I just wanted to share some of the struggles I've had after having a very bad PRK, and how I was able to get my vision and my life back with the help of a Florida doctor.

I had PRK laser surgery several years ago. Afterwards I was left with severe starbursts and haloes in both eyes. I had difficulty focusing on anything, even close up, and I had constant eyestrain and horrible headaches. I was unable to work full time and life had become pretty miserable for me. A few years later I had an unsuccessful enhancement surgery, and then another one a year later, and over the years I have tried various types of soft contacts, reverse geometry RGP's and even custom RGP's with a local OD.

About two years ago I decided to see if Wave RGP contact lenses would work for me. There weren't any OD's in my area that could fit me, but I did some searching on the Web and found out about Dr. Ken Maller, an OD in Ft. Lauderdale, who specializes in fitting irregular corneas. I flew to Florida and saw him for an appointment on a Monday morning. He did an exam that included a topography. That morning he was able to design a set of lenses and he sent the design data to a lab in Las Vegas. The first set of lenses arrived two days later. The prescription for both lenses was right on and I couldn't believe the quality of my vision! According to the eye chart I was 20/15, and even able to make out some letters on the 20/10 line. Almost all of my visual aberrations had disappeared! I was amazed at the quality of my vision and I spent most of that afternoon just driving around and looking at things, and since I had some time to kill before my flight left, I even took in an iMax film.

At home with the lenses, over the next few days I found that my right eye was getting a little irritated after five or six hours of wearing time, so I booked a return visit to Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Maller was able to adjust the design slightly, and the new lens was more comfortable, although after wearing it a few days, I still found it a little irritating. I ended up seeing him a third time a few weeks later, and that lens fit like a charm. I have been wearing the same lens for almost two years. The original left lens was a great fit, but because I had had PRK laser surgery eight months before seeing Dr. Maller, about a year later, the shape of my cornea had changed just enough to change the way the lens fit on my cornea and was causing some irritation. I saw Dr. Maller again, and after two attempts he was able to fit me with a new left lens that I'm able to wear comfortably all day long.

Nowadays, comfort is fantastic in both eyes, and I can easily wear the lenses for 14 hours a day. I have dry eyes and was not able to wear soft lenses in the past because of a lid allergy, but both of those problems have not been an issue. My day and night vision is very good, and probably 80% or more of the aberrations are gone. Headaches and eyestrain are a thing of the past!

Before booking my appointment with Dr. Maller, I was doubtful that I would have much success with Wave lenses, as I had heard from some other post-LASIK patients who had been unsucessfully fitted by other OD's. Dr. Maller explained that the default lens design that the system comes up with is just a STARTING point in the fitting process, and that some OD's with limited experience may just go ahead and order the default design for patients with irregular corneas. He said that that approach almost always does not result in a good fit. Part of what Dr. Maller does now is act as a consultant for Wave and he trains OD's who are fitting patients that are post-LASIK, post-PRK, have keratoconus, grafts, and other eye diseases.

I'll check back on this board over the next few days if anyone has any questions...

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