Wrinkles in the cornea? Just out of curiosity - what ate the visual effects of such a condition and why/how are the subsequent procedures "worse" than the initial one?
Basically, think of it as a bad window tinting job with bubbles/wrinkles in it. Depending on the size/position of the wrinkle, you can have just generally blurry vision ( like me) or you can have just a portion of your vision blurred.
The initial LASIK procedure is just mildly discomforting, like learning to wear contacts for the first time. Afterwards your eyes feel slightly itchy or like you have some dust in your eyes. Goes away very quickly in a few days. The worst you vision was to start, the more "side effects" you feel and the longer it takes for your vision to clear up.
The "Follow Up" procedure..... Nasty.
First, they take the corneal flap, peel it back up like the skin of a grape and then use a small tool to smooth it back down over the eye. Then they basically "squeegie" it down over and over with a tool like the one used to clean windows at a gas station. This greatly irritates the hell of the corneal flap, because it basically bruises the crap out of the flesh as it is "massaged" back into place. This takes about 30-45 minutes of having your eye pried wide open, and staring into a bright light. Not much fun.
Two, they try #1 all over again.
Three, they do #1 all over again, but THIS time they put stitches into the corneal flap (I think it was 6 but can't remember exactly). This was friggin excrutiating. The stitches have to be perfectly uniform and symmetrical in location, so that the corneal flap is stretched tight like the head of a drum. They're suppose to stay in for 2 weeks. Me, I had mine in about 6 hours before one of the stitches popped loose and started scraping the inside of my eyelid. Some of the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced, and I've put nails thru my foot, torn ligaments, and had tons of stitches. I ended up having to call my doctor at 2:00AM. Spent two weeks on pain pills and massive steroids due to the inflamation (gained 15 pounds). And to top it all off, the whole procedure was a waste of time, because once the first stitch popped loose, all the others had to be removed because the tension was not uniform and it would only make the problem worse. Oh and did I mention that it takes about 1.5 hours of staring into the "spotlight" like in a movie where they interogate the spies, and you can't blink the whole time while they put the stitches in..
Fourth, and thank God the last time, they used the laser to burn off the excess tissue in the wrinkle, which made the cornea smooth again.
The Ironic part of it all, is that the eye that had the most problems turned out in the end to be the one with the best vision.
Like I said, it was living hell for the better part of a year. But I'd do it all over again if that was what it took. Having perfect vision, when you couldn't see an alarm clock right next to your face before, is a gift from God.
