The vast majority of the time, LASIK eye surgery works out just fine. Then there are stories like Patrick’s. He was a “perfect” candidate for LASIK eye surgery according to both the doctor who performed the procedure and other experts who reviewed his records later. After the procedure, however, he began to lose vision in his left eye, and eventually had to have a corneal transplant. Patrick’s detailed account of how LASIK Plus reacted–stringing him along with multiple visits and the wrong diagnoses, misplacing his records, and denying any responsibility–has left him feeling he should share his story with the rest of the world.
My name is Patrick Sheahan. I had LASIK eye surgery at the age of 23. When I went in for a consultation at LASIK Plus they said I was a perfect candidate. I was only -1.25 in each eye and could almost make do without glasses.After the LASIK surgery my left eye slowly started to deteriorate. I was getting dizzy spells and migraine headaches daily. I started taking pain killers. I went to my optometrist to see if I could get a pair of glasses because all I could see out of my left eye was light. She told me that my left cornea was severely damaged and it was shaped like a football.
I immediately made an appointment to see Dr Gerald Horn of LASIK Plus, the man who performed my LASIK surgery. He made me and my grandfather wait for 5 hours in the waiting room. When I finally got in to see him he admitted there was a major complication and blamed the laser not himself. Dr Horn said that there may have been a malfunction in the laser and there was nothing he could do for me.
Dr Horn was very rude to me and my grandfather. He rushed us out of his office before answering all of our questions. He told us he had a meeting to go and if we had any other questions we had to make another appointment.
In the following weeks I consulted many corneal experts who came up with the same conclusion that I needed a corneal transplant. After a proper donor was found I had had my transplant done on July 10, 2003. A corneal transplant is not a pleasant procedure. They cut the cornea out of your eye, replace it with a donor’s cornea and in my case it took over 30 stitches in my eye. The removal of the stitches is done a few at a time, only when the stitch loosens with a needle like instrument while you are conscious, which resulted in numerous doctor visits.
I had to pay 18,000 dollars for that surgery. I also paid 4,000 for a lens implant procedure done on October 14, 2005. My doctor has told me to prepare for many other future procedures and that my cornea can reject at any time.
So far I have lost almost 2 years of income as a police officer and have depleted my entire savings including my 401K. I have since been able to return to work, however had to be assigned to a different division (because of my eyesight) with a lesser rate of pay. I will never be able to work the street again.
I consulted a lawyer who paid experts to look over my files. In Illinois I was told you need an expert witness to testify on your behalf. After further investigation I found out that all of these experts were LASIK eye doctors themselves and were very reluctant to testify against each other.
I am not trying to scare people with my story I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else. My story is also on LASIKsucks4u.com and LASIKpluseye.com my other website.
LASIKplus continues to use false advertisement as the story below indicates. They made me believe that the worse complications would never lead to blindness. I went blind in my left eye and my only option was a corneal transplant. The worst part of my ordeal was the way LASIKplus and Dr. Gerald Horn treated me after the complication. Dr. Horn offered me no options of how to correct my vision nor did he show any sympathy towards me.
One corneal expert i saw before my transplant told me that LASIKplus is known as as a fly by night large company that heavily advertises but does not deliver quality service. He said LASIKplus is a huge company known not to attract the best doctors. To be fair to LASIKplus he also said after looking at my files he saw nothing definitive that LASIKplus did wrong. Many top corneal experts came up with that same conclusion. They said they were baffled by my outcome because i was a perfect candidate and it should of been an easy surgery.
It’s scary that something like this can happen and top experts in this field cant explain it.
You can read Patrick’s chronological account of everything that went wrong with his surgery at his website www.LASIKpluseye.com.
(Photo: | spoon |)
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@ionerox: Hey, as my roommate says, “A laser is a laser.”
Needless to say, I’m not considering that place for LASIK. Or hair removal, come to think of it.
@tcp100:
Unfortunately he probably signed a waiver saying he understand and accepted responsibility for all the risks.
FWIW, no matter what you sign, it doesn’t legally indemnify anyone from the consequences of actual negligence. However, from what is sounds like in this case, no one can ascertain what went wrong.
If it’s ‘the laser’s fault’, as the doctor is alleging, there could still be a cause of action against him if he is the one responsible for maintaining and calibrating the equipment. Otherwise, the manufacturer of the device could be liable.
The thing I don’t understand in this whole story is how this guy is on the hook for tens of thousands in medical bills. Is he not covered because the complications are the result of a privately paid elective procedure? Please don’t tell me this guy is a cop and doesn’t have health insurance.
The REALLY scary thing is that optometrists, who have no experience in Ophthalmic surgeries, are trying to get the right to do LASIK in some states. Imagine getting a procedure like this done by someone incapable of treating the possible complications. It’s a recipe for disaster. This is something better left to Ophthalmologists who know how to treat these complications.
Okay, I’ll think twice about having any kind of eye surgery as long as I can see with my glasses.
My eyesight’s getting worse by the day and it’s a real shame at my age *sigh*
@Maddod: Some people share their own thoughts and experiences on eye surgery. Others shout out words of encouragement.
And others, like you, invoke the snarkiness part of me by thoughtlessly POSTING A SHAMELESS ADVERTISEMENT IN THE COMMENTS! Fie!
@satoru:
I hate to break it to you, but Tiger Woods got his LASIK in DC, at the doctor I went to…
My husband had LASIK. 3 times. It cost 5 grand. One eye was blurry so the doctor did a touch up. It was still blurry so he gave him antibiotic eye drops. When that didn’t work, he did a thorugh examination and discovered that my husband had a cataract. You’d think he would have noticed that in the first place right? He referred hubby to another eye doctor.
5 grand and several months later, the cataract is gone and my husband still needs glasses to read. He thinks it’s great. I think it’s ridiculous. If the day comes when I need vision correction, I’ll take contacts thank you very much.
If these complications are so rare, why can’t there be an insurance component to the procedure. Ophthalmologists should probably require it to cover themselves. Like Malpractice, but broader coverage to the patient.
Insurance specifically to cover the transplant and lost wages should something go horribly wrong.
There need not be punitive damages, but this patient is out a lot, possibly millions (lost wages, lower pay, transplant costs, etc…). Punitive damages for bad luck would just drive the costs up for everybody.
If I have my eyes done it will be PRK, It has a longer recovery time (1 week to return to work, 6-12 months for complete recovery), but a lower complication rate, generally better results, and its an older and less expensive procedure to top it off.
As much as I hate glasses my vision is not bad enough to justify the costs. -0.5 and -0.75. Some people think I’m nuts to even wear glasses.
I hate to break it to you, but Tiger had a reoperation last year.
LASIK was the worst decision of my life. I suffer from the common complications of chronic dry eyes and night vision impairment. Since I had LASIK I have spent much of my spare time researching LASIK complications. The medical literature reports that chronic dry eyes and night vision impairment occur frequently after LASIK. Based on data from all FDA LASIK clinical trials, the complication rate is around 20%, but this is hidden from the public by classifying these complications as “symptoms” in the device labeling. Moreover, the LASIK flap only heals to 2% of the cornea’s original tensile strength, and the biomechanical strength of the cornea is permanently reduced by about 50% after LASIK. LASIK patients face problems with glaucoma screening, future cataract surgery, and persistent decrease in corneal cells called keratocytes which are vital to the health and function of the cornea. You can read more about LASIK risks and long-term complications on my website at http://www.lasikcomplications.com (you can also read about Tiger’s reoperation on my site).
@ellastar: I hope your doc doesn’t recommend LASIK to you, or anyone to do it, for that matter. my script is the same as yours (-7.00 – 7.50), and i have been told by several reputable opthamologists that our script level is much too high for PRK or LASIK to be effective. i’m with everyone who wonders why this guy bothered risky surgery for -1.25, when he could have corrected with a lens or cheap readers when he needed them.
I have worn glasses, and every type of lens since the age of 5, so i can say, emphatically, that glasses and lenses give me decent correction that i can live with more than a botched (or ill-advised surgery). these procedures can never guarantee you 20/20 vision, and are often repeated on some patients, weakening their corneas even more.
find other lenses–and beware the myth about “extended wear”. any foreign object is bound to cause a problem in an eye closed for more than a half hour. i used to use night & day, but removed them nightly. they were comfortable, but better ones have been made since. try the new oasys 2-week lenses. again, remove them to sleep, and you’ll have a good 2 weeks comfort.
@ReidWings: so agree on the point of optometrists trying to get the right to do the surgery.
but ALL doctors are trying to up their income via profitable procedures these days. my mother’s opthalmic surgeon offered to do an eye lift for her while doing her LASIK, which I talked her out of. dermatologists are now trying to do outpatient cosmetic surgery–between licensing and the FDA, many docs are getting away with procedures way beyond their capabilities.
That’s genuinely unfortunate. I really hope this man is taken care of- unfortunately, some of us in the medical field cover for each other when they shouldn’t, and some don’t cover when they should.
Best of luck to you in the future, Patrick.
That is a very sad and unfortunate story. People nowadays sue for all the wrong reasons and yet here was someone who truly needed a lawsuit but couldn’t get one.
I’ll never get Lasik eye surgery. I’ve been told my eyes will get worse every year (I’m 18 and was told this at 14) and I don’t think I’d do it. I don’t even want to look near a discman laser, let alone allowing one to infiltrate my eyes.
I have *terrible* vision (6.00 and 7.50) which means that looking down at my hands without glasses is a complete blur) and have been wearing glasses since 8.. but I don’t think I could contemplate getting Lasik. Too many things can go wrong – even at the best doctor’s surgeries at the end of the day there is a mere human being operating a machine and deciding on the fate of your eyesight., not to mention that the long term effects of Lasik are still not known.
Contacts are a bit of a hassle, but I can live with them and carrying around an extra pair of glasses. Swimming can be a bit annoying too but I just swap my contacts for a pair of “prescription” swimming goggles which work a treat.
I had lasik four years ago. The following day after surgury I could not see out of either eye. Two years later I had a proceedure which corrected my left eye which I now see perfectly out of.
However, my right eye has never been good and has gotten progressively worse. Finally, after waiting four years for the eye to heal my surgeon sent me to a cornea speacilist.
Yesterday I visited the doctor and he told me my right eye was so far deterioraqted that I would need a cornea transplant. I don’t know wat to do?
I know I should have neve done the Lasik surgury now but I have to play today’s cards. I almost want to just not do it and live with it after the horror stories I have heard about transplants.