Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I can see!

As far as fees go it has been too long ago for mine to be realistic for you. As to the experience, I could not believe the improvement in my sight as I got into the car to go home. And after that it was very little time until it was "over". Do it if you can.

What cinched my resolve to do it was driving across the Mackinac bridge at night in a storm. Never gonna let my vision scare me that bad again, if I can help it.

I guess it varies with the doctor and locale or probably what insurance will pay. The first one was right about $5000 all told, that covers the pre-op evaluation, surgery and a post-op visit which I had this morning. The surgery doctor works with my normal optometrist, I'll be seeing him in a week and again in a month, and he charges separately but from what I can see that's just two normal office visits. My insurance from work covers 80% pre-deductible on all of it so it was right at $1000 out of pocket for the first one. They show you up front what the cost is and the second one was only $4000 for whatever reason, perhaps they didn't need to repeat some things, and since I've met my deductible for the plan year the out of pocket was $500 this time.

Well worth it from where I sit now.

Recovery is no big deal. For the next two weeks I'm not supposed to lift anything over 20 pounds and avoid "dirty" work where debris or dust could get in my eye. Otherwise you just go about your daily life starting the very next day.


"Tells me it's the bulk of his business." Speaking of, it's definitely assembly line surgery. Not to complain, the staff at the surgery center was great - competent, professional and still caring and personable, but they must do 10-20 of these in a morning since the actual procedure only takes about 10 minutes. They put you in a room and place five or six drops of stuff in your eye and let those sit for 20 minutes, then stick an IV catheter in your arm and take you to the actual OR. Your head is immobilized and the eye area painted with iodine, then they put numbing drops in the eye. Just before everything begins an anesthetist squirts some fentanyl and something else in your arm and it's happy time for a while.

I didn't remember the first one but was quite conscious of this one. You don't feel a thing, you just see shadows, but I remember them saying it's all done and having me sit up, getting into a wheelchair to go to post-op and talking to the nurse while I waited for my ride home. Getting up and walking feels like you've had about 2-3 stiff drinks on an empty stomach so I was quite jovial with everyone walking out. You go home, take a nap, stay indoors for the day, go to bed and then wake up with everything bright and clear. Pretty neat.

i wore glasses most of my life extremely near sighted, 20/800, that kept me out of vietnam.
in 95 i was hospitalized with an acute case of diabetes, which brought on the cateracts.
i could not see the overhead signs on the freeway.
insurance covered the whole thing, recovery was mild with the drops.
the day of the first operation i was scared cacaless, and actually bent one of the rails on the gurney i was so up tight.
they later said tranquilzing me was like taking a horse down.
few minutes after i commented is that the way the world actually looks?
i remember going up in a blizzard looking for elk, and i could actually see the veins underneith leaves on the trees.
only downside was working under by truck, i had always had glasses so dirt didn't bother me.
i had to learn to wear e ye protection.