we got in, and he performed the procedure the next morning. Admittedly, I was foolish enough to decline the Valium, and did get a bit freaked out at the last minute when I saw the instruments approaching my pinned back eyeball, but there was no pain whatsoever! Jamie took me back to our hotel, where I spent the evening eating take-out and sleeping with guards taped to my eyes. The next morning, I could SEE! Dr. Ken measured me, and I was 20/15 less than 24 hours after the procedure.

    The only "side effect" that I had/have is very common - some dryness. I used drops for the first two months, then gradually cut them out. If I stare at a computer screen for a long time, my eyes do dry out a bit, so I have to force a YAWN, and it's all good. The first time I went skiing without glasses was unbelievable - just as cool as the first time I went to the racetrack without glasses! Everything is so great.

    The reason I finally pulled the trigger? I was concerned about safety, side effects and cost. Well, CUSTOM LASIK is the new generation, and it's amazing. I was an ideal candidate. And as for costs, well, a friend who had it done pointed something out to me - the earlier I have it done, the more time I have to AMORTIZE the cost!

    So, I have nothing but great things to say and recommend about the procedure in general and Dr. Ken in particular. Check out his site at www.pkenrentiersmd.com.

    Funny story, BTW - On the morning of my procedure, Dr. Ken picked me up at my hotel (I stayed near his house) in his Ford Explorer Sport Trac SUV/Pickup. Driving down the highway, he notices some vibration, deduces it's a flat tire, and pulls over in the parking lot for the toll booth. Yup, a Ford Explorer tire blowout. Well, we jump into action, dropping the spare out from under the truck and jacking it up. I keep offering to do all the manual labor, but Dr. Ken is insistent, muttering something about being a Texan and how real men change their own tires. I can't help but think that it's stinkin' hot, and the last thing I want my friend to suffer (especially before he CUTS MY CORNEA) is to drop the truck on his hands, or worse, suffer a myocardial infarction! :)

    vty,

    --Dennis
     
  8. PerryJ

    PerryJ Formula 3

    Jun 5, 2003
    1,909
    N. Alabama
    Full Name:
    John Perry
    thats too funny,:D
     
  9. jimangle

    jimangle F1 Rookie

    Nov 5, 2003
    2,506
    Haverford
    Full Name:
    James
    A couple of people I work with eye work. One had the PRK, the other had lasik. None of them have had any problems. I'd like to get it, but I'm still weary about it.
     
  10. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

    Apr 26, 2003
    13,477
    Never home
    Full Name:
    Dr. Dumb Ass
    Ken is the best. He picked me up at the airport (in scrubs), drove to the office, did the pre op exam, had lunch (Mexican), did the procedure, went to FoH to talk to Tony N., had dinner, let me stay at his house, did the post op exam at the breakfast table and took me back to the airport.

    If that isn't VIP medical care, I'm not sure I would know what is.
     
  11. ashsimmonds

    ashsimmonds F1 World Champ

    Feb 14, 2004
    14,385
    adelaide, australia
    Full Name:
    Humble Narrator
    my (ex) chick had it done almost exactly 3 years ago.

    she wore contacts every day and was always miserable that anywhere she went or anything she did she had to be concerned about having her eyes with her and other such woes.

    she had i guess a mild myopia, $4k later she got zapped, (a bit hit for an office chick :( ) and being as anal about making things go right as she is, spent 6 months paranoid about knocking her eyes about.

    she just had a test last week, the opsomethingorother couldn't see any indication of surgery/scarring, and she has 20:20. she's 24.

    i always thought to bring the price down, you could incorporate it into a kind of sport for the surgeon, like he gets to do it at 40 feet or with you on the run. :D
     
  12. Nexxia

    Nexxia Rookie

    Feb 8, 2005
    4
    Toronto, Canada
    Full Name:
    George
    My wife had it done a few years ago on her left eye she is now blind, stay away from the discount shops. She paid $699 per eye and she is now blind on her left eye and can barely see from her right eye.
     
  13. ashsimmonds

    ashsimmonds F1 World Champ

    Feb 14, 2004
    14,385
    adelaide, australia
    Full Name:
    Humble Narrator
    sorry man, that sucks. :(

    my chick was ULTRA careful. she spent AT LEAST a year researching it, including hanging out around places like http://www.lasikdisaster.com and some others to find out all the stuff that's gone wrong, and she was paranoid down to the last. she knew everything about every machine that was in use, all the candidacy issues, possible problems, etc...

    she had loads of people from boards such as that tell her to never ever even consider it, but the overriding factors that were glaringly obvious with lasik-gone-wrong stories was that many of these people made the decision too quickly, only consulted one doctor, didn't research whether they were a good candidate, and based a lot of their decision on the price.

    granted, a lot of the blame is to rest on the doctors if they are unscrupulous and just after a quick buck, but important stuff like this - hello, your vision and livelihood - CANNOT be decided based on the sole opinion of someone who is going to profit from you either way.

    a few months AFTER the surgery mentioning being a little bleary eyes and wondering if it was because of the LASIK, i told her "no honey, it's because of the dozen cocktails and shooters you've just had."
     
  14. Noelani

    Noelani Formula Junior

    May 29, 2004
    747
    Full Name:
    R
    My uncle also had problems with the surgery when he had it done several years ago. I don't know many of the details, except that luckily his vision has improved from what it was right after the surgery, but he obviously still needs glasses.
     
  15. Dan Ciezniewzky

    Dan Ciezniewzky Formula 3
    BANNED

    Sep 6, 2004
    1,351
    Indianapolis
    Could you get one eye done, and get the other done like 2 weeks later to be safe??
     
  16. Greg G

    Greg G F1 Rookie

    I was considering it, but learned upon the initial screening, I have a condition which precludes me from being lasik eligible. The condition is called Keratoconus. Its a good thing it was caught prior to the procedure, otherwise Id be optically screwed.
     
  17. tx246

    tx246 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,660
    Texas
    Full Name:
    Shawn
    ken rentiers is a great doctor that is a fellow ferrari nut. my wife had hers done by dr. slade here in houston. he is very well known from years of research and surgery. see was legally blind and a "worse case" scenario. she can know see better than i can. i have been amazed that she hasn't had any problems since the surgery. she never took any valium or anything else. i watched the surgery on a big screen and live on the table. the surgery was amazing. i have a bad astigmatism that is getting worse. if it would stop changing i would have the same done. sadly, my astigmatism has worsend so bad in the past few years i went from being 20/15 to not being able to distinguish a car less than 20 feet in front of me at dawn and dusk. clearly a problem i would like to correct. before you have any surgery done, make sure your eyesight has stabilize das much as it can.
     
  18. Fastviper

    Fastviper F1 Rookie

    Nov 20, 2003
    4,525
    Texas
    Full Name:
    Dash
    I had prk in 1997 best $4000 I ever spent. I was blind as a bat but have seen 20/20 since then. About the cheaper places, dont skimp!

    john
     
  19. MrBoost

    MrBoost Rookie

    Aug 13, 2004
    4
    I had it done in Austin. Motorola paid it, that was cool. I have 20/15 vision now!
     

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