Laser eye surgery..?

[Moonwitch]

Has anybody had laser eye surgery? Either here in Argentina or back in their native country? Please share you experiences!

My Argentine friend, who is undergoing the surgery in a couple of months, is trying to convince me to get it done. I have looked in to it but it really scares me. The possible side-effects are just too strong. It would cost so much money to correct if my eyes fucked up.

 

[JHB1216]

Has anybody had laser eye surgery? Either here in Argentina or back in their native country? Please share you experiences!

My Argentine friend, who is undergoing the surgery in a couple of months, is trying to convince me to get it done. I have looked in to it but it really scares me. The possible side-effects are just too strong. It would cost so much money to correct if my eyes fucked up.

My wife is considering this as it is a part of our health plan OSDE. We have a friend that had it done years ago here and she needs to use reading glasses to read but her eyesight was really bad before. It is quite common to have it done here. They do one eye one day and the other eye the next. I do not think that the risks are any different than in the USA.

 

[jp]

I did all the research, and did all the preparatory stuff only to be told that my eyes weren't wonky enough to be covered by my insurance.

Some elements of the procedure are unnerving (they slice your eye open & peel back a flap of eyeball) and there can be complications (mainly from slicing your eye open, if it doesn't heal well).

Still, if you were considering getting it done, I wouldn't have any doubts about getting it done here. They have all the latest kit, and highly experienced doctors. A friend had the procedure done at the clinic I went to and raved about it. Perfect vision in a week, the only side effect was slightly dry eyes while the eyeball flap healed, but once that healed completely there was no sign of anything having happened, apart from having perfect vision.

Also worth bearing in mind that if you wear glasses there's an outside chance you could get hit in the face, smashing glass into your eye (it happens), and wearing contacts runs a risk of infection and corneal damage. Whilst the laser surgery has potential complications, so does wearing glasses and using contacts.

I'd do it in a minute if my plan covered it, and am still considering paying for it before I leave here.

 

[Ries]

My wife had it done, over ten years ago, in Canada.
Her life was changed, for the better.
I know lots of people who have had it done, and all are positive.

I know no one who has had negative side effects, nor can I find much mention online of negatives.
I think that its actually a very safe procedure.

Me, I LIKE wearing glasses- and I work in the shop a lot, so I have to wear eye protection anyway, so I havent done it myself- for me, the big advantage would be non-prescription sunglasses, which is just not a huge motivation.

 

[harrisonba]

Does anyone know the average cost of the procedure in BA?

 

[jp]

It was 4000-6000 pesos a year and a half ago. Maybe add on 20% or so for inflation

 

[Moonwitch]

Ok great to hear. I was looking at flapless surgery. I guess I need a consultation. I´m thinking that perhaps my eyesight isn´t bad enough to get it covered by insurance.