Laser Or Lens Implants?

[anaxcrosswords]

Am thinking about getting my eyes done. General vision is OK, just a struggle reading small print. But can’t decide between laser correction or lens implants; at 50+ do I need to consider permanency? Also, what about relative costs, and are the High St names as good as private in terms of cost/quality?

[Cloverjo]

I'm sorry I don't know about either of those things, but they make me feel very squeamish. Why not just wear glasses or contact lenses?

[jno]

it sounds as if you just need reading glasses (though if the deterioration continues, you may need to update them with new prescriptions occasionally). It happens to plenty of over-50s, including me.

In fact you may not even need a prescription: just take a book and try on a few different strengths in your local pound store.

[EDDIE51]

Neither of those are permanent, as your eyes get older your vision changes. If you have ordinary glasses or contact lenses then you just get a new prescription for the lens as needed. If you use lazer correction you need to have it done again when your sight changes,same with implants you have to have them removed and replaced with new implants.

[237SJ]

If you are long sighted (struggle to read anything that is close) then laser treatment won`t work. It can only cure short sightedness

[Old_Geezer]

Don't claim to know much about it but I'd have thought one would only do a full replace of the natural lens if it was cloudy or damaged in some way. I'd suspect if you really were determined to do it, that laser would be the preferred option ?

[ubasses]

Laser surgery isn't suitable if it is just your reading vision that is going.

[anaxcrosswords]

I started wearing cheapies a few years ago. Trouble is, the eyes adjust to rely on them, plus of course it’s something else that needs to be carried around. I’m in a position to get corrective surgery done so cost isn’t a huge concern – just want to take the right approach in terms of value for money and not needing further treatment later.

[237SJ]

As mentioned, corrective surgery doesn`t work for long sight. It only works for myopia. Even if you do have the myopia and you get it corrected with laser surgery, you will still be long sighted.

[EDDIE51]

Go to an optician and get an eye test.Very very few if any people have exactly the same sight in both eyes, cheap reading glasses are the same for both eyes. An optician will check the sight of each eye separately and there will be a different prescription for each eye . I have just had new prescription glasses after making do with cheap reading glasses for a few months , the difference is astounding , just no comparison to cheap reader specs.
My lenses are different for the right and left eye and you can see it by looking through them with each eye in turn.

[anaxcrosswords]

Mine are definitely different Eddie. Left eye is much sharper.
Overall, I can read comfortably at about 15 inches; any closer and it gets blurred.

[jno]

rather than trying eye surgery (whch can go wrong in a very small number of cases), I'd try getting better glasses first. And don't worry if your sight continues to deteriorate - that's what eyes do, and they'd do it if you'd had surgery too. But get a proper eye test first and get prescriptions for both eyes.

[237SJ]

Jno - surgery doesn`t work for long sight (not being able to read). At least that is what the specialist at Moorfields told me. Yes, you can go for lens replacement but it`s not worth doing that for long sight problems.

[jno]

this suggests otherwise

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/long-sightedness/Pages/treatment.aspx

But I'm really advising against surgery.

[237SJ]

http://www.julianstevens.co.uk/procedures/laser-refractive-surgery This is where I got my info from

[anaxcrosswords]

Really surprised that so many are against surgical work – I always thought it was ‘the future’ and a better alternative to glasses. I think a consultation is in order.

[EDDIE51]

As I said my sight is better in one eye (left) than the other, one of my grand kids has a very weak right eye , but proper opticians glasses have given him and me good sight. It is normal to have a different prescription for each eye, in fact it is having both eyes the same that is rare.

[ladyalex]

Jonathan Edwards the triple jumper who used to advertise laser surgery is now wearing specs again at least some of the time......makes you think.....

[Old_Geezer]

Possibly one can correct for abnormal eyeball shape by shaping the lens, but stopping the stiffening lens from old age is a whole new ballgame ?

[jennyjoan]

My next door neighbour got her eyes done about 3 years ago and back to wearing big glasses again all the time whereas before she only wore them now and again. I would have been mad had I have been her - still think she is paying them off monthly.

[CrikeyMoses]

I know someone who had surgery recently who's still having to wear shades weeks after the event, with some discomfort and impaired vision. Of course it could still work out fine for him (right now, he wishes he hadn't bothered), and it seems most operations are successful.
FWIW, my optician (albeit some years ago) said he didn't know of any ophthamologists who would opt for corrective surgery themselves, partly because of the statistical risk of making things worse in the short term, but also because the long term outcomes were unknown.
To summarise, I don't know, but at least I can spell ophthamologist correctly.