Laser eye treatment

[kam15]

My boyfriend's father is a Type 1 diabetic and recently had his eyes checked, which most diabetics should, and he was told some confusing news. He was told by the eye doctor that his vision is still good ?20/20 or 20/25 but because of damage from diabetes he requires laser treatment. The confusing part is that he was told the laser may effect his vision or cause a ?"blind spot". He doesn't know if he should have the laser treatment done if it is going to effect his vision, but the doctor says if he doesn't get it done now, the damage/ bleeding will get worse and definitely effect his vision, worse than if he had the laser done now. Anyone else been through this that could offer some insight?:confused:

[parise]

Yeah my husband had that as well and was told that laser surgery was the way to go. If he hadnt done it , it would have affected his eye sight in the worse way. He may want to check in on that.

[jimmys devoted]

My father had teh laser treatment done. His too as a complication from diabetes.
the blind spot is wher the scr tissue develops on teh repair. My opthamologist says its usually just temporary while the eye adjusts back to a whole retina and sealed vessels.
My father wasnt bothere dby anything after his, the surgery actually stopped him continually rubbing h is eyes fo rthe spots and the tired.
In hi when his glucose levels were very high, he would get itchy!

[parise]

I really think that youshouldn't even mess with it in the first place. I didn't want my h to get it done but hey not everything I think matter to him in the frist place. I feel like its irreversible.

[bra]

My brother in law had surgery on both of his eyes, not at the same time. He is so happy that he had this done and says he can see so much better than before he even knew he had diabetes.

[faith]

Sounds like he might want to get a second, and even third doctor's opinion on that just to be sure. Once surgery is done, it's done.

[faithib]

I just had my eyes checked and still don't have any signs of diabetic retinopathy.
Even though your boyfriend has 20/20 vision, if the laser surgery is not done it will continue and get worse and he could entirely lose his eye sight in that eye.
He needs to do some research into what this problem does to a diabetic's eye and then he will understand why he needs to get this taken care of.
He also needs to get his blood sugars under control to stop this from happening more in the future.

[manojjonam10]

This is really a unfortunate thing.Eyes should be taken care at all times by the diabetic patients.It is indeed a dilemma whether to go for surgery or not.

[skatss]

His eyesight has nothing to do with the need for the laser surgery. Since he wasn't told exactly what the laser was going to do. It could be used to stop some tiny bleeding that is happening. There might some scarring that the laser can clear up.

But I think that he first should go to the doctor and get every bit of information about his eyes that he can. He can also go to another doctor to get a second opinion so he can have all the information that is needed so he can feel comfortable in doing anything.

[ellbell]

My friend's wife had that done and it definately helped - or they said she might have even went blind.

[skatss]

I was also surprised when some people here said that nothing should be done to the eye even if the doctor said that laser surgery was needed.

When a doctor says that, and especially when a blind spot might happen, the laser surgery is usually needed to make sure that even more damage doesn't happen to the eye. If you take the stance that you should do nothing, there is always the danger that more damage will happen to the eye naturally within months or years.

Eye surgery is frightening, but the fear that your eye might lose more vision is even more frightening since diabetes is known to weaken small veins and those in the eye is especially delicate and frail. And if the eye is growing a lot of weak veins, then some can break and bleeding inside the eye blocks a lot of vision.

So even if the idea of eye surgery frightens you, listen to your doctor and even get another's opinion. You really can't forget about your eyesight and leave it to chance.

[ramesh68]

Hi there,

Laser eye treatment is safe for diabetic patients. My father is diabetic and he underwent laser operation for his both eyes. Doctors first keep your blood sugar levels in control before operation is done. So I don't think there will be any problem. In your case, the sugar levels must be normal before laser treatment is done. You have to go for blood sugar test and if it is normal and satisfactory then doctors will take up the case for operation. So go as per the doctor's advice. I hope this helps.


Thanks

[selenagemez]

another article I found about lasik and diabetes, I hope it will give some help

Can Diabetics go for LASIK Eye Surgery?LASIK and Diabetes

If I have diabetes, am I a safe candidate for LASIK? The answer is… maybe.

Statistic shown that 47% of people with diabetes had complications after the LASIK procedure as compared to only 7% among people without diabetes. This alarming statistic highlights the needs for extra caution to be exercised when dealing with LASIK surgery in people with diabetes.

LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, a surgical procedure to reshape the cornea with excimer laser to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness or farsightedness. People with diabetes can have LASIK surgery but should proceed with care because they might face the following problems:

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Visual alterations due to changes in blood glucose control - It's been long recognized that major changes in glucose levels can cause short-term changes in vision. As a result, people with diabetes may experience blurry vision with their newly fitted contact lenses or spectacles if their blood glucose is out of control. That problem can be corrected by getting a new pair of lenses or glasses, but not with the permanent changes following LASIK surgery. Thus, good blood glucose control is important before and after LASIK.

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Slower healing of the cornea after surgery - Abnormalities in the cornea are common in diabetes, and they may lead to slow or imperfect healing after LASIK surgery, delayed epithelial healing, persistent epithelial defects, neurotrophic changes and persistent erosions after LASIK that may last a long time.

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Worsening of retinopathy - LASIK may further damage the retina in people with diabetic retinopathy.

At one point in the LASIK procedure, suction is applied to the eye. This suction causes increased pressure in the eye, and can potentially be harmful in some people with diabetes. So, for a diabetics to be qualified for LASIK eye surgery:

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First, the patient must have his/her diabetes under good control. Fluctuating blood glucose levels might cause shifts in diabetics vision after LASIK and lead to an improper visual correction being performed.

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Second, this patient must not has preexisting diabetic ocular complications (such as an unhealthy ocular surface, cataracts, retinopathy of any sort, fragile retinal vasculature or neovascularization) secondary to the diabetes.

Prior to performing any LASIK procedure, those qualified individual will need to go through an extremely thorough extra screening to ensure that they can have successful refractive surgery. A detailed retinal exam, close examination with a slit lamp, tear film and epithelial tests can lowered the high complication rate in individuals with diabetes who undergo LASIK.

If you have diabetes and interested in LASIK eye surgery, talk to your doctor, and consult an experienced, highly qualified LASIK surgeon. Make sure the surgeon is aware of your problem, and discuss your safety concerns. LASIK procedure has benefited millions of people worldwide including those with diabetes. Visit LASIK Laser Eye Surgery for more information.