For ten years, the one thing I wanted most was to have the procedure where I would not need glasses. It wasn’t that I disliked the looks of glasses, but glasses were annoying to me; constantly getting smudges, scratches, etc. With every passing year it seemed as though technology had improved and I was getting closer to having LASIK.

Two years ago my neighbor went to a respected physician in Tarpon Springs, Florida and was thrilled with her LASIK surgery. She felt her physician did an excellent job and I decided I would go there also when the time was right. Then my friend’s husband decided to have LASIK. He went to a different Florida physician and invited me to accompany him to his surgery. He is my age, mid fifties, and also had Hyperopia and astigmatism. His procedure was in December of 2003 and he raved about how well he could see without his glasses.

So, I decided to make an appointment with his doctor, whom I saw several times to have a complete evaluation and topography. She informed me I was a good candidate for corrective surgery, however, I had “small eyes” and she may need to perform PRK surgery instead of the traditional LASIK with the flap. I went home, gave it serious consideration, and decided it would be safer to have the PRK surgery even though it involved a longer healing time. I returned to her office to make my appointment for corrective surgery and signed the consent form for PRK.

The day of surgery arrived and I was very nervous. I cried as the nurse was prepping me explaining to her now nervous I was. She replied. “this is no different than going to the dentist.”

I was then tightly placed on the table so my head was still, and was instructed not to move, to look at the red light at all times, and that the doctor would tell me what she would be doing step by step. I remained as still as I ever have been and the doctor began working. She never once told me what she was doing and I was in an extreme amount of pain. Then in an alarmed voice the doctor instructed the nurse to get my eyelid out the way. It was too late. The doctor informed me an aborted flap occurred and she would not be able to continue the LASIK surgery, she was going to have to perform the PRK surgery and that she could fix the aborted flap during that surgery.

I was confused and scared so the doctor began trying to explain to me what had happened. She looked as though she was going to cry. The nurse left the room and came back with the medical director of the Laser center who asked my doctor to step outside. He informed her she could not continue and would not be able to perform further surgery on my eye for at least 3 months. She replied “We’ll see about that!”



What came next was a series of antibiotic drops, Prednisone drops, eye soreness, depression, crying, disappointment, and grief over the loss of vision in my right eye.
I couldn’t see at night because of halos, starbursting, and ghosting, therefore I couldn’t drive. After years of not working I had gotten a part time job at a local amusement park, and now I had to give up my job. I couldn’t work outside in the bright light of day nor the bright glare of the lights at night because I couldn’t drive myself to work.

I literally felt unsafe anywhere except at home in dim light. My whole life had suddenly changed and I wondered it I would ever see well again. Fortunately, I still had my left eye which is 20/20 with glasses.

On the 4th day post-op I sought a second opinion at the Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs (where my neighbor had had good luck). Her doctor believed he could correct the ridges in the center of my eye over time and then perform LASIK again! I had already had one disaster with LASIK, why would he think I would want to try again? And what about PRK? Wasn’t that what I was suppose to have in the first place?

NOW, for the light at the end of the tunnel. My dear friend who works for a retina specialist in Tampa suggested I seek a 3rd opinion. I will be forever grateful to her for this. Dr. Steve Maskin of The Cornea and Eye Surface Center is who she recommended.

I’ll never forget my first visit when I told him I had failed LASIK surgery and asked if he worked on these cases. His reply, “Yes, I’ve seen bad LASIK results create misery in people’s lives” but I think I can help you. Dr. Maskin is not an advocate for LASIK and does not perform LASIK. I immediately felt confident that if anyone could help me it would be him.

My initial visit lasted 2 and ½ hours. This is not unusual for him I was to discover. He is dedicated and time does not matter- only results, He took photography pictures and showed me the damage done to my cornea. The flap from LASIK was cut across my cornea in front of the pupil. It had healed with an elevated ridge within the visual axis. He was optimistic he could repair it, but he also diagnosed another significant problem, which can effect the surface healing of the cornea, called Conjunctivochalasis, a degenerative change in the conjunctival tissues of the ocular surface. I should NEVER have been considered for LASIK with these conditions. I had been diagnosed with “dry eye” by my ophthalmologist and now my symptoms were even worse. My flow of tears which should have gone across the cornea surface to keep my eyes moist was misdirected to the outer corner of my eye and out of the side of my eye, leaving my cornea dry and likely to heal suboptimally.

Dr. Maskin explained that he would surgically remove the scar tissue from my cornea, due to the LASIK, without laser unlike the previous doctor using a laser. He would also perform an amniotic membrane transplant to resurface the ocular surface of the right eye, restoring more normal tear flow over the cornea making for improved lens lubrication and comfort and healing. He did not want to wait three months like the other doctors because he felt more scarring could occur, and we scheduled the surgery for that same month.



Five days post–op I returned to Dr. Maskin and I was happy to report that my halos, ghosting and starbursting had drastically improved. I felt I could actually see again at night and perhaps try to drive again soon. Also, the glare from the sunlight was considerably improved.

How can one thank a doctor for this? My surgery was on May 28, 2004. I will never be the same but I am so much better. My actual vision has returned to 20/25 with refraction but I still suffer from loss of contrast sensitivity. As of July 28, 2004, I have only driven 3 times at night since my botched LASIK because my depth perception is distorted. It is also difficult reading and this week I lost in minature golf. A First!

Dr. Maskin feels that either a trial of rigid contact lenses or new prescription glasses will correct this problem. I will be fitted for these in two weeks. I will let you know if this works.

I have since learned that my friend I took first advice from can no longer see his computer screen with or without glasses. He is afraid to admit it and has not yet gone to see if he needs corrective surgery.

Dr. Maskin has since informed me that I have a small cataract on my right eye. Shouldn’t I have been told about this from my original doctor? It seems to me that I really never was a good candidate for LASIK or even PRK and that like many others I was taken advantage of.

As for my dry eye, which most doctors say there is nothing that can be done, I’m here to tell you I no longer experience tearing from the corner of my eye, severe itching or dryness, and my eye is generally healthier in appearance.

SO, THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. I FOUND IT THANKS TO A GREAT FRIEND AND A COMPETENT, DEDICATED PHYSICIAN.