New Cosmetic Eye Whitening Surgery for Red Bloodshot Eyes

[chharles]

Hey Guys,

I was wondering if anybody heard about this new eye whitening surgery for red bloodshot eyes. I've found two doctors that offer this surgery, one in Korea and the other in California.

I've had dry, burning, red eyes since 2008 after I had lasik eye surgery and a couple courses of Accutane before then, so I'm really interested in this new procedure. Apparently my dry eye syndrome is caused by blepharitis, so I'm not sure if this procedure would be permanent for me. I would think that blepharitis would probably make my eyes turn red again.

If you guys know anything, some feedback would be much appreciated. Also check out the links posted below.

www.seereye.org

http://www.boxerwachler.com/whiteeyes/

http://ezinearticles.com/?Eye-Whiten...ure&id=4266492

Thanks

[painless]

I'd love to have white eyes again, but dry eye is one of the potential effects of this procedure, according to the doctor's website you posted. Already having dry eyes, I would not go near a procedure that carries that risk.

[calcan]

I am tempted to try this surgery myself; however, I would like more information, such as if the condition returns at some point after the surgery.

[Lucy]

This has come up before. I'm not going to try and find it in the archive

I've had dry, burning, red eyes since 2008 after I had lasik eye surgery and a couple courses of Accutane before then, so I'm really interested in this new procedure. Apparently my dry eye syndrome is caused by blepharitis, so I'm not sure if this procedure would be permanent for me. I would think that blepharitis would probably make my eyes turn red again.

If you guys know anything, some feedback would be much appreciated. Also check out the links posted below.

If you are a victim of a bad/botched Lasik, I am surprised you'd ever consider a worse sounding surgery. First, how much is the cost? It seems that it is more than Lasik. Very expensive and cosmetic, so insurance wouldn't pay for it. It sounded like peeling a grape where the dr was telling about the procedure.

I'd like to know how he can tell your eyes will be "so bright" and it will take "so long?" Is this guaranteed? What if things go wrong? Things went terribly wrong with my Lasik, but it tough cookies for me. What if the procedure is more painful than they claim and longer than they say? What if it's like some Lasik procedures and just keep the pain going?

I had to stop working as a college secretary some years after my Lasik because my vision was so bad. I filed for and got social security disability.
There is no way I'd have something like this done to my eyes, especially knowing about dry eyes and Lasik. Do you trust every doctor? They likely start out telling the truth, but cannot guarantee our outcome, they have no way of telling how we will heal. I can't imagine saying your eyes will never be red again (or whatever term they use.) If you're sorry you got the surgery, you won't get your money back. Good luck on giving that a try before surgery.

Lucy

[chharles]

I'd love to have white eyes again, but dry eye is one of the potential effects of this procedure, according to the doctor's website you posted. Already having dry eyes, I would not go near a procedure that carries that risk.

On the seereye website in the FAQ section it states that 86% of their DES patients said that the dryness in their eyes had become much better after having the surgery. But I guess it could just be false advertisement!

[chharles]

I am tempted to try this surgery myself; however, I would like more information, such as if the condition returns at some point after the surgery.

I think it depends on what caused the redness of the eyes in the first place. The california doctor talks about redness due to sun damage in one patient, and redness as something another patient was just born with. In those types of patients they talk about the treatment as being semi permanent as long as they wear sunglasses etc. I'm not sure about redness due to DES though.

[chharles]

This has come up before. I'm not going to try and find it in the archive


If you are a victim of a bad/botched Lasik, I am surprised you'd ever consider a worse sounding surgery. First, how much is the cost? It seems that it is more than Lasik. Very expensive and cosmetic, so insurance wouldn't pay for it. It sounded like peeling a grape where the dr was telling about the procedure.

I'd like to know how he can tell your eyes will be "so bright" and it will take "so long?" Is this guaranteed? What if things go wrong? Things went terribly wrong with my Lasik, but it tough cookies for me. What if the procedure is more painful than they claim and longer than they say? What if it's like some Lasik procedures and just keep the pain going?

I had to stop working as a college secretary some years after my Lasik because my vision was so bad. I filed for and got social security disability.
There is no way I'd have something like this done to my eyes, especially knowing about dry eyes and Lasik. Do you trust every doctor? They likely start out telling the truth, but cannot guarantee our outcome, they have no way of telling how we will heal. I can't imagine saying your eyes will never be red again (or whatever term they use.) If you're sorry you got the surgery, you won't get your money back. Good luck on giving that a try before surgery.

Lucy

I'm sorry to hear that lasik has also drastically changed your life. I always think to myself "if I could just turn back the clock and not have walked into that lasik clinic!!" But it is what it is. We pick up the pieces and keep moving any way we can.

After lasik, I now know that any elective surgery should be avoided when possible. I guess the prospect of having a normal social life and not looking like I'm high on some kind of illegal drugs tempted me into considering this. It just sucks when you go into work and your manager pulls you aside and asks if you're "high" because of the red eyes... I think it'll be difficult to advance in the workplace if my superiors always think that I've been out partying late the night before or coming into work semi-wasted...

Also, to answer your question, I've read that the cost is about $3500 per eye depending on the severity.

[Lucy]

The Lasik was not the end unfortunately. I was discovered to have cataracts just 15 months after the Lasik. I waited as long as I could because my vision was getting very dim and had the cataract taken out of the left eye. My doc attempted to have me come to -.10 or plano. Because Lasik reshapes your eyes so much, they have a hard time calculating what it should be duing the cataract surgery.

My left eye came out at -4.77, halfway back to what I was before Lasik.This was 5 years after Lasik. So, from that point on, I've suffered with anisometriopia, which is different images in each eye. A really weird thing to try and get used to. I had to quit my job then. I still have one eye with a cataract, but I am afraid to have it fixed because there is no telling how the cataract surgery will turn out.

I have lived life in the 10 years since. It is just drastically different than it was prior to Lasik. I would have preferred to retire when I wanted to instead of being told my work was no longer good enough. This surgery sounds so scary that I'd never go there. Perhaps if it meant a change in vision I would consider it, but not for better looking eyes. I think you'll have to wear reading glasses someday which will sort of cover up your eyes. Good luck.