Lasik Flap never Heals?!!
Peter Guidry
with mild astig in each eye. Lately it seems that lasik is becoming
the surgery of choice. Other than short term complications, I am
concerned about the fact that the flap never seems to reintegrate.
I have read posts indicating flaps being lifted more than a year
later.
Doesn't this worry anyone? Are there not issues with nourishment of
the flap if it never really integrates?
Peter
Peter - gui...@playground.net
Dan Baker
I'll be interested to see what the docs say on this issue.... I know
that the healing of the very top layers of the cornea is pretty fast,
but very thin. I would guess that the stroma may knit together very
slowly as there is no blood supply. But, with a good smooth flap, and a
good smooth corneal bed forming a good suction combined with the thin
top layer knit together I'd say that the flap isn't likely to peel up
under any natural occurance and would require the application of a thin
spatula right at the old flap line to lift it.
I might worry about it if I were a prize fighter.... but I think a
number of pro football players have had the procedure offseason with no
reports of problems in news I can recall.
Dan
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JimDayOD
Peter,
The flap is "healed" in the traditional sense in very short time, but the
collagen tissue is NEVER the same again. This is about like breaking a plate
and having it glued together. Is it ever really the same? NO!
The flap is lifted off the cornea for enhancement and in several 'mishap"
situations months later.
Did you know that with Advance Orthokeratology, you could have good un-aided
vision all day and avoid sugery all together? Yes, it does require wearing a
contact lens partime, but as you know, the surgery ain't perfect either.
I am biased, Orthokeratology is much, much safer and gives a similar change to
the cornea shape. I am a member of the International Orthokeratolgy Section of
NERF.
Jim H Day, Jr OD, FIOS
Jim H Day, Jr OD, FIOS
s...@hits.net
I think the question is at what point does the flap adhesion/healing reach
full tensile strength (pre-op strength) Some flaps can be relifted at more
than one year after surgery but many cannot. Everyone is different.
Re=lifting involves surgical prep and delicate instrumentation and doesn't
re-lift ad lib. It often requires quite a bit of finesse before lifting. It
is hard to imagine duplicating these conditions accidently in the course of
day to day activities. I believe an injury significant to damage the flap
would have caused damage to the cornea if you didn't have surgery prior.
The cornea absorbs O2 directly from the air and normally has no blood vessels.
Blood vessels develop as a response to O2 deprivation brought about by contact
lens use.
The flap part has been around for 30 years as originally done by Dr. Barraquer
in Bogota, Colombia. Nowadays the laser is substituted for the cryolathe.
You may wish to review the bios of Barraquer (available as a link on
http://www.lasik-eyes.com )
I had LASIK in 1994 so the issues you address are very important(personal) for
me. I remain estatic.........
Steve Friedman, MD
Honolulu/NY
In article <3621ef11...@47.80.11.122>,
gui...@yahoo.com wrote:
> I have been reading/thinking about laser surgery for years. I am -4.25
> with mild astig in each eye. Lately it seems that lasik is becoming
> the surgery of choice. Other than short term complications, I am
> concerned about the fact that the flap never seems to reintegrate.
>
> I have read posts indicating flaps being lifted more than a year
> later.
>
> Doesn't this worry anyone? Are there not issues with nourishment of
> the flap if it never really integrates?
>
> Peter
> Peter - gui...@playground.net
>
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Dan Baker
> Did you know that with Advance Orthokeratology, you could have good un-aided
> vision all day and avoid sugery all together?... I am a member of the International Orthokeratolgy Section of
> NERF.
>
> Jim H Day, Jr OD, FIOS
-----------------
what are the limitations of Orthokeratology? i.e. how much correction
for myopia/astigmatism can be handled?
Aviator202
Hi Jim,
Unfortuntaely ortho k doesn't work for refractive errors of -12 does it ?
s...@hits.net
I am an advocate of anything that works for a given person providing that
person freely chooses the process. Does ortho K not require continually using
a retainer lens to maintain the change in shape. What percentage have
complained about discomfort/pain from wearing this. If you stop wearing the
retainer does the refraction revert fairly quickly to pre Rx level?
"The flap is "healed" in the traditional sense in very short time"
What do you mean by "traditional sense healing"? You say the collagen tissue
is never the same again. Do you mean the interface or is an actual change in
the stroma collagen complex effected? Please clarify this for us
Thanx,
Steve Friedman
In article <19981012000839...@ng13.aol.com>,
jimd...@aol.com (JimDayOD) wrote:
>
> Peter,
>
> The flap is "healed" in the traditional sense in very short time, but the
> collagen tissue is NEVER the same again. This is about like breaking a plate
> and having it glued together. Is it ever really the same? NO!
>
> The flap is lifted off the cornea for enhancement and in several 'mishap"
> situations months later.
>
> Did you know that with Advance Orthokeratology, you could have good un-aided
> vision all day and avoid sugery all together? Yes, it does require wearing a
> contact lens partime, but as you know, the surgery ain't perfect either.
>
> I am biased, Orthokeratology is much, much safer and gives a similar change to
> the cornea shape. I am a member of the International Orthokeratolgy Section
of
> NERF.
>
> Jim H Day, Jr OD, FIOS
>
> Jim H Day, Jr OD, FIOS
>
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