LASIK for Radiologist

[Kevin Jeffrey Chang]

I have been considering LASIK for quite a while now. However, I will be
going into a radiology residency soon and am worried about some of the
side effects of the LASIK procedure- particularly the night-time halo
effects.

Since radiologists depend on their eyesight in dark rooms to read films
on lightboxes, I am wondering if any radiologists out there, or
refractive surgeons who have operated on radiologists, have any
experience as to how safe this procedure is for radiologists? Is it worth
it for someone who will be making a living off of low-light vision to get
the LASIK procedure done knowing that haloes may become a problem when
reading films?

Budding young radiologist-to-be,
Kevin Chang
kevc...@yahoo.com

--
_______________________________________________________________________
Kevin Jeffrey Chang
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton 1996, College 1996, Medicine 2000
PGP public key available at www.pgp.com (key ID: 0x3E7812F2)
_______________________________________________________________________

[4...@home.com]

If his last sentence answered his question he wouldn't be asking.

Being an upcoming radiologist you in a higher risk/benefit category meaning if you
lose contrast sensitivity or develop haloes you have more to lose than the average
patient. Radiologists have and will continue to be treated and do well however
there is no guarantee you will . You have to decide whether or not the 2% chance of
night glare being worse is worth it. If you do decide to have it done seek the
largest optical zone possible such as the B&L 217 or Lasersight LSX lasers.

Larry Bickford wrote:

> In article <86t0cm$u83$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>, kch...@mail.med.upenn.edu

> (Kevin Jeffrey Chang) wrote:
>
> > I have been considering LASIK for quite a while now. However, I will be
> > going into a radiology residency soon and am worried about some of the
> > side effects of the LASIK procedure- particularly the night-time halo
> > effects.
> >
> > Since radiologists depend on their eyesight in dark rooms to read films
> > on lightboxes, I am wondering if any radiologists out there, or
> > refractive surgeons who have operated on radiologists, have any
> > experience as to how safe this procedure is for radiologists? Is it worth
> > it for someone who will be making a living off of low-light vision to get
> > the LASIK procedure done knowing that haloes may become a problem when
> > reading films?
>

> Doesn't your last sentence answer itself?
>
> --LB
>
> --
> Larry Bickford, OD
> Family Practice Eye Health and Vision Care
>
> The EyeCare Connection--- http://www.EyeCareContacts.com
>
> Note: To reply via email, use eye...@eyecarecontacts.comm (and remove last "m")

[Bill Trattler, MD]

The real questions of this group should be - what is your
refractive error and what is your pupil size in darkness. If
you have 10 diopters of myopia and 8 mm pupils in the dark - the
risks of nighttime problems would be very high. However, the
risks would be much less if you had 2 diopters of myopia nd had
5.5 mm pupils at night.
Saying that - there are other risks with elective surgery
besides loss of contrast sensitivity and halos. There are rare
risks of infection, flap inflammation, etc. If you do have a
complication, then you potentially would have difficulty with
radiology - since your entire job depends on yourbeing able to
see and interpret images.

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL
http://www.AskLasikDocs.com

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