Dr. Chris Chenoweth, one of the most experienced LASEK surgeons in eastern Oklahoma, discusses the freedom and clarity of vision people find with LASEK, a non-cutting, all-laser procedure with fewer complications than the more famous LASIK.
Who is the perfect candidate for LASEK?
Any adult over 18 that has an active lifestyle where glasses and contact lenses may get in the way.
It works best for nearsightedness and astigmatism, although it is approved now for farsightedness as well.
What are people wanting most when they come to you for the procedure?
I think most of our patients want independence from glasses and contact lenses.
They just want a freer lifestyle where they can just get up in the morning and not have to worry about doing something to correct their vision. So I think it just kind of boils down to convenience.
Why do most people seek out this LASEK procedure?
A lot of patients who are wearing contacts currently see that the contacts just aren’t as comfortable as they used to be. And the patients are really starting to struggle with the comfort level of the contact lenses because of dryness or allergies.
LASEK can be a good option for them because it gets them out of the contact lens, which is actually contributing to their allergy symptoms or their dry eye symptoms. And it allows them not to have to go back to glasses.
Why do they choose LASEK over LASIK?
LASIK with the i-k actually involves cutting on the cornea and that is really where the vast majority of complications from LASIK comes from. It can cause eyes to become dry so people can actually have worse dry eyes after LASIK than before.
But with LASEK, with the e-k, that’s a non-cutting, all-laser procedure and it doesn’t have the same dry eye complications that LASIK does. It has much fewer complications in general. In fact, LASEK is actually safer than wearing contact lenses.
And did I hear you right in that you have experienced the surgery personally?
Yes, yes.
So what was your personal experience with LASEK?
I had mine done quite a while back, and so the procedure’s changed a little bit, but I just remember being a little blurry for a couple of days during the healing phase.
Afterwards I realized that my vision was just incredibly sharp and clear and, and it was just nice being able to wake up and see across the room without having the glasses or contact lenses on and to participate in basketball and cycling and those types of things. And you don’t have to worry about sweat getting in your eyes.
I was doing a lot of jet skiing at the time, when I had had mine done, and I would wear contact lenses on the jet ski, but then as soon as water would splash into my eyes, you couldn’t see because the water would affect the clarity with the contact lenses.
So after the LASEK procedure, that wasn’t an issue any further.
How have you heard from clients that this impacts their lives after the procedure?
They enjoy the freedom that they have. You get rid of so much of this responsibility when you get it done. You don’t have to worry about putting those contacts in every day or forgetting to take them and pack them when you’re traveling, things like that.
Plus, there’s the awe of how well they can actually see. In fact, I had a patient who had always had difficulty with night driving, even with glasses and contact lenses. And this is a customized laser, so it can oftentimes improve the vision to levels that are better than they ever were with glasses and contacts.
And I remember her specifically talking about how her eyesight at night was finally comfortable. She had never been comfortable driving at night with glasses or contact lenses. And after the LASEK procedure, she goes, “I feel like I can see better than I’ve ever seen at night driving. I don’t feel uncomfortable driving at night anymore.”
That’s amazing. Have you had anybody else talk to you about their outcomes with LASEK?
Well, I had a firefighter come to me. Firefighters can’t wear glasses with all the equipment that they put on because they have respirators that go over their face and the glasses don’t sit underneath the respirators very well, if at all.
And so almost all the firefighters are wearing contacts in lieu of glasses, but then their contacts, they have to wear 24/7 because if they get a call in the middle of the night, they don’t have time to stop and put their contacts in. They have to sleep in their contact lenses. And that causes a lot of issues with discomfort and irritation.
So I had a firefighter come visit with me about getting the LASEK procedure done, and he was so thrilled afterwards because he was able to get rid of his contact lenses, get rid of his glasses, and he could wake up in the middle of the night and go on a fire call. All of his equipment would fit him well, and he could see clearly. So he felt like it made himself safer as a firefighter.
And after he had it done, all three of his brothers who were also firefighters came and had LASEK done with me too.
It improves their safety—and not just them, but any first responders. If they can’t see clearly because their contacts are messed up or they can’t wear their glasses because of the equipment they’re putting on, it becomes an unsafe environment for them.
They’ve been some of my happiest patients.
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