Dishler Laser - Blog

Although Franklin D. Roosevelt was talking about the "great depression" when he uttered these famous words in 1933, they have come to symbolize a much greater range of ideas. It may be apropos to remind ourselves of these times since we are now going through what has been called the greatest recession since the depression, but this post is about something else entirely. After more than two decades of performing vision correction procedures, it is obvious to me that virtually everyone is afraid at some level of having their eyes operated on even with the amazing advances that allow this to be a relatively safe and painless procedure. Everyone has a different way of dealing with their anxiety and their method to overcome it in order to achieve a goal of improved vision. While we as doctors cannot and should not completely relieve this anxiety, we can temporarily reduce it by appropriate preoperative medication and full and accurate disclosure.

There are several laser centers that have popped up in the last few years based on marketing 20/20 vision guarantees or the alternative of lifetime enhancement guarantees. While both of these merit discussion, this post is about something different, it is about night vision. There is a big difference between seeing 20/20 on a high contrast eye chart and driving a truck at night down a dimly lit road. Today I was on Martino TV with a patient who told how in just two weeks since his LASIK procedure, not only does he see better than he did with glasses or contact lenses, but he sees more clearly at night than he can remember. When patients make a choice about laser vision correction, they are also making a choice about the technology used on their eyes and they only get one chance to make this important decision. For that reason, let us look at what makes for night vision which is so important to some people in both their occupation and in their personal lives.

For many people who have significant refractive error, their world is a complete blur were it not for glasses or contact lenses. And while these appliances do wonders to help millions of people cope with their poor unaided vision, they leave many with a psychological feeling of being incomplete. Some express their concern as worry about what would happen if they ever lost or broke their glasses, or perhaps if swimming in the ocean their contact lenses were to wash out leaving them helpless. Others are continually reminded of the heavy glasses on their noses, or an irritation often felt with a foreign material floating in their eye. For these people laser vision correction is not about perfect vision, it is about a freedom from the dependence on glasses or contact lenses to live their everyday lives. We understand these serious concerns and try to work with patients in Denver Colorado who want to discuss not only the technical aspects of LASIK but also have concerns about how their vision and improved eyesight can impact their everyday lives.