Q: I had lasik May 27, 2005. I was very nearsighted -10. The Alegretto Wave was used. The surgeon said the goal was 20/15. After the surgery, on Day 2 my vison was perfect. It has been bad since. I had the surgery out of town, so my follow ups are with a doctor near me in Florence AL. 6 days after surgery he said he thinks I have DLK (but that it isn't like the DLK he has seen before) he increased the steroid drops to every 3 hours. At 10 days after the surgery, (last Monday) he said my eyes look better but it isn't gone, he decreased the the drops to 4 times a day. He said I was 20/20 with both eyes. I told him that everything is very blurry and he told me to forget about how I saw before. That does not sound good. I am so sad. My vision has gotten even worse since Monday. The Dr. who did the surgery hasn't looked at the information about me that was faxed to him yet and I have called twice. My vision is VERY VERY blurry, & hazy. I would like your opinion. My question is do you know of any cases similar to mine where a person's vision has gotten alot better with no blurriness? If so, do you know how long it took for that to happen? PLEASE TELL ME SOMETHING. Is there any chance this will resolve or can be fixed? I deeply regret that I have done this.At this point, I'd do anything if I could put those glasses back on. Thank you so much, Marcia A: I would not panic, but I would go to an experienced Lasik surgeon to obtain a second opinion about your current care. What is done now can be very imnportant to how your vision turns out. If you have to travel to get the opinion, then that is what you have to do. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com

Q: I am 77 and although I have good eyes generally and only a minor vision correction in my bifocals, the fact remains that my near or reading vision simply isn't good enough in my reading prescription. I am a PhD and need to do a lot of reading - but I simply can't get a good enough focus for periods of extended reading by way of my bifocals.. Dr. Henry A: You need to get a throurough eye examination, and possibly a better pair of glasses. Whatever is holding up your vision needs to be addressed. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: I had Lasik performed about 5 years ago to correct nearsightedness in both eyes. A few months after the procedure, I had a revision performed on my right eye. The eye was over-corrected which led to both farsightedness and nearsightedness. In addition, I had epithelial cell growth so the doctor had the re-lift the flap to remove the excess cells. I am now 35 and the vision in my right eye seems to be getting worse. Both my close and distance vision are getting blurrier especially in dim light. I was originally told that four re-lifts was a maximum that should be done due to the possibility of wrinkling of the flap and other possible complications. Keeping in mind that I also had excess epithelial cell growth, what would you recommend I do to "fix' the vision in my right eye? A: There is no absolute limit on re-lifts. I would suggest that you see an experienced Lasik surgeon who can examine your eyes and then give an opinion. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com

Q: I have a lazy eye. Is lasik surgery possible on people with lazy eye? A: It depends on the degreee of laziness. YOu will need to be examined by a Lasik specialist. Andrew Caster, MD Caster Eye Center

Q: Hi, I just wanted to know the estimated number of people who had the Lasik eye surgery in 2004? Is it growing more popular? A: It is estimated that 1.4 million procedures were performed in the United States in 2004. The number is growing. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com

Q: My pupil size is 7.28mm in one and 7.78 in the other eye. My no is -2.5 D sphere with - 0.25 cylinder. Corneal thickness is 596 microns. Is my pupil size a relative contraindication to Lasik (wavefront) A: It is a relative contraindication, but a minor one. The more problematic combination is large pupil and large nearsightedness, which you do not have. We treate people like you commonly, with the undrstanding that you are more at risk of having greater halos than a person with smaller pupils. Of course, you probably have greater halos now because of your larger pupils. Andrew Caster, MD Caster Eye Center

Q: Is Intralase Lasik surgery the only one that does not use a blade? I've been researching and trying to find a good doctor that doesn't charge more than $3,000, but the charge for the intralase surgery by one doctor is $4,590 for both eyes. Am I looking at the wrong method for the price I can afford or at the wrong doctor in terms of affordable prices? Another doctor charges $3000 for both eyes using the LADARvision excimer Laser System. Does the LADARvision use a microkeratome blade to cut a flap or is that one also done by laser? Thank you for your time. A: You can have PRK (or its cousin LASEK) which does not use a flap, but takes much longer to heal and generally costs about the same as Lasik. The flap is made either with a keratome or with the IntraLase -- there is really very little difference. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com

Q: I asked you a question recently about how many estimated people had the LASIK surgery in 2004 and I just wanted to know where you receive that information? A: There are several analysts who follow this industry and publish estimates. Andrew Caster, MD

Q: dear sir i have thinning corneas i believe from wearing hard lens for 35 years will the new acc laser surgery help me i tried to get it done before but was turned down thanks lloyd A: ACC is not new; it is simply one doctor's name for the PRK procedure. It is effective for people with thinner corneas. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com

Q: Dr. When I turned about 43, I am now 53, I started needing reading glasses. I do understand that this is normal at this age. I can get by without them but I do have a little trouble with fine print. Some times my arms just dont seem long enough. My vision used to be great even at close range but alass no longer. I feel that the use of reading glasses makes me look and feel older than I really feel. Is there any way to correct this problem either with surgery or with eye exercises? Thanks for your time! D W A: You have presbyopia, which everyone gets in theri mid-40s. Eye exercises do not help. Monovision with contact lenses or surgery (Lasik or CK) is the solution for many people. Andrew Caster, MD www.castervision.com