Ooglaseradvies.info
Comments by Patients with Complications
Summary of a TV News Interview
(From Gil, SurgicalEyes member):
The segment was excellent. The host said that night vision problems arewell known to laser eye surgeons, but less well known to patients. The host and an OD from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry talked about risk for night vision problems with bigger pupils. The host explicitly mentioned glare, halos, and starbursts.
The camera tried to show what a streetlight would look like with GASH. The OD mentioned the transition zone, GASH, and "possibly, reduced contrast."
The host asked a patient to look at a streetlight and describe what she saw. She responded that the light looked like "huge rays of light, like a gigantic firework right after it exploded," and if there was something behind it, she wouldn't be able to see it. The host asked, "Dangerous at night?" to which the patient replied, "Very dangerous."
The host made reference to the Canadian and German night vision studies. The host said that unless you ask the patient, there is no way of knowing if (s)he has night vision problems. There is no objective test for night vision problems, and until there is, it may not be fair to impose limits on those who drive at night and have these problems. However, if the night vision problems are severe, experts say that patients should stay off the road. Another OD from Cal said that it might be time to impose a night vision test.
One laser eye surgeon at a university-based hospital stated that the number one concern is pupil size under dim light conditions, and that the hospital turns down about one-third of patients with larger pupils. The host said that experts say that even though one doctor can turn a patient down with larger pupils, that patient could easily find another doctor willing to perform the surgery on him/her.
Another refractive surgeon trivialized the night vision problems, saying, "Most people who have night vision problems...it's a little...it's kind of annoying but in no way disabling to them." One of this surgeon's patients said right before surgery that she had already made her decision. Then the camera showed the surgeon having to abort the procedure on the patient because the laser malfunctioned. The host said that the patient took it as a warning and would not come back. The surgeon's response was, "This is the first time it's happened with me."
In summary, larger pupils = high risk for glare, halos, and starbursts. I, too, saw that laser consultation banner on the KTVU/Bay Insider website. However, I knew from the radio promo that it would be basically a "LASIK warning" piece. This station did a similar "LASIK caution" segment last year and showed the SE web site. This piece was certainly no LASIK infomercial.
When faced with a long street of lights and stoplights, patients with complications of refractive surgery are often overwhelmed by the visual noise. Although these pictures mainly illustrate starbursting, loss of contrast sensitivity also plays a key role in the night vision of the post-refractive. Road signs fade into the background, while the white and yellow lines fades into the asphalt. With increased noise from starbursting and ghosting, and diminished signal from loss of contrast sensitivity, many casualties drive at night only in familiar areas, and many do not drive at all. www.surgicaleyes.org