Whenever my friends ask me about getting LASIK, I tell them that I'm not really for it or against it. I just don't know the long term side effects of it. LASIK is fairly new to the optical world and only for about 10 years. So someone that is 35 year old now, may just start feeling the side effects within the next 5 years. But we don't know. Check out this article below about it that was on MSNBC.COM

FDA takes closer look at Lasik complaints

Patients tell officials that surgery left them with fuzzy vision, dry eyes

A decade after Lasik eye surgery hit the market, patients left with fuzzy instead of clear vision are airing their grievances before federal health officials.  View related photos var hasRelatedPhotos = 'false';if (hasRelatedPhotos=='true'){var vRPL = document.getElementById("viewRelatedPhotosLink");if (vRPL!=undefined) vRPL.style.display = "";var vLRPG = document.getElementById("linkRelatedPhotos");var vLIRPG = document.getElementById("linkImgRelatedPhotos");if (vLRPG) {if(vLIRPG) vLIRPG.href=vLRPG.href;}}

WASHINGTON - In fury and despair, patients harmed by Lasik eye surgery told federal health advisers Friday of severe eye pain, blurred vision and even a son’s suicide. The advisers recommended that the government warn more clearly about the risks of the hugely popular operations.

About 700,000 Americans a year undergo the elective laser surgery. Like golf star and famed Lasik recipient Tiger Woods, they’re hoping to throw away their glasses, just as the ads say.

And while the vast majority benefit — most see 20-20 or even better — about one in four people who seeks Lasik is not a good candidate. A small fraction, perhaps 1 percent or fewer, suffer serious, life-changing side effects: worse vision, severe dry eye, glare, inability to drive at night.

Shell held up large photographs that he said depict his blurred world, showing halos around objects and double vision, since his 1998 Lasik.

“I see multiple moons,” he said angrily. “Anybody want to have Lasik now?”

Deep depression
Colin Dorrian was in law school when dry eye made his contact lenses so intolerable that he sought Lasik, even though a doctor noted his pupils were pretty large. Both the dry eye and pupil size should have disqualified Dorrian, but he received Lasik anyway — and his father described six years of eye pain and fuzzy vision before the suburban Philadelphia man killed himself last year.

“As soon as my eyes went bad, I fell into a deeper depression than I’d ever experienced, and I couldn’t get out,” Gerard Dorrian read from his son’s suicide note.

Matt Kotsovolos, who worked for the Duke Eye Center when he had a more sophisticated Lasik procedure in 2006, said doctors classify him as a success because he now has 20-20 vision. But he said, “For the last two years I have suffered debilitating and unremitting eye pain. ... Patients do not want to continue to exist as helpless victims with no voice.”

The sober testimonies illustrated that a decade after Lasik hit the market, there still are questions about just how often patients suffer bad outcomes from the $2,000-per-eye procedure.

But one thing is clear, said Dr Jayne Weiss of Detroit’s Kresge Eye Institute, who chairs the FDA advisory panel: “This is a referendum on the performance of Lasik by some surgeons who should be doing a better job.”

The FDA advisers — a group of mostly glasses-wearing eye doctors — recommended that the agency make more clear the warnings it already provides for would-be Lasik patients:

• Add photographs that illustrate what people suffering certain side effects actually see, such as the glare that can make oncoming headlights a huge “starburst” of light.
• Clarify how often patients suffer different side effects, such as dry eye. Some eye surgeons say 31 percent of Lasik patients have some degree of dry eye before surgery, and it worsens for about 5 percent afterward. Other studies say 48 percent of Lasik recipients suffer some degree of dry eye months later.
• Make more understandable the conditions that should disqualify someone from Lasik, such as large pupils or severe nearsightedness.
• And spell out that anyone whose nearsightedness is fixed by Lasik is guaranteed to need reading glasses in middle age, something that might not be needed if they skip Lasik.

That’s a big reason why Weiss, the glasses-wearing ophthalmologist, won’t get Lasik even though she offers it to her patients.

‘Not for everyone’
“I can read without my glasses and ... operate without my glasses, and I love that,” she said. “The second aspect is I would not tolerate any risk for myself. ... Does that mean Lasik is good or not good? It means Lasik is good but not for everyone.”

Lasik is marketed as quick and painless: Doctors cut a flap in the cornea — the eye’s clear covering — aim a laser underneath it and zap to reshape the cornea for sharper sight.

The FDA agrees with eye surgeons’ studies that only about 5 percent of patients are dissatisfied with Lasik. What’s not clear is exactly how many of those suffer lasting severe problems and how many just didn’t get quite as clear vision as they had expected.

The most meticulous studies come from the military, where far less than 1 percent of Lasik recipients suffer serious side effects, said Dr. David Tanzer, the Navy’s Medical Corps commander. That research prompted Lasik to be cleared last year both for Navy aviators and NASA astronauts.

“The word from the guys that are out there standing in harm’s way, whose lives depend on their ability to see, are asking you to please not take this away,” said Lt. Col. Scott Barnes, a cornea specialist at Fort Bragg who described Army troops seeking Lasik after losing their glasses in combat.

No one’s actually considering restrictions on Lasik — but the FDA is pairing with eye surgeons to begin a major study next year to better understand who has bad outcomes.

“Millions of patients have benefited” from Lasik, said Dr. Peter McDonnell of Johns Hopkins University, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmologists. “No matter how uncommon, when complications occur, they can be distressing. ... We’re dedicated to doing everything in our power to make the Lasik procedure even better for all our patients.”

I'm super excited about the Texas game vs. Memphis today. This team has picked up their defense and they are running the floor on all cylinders. We've gotten a football championship with Vince Young taking charge already, could this possibly be the year where another leader steps it up and takes us all the way? I sure hope so.

Cindy is from Kansas University and they look really good too. What's awesome is that there's a possibility that Kansas would meet Texas in the final championship game. w00t w00t! I can't wait for 2pm ET to arrive today!

If you're a Texas Alumni or currently a longhorn, you better be cheering your boys on!

It's a tough decision but I know in the end, I don't want to be working full time for a commercial practice. Yes, the money is good, but I've made the decision that money isn't happiness. 15 minute exams is not what I'm looking for. Not being able to remember patients' faces and names are not what my approach would be. I've been meeting up with several doctors for spring break and each approach by each doctor is so different. Some took me to lunch, some saw me between patients. One gave me a tour and sat me in his office. It's funny how the difference in approaches give you a certain impression on the doctor and the style of work they are currently in. Still got a couple of more interviews and meet ups. Lets see how well they go. Interviews are fun, but they are stressful on the decision part. *sigh*

   
                                    

Optometry School

My ride through Optometry school has been a wild one. From the stress of supporting the family, winning over the woman of my life and adapting to a new country, I can finally say that I've taken my last class and final ever! After my hiatus from school a while back to take care of personal problems I came back to conquer what I dread doing; Going to class and taking exams. But if you focus and put your mind to it, you can do it. I recently finished my first semester of in-house clinic at school and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the career and profession that I wanted to be involved with. School and Hands-on experience are definitely two different things. I've never been a school person, but talking to a person one on one is what I enjoy most. I'm a year and a half of rotations away to being Dr. Tran. I love it!

Back in Dallas

Being back in Dallas is always an adventure. Catching up with friends, seeing how people change and seeing how people (babies) "grow" is crazy! Time flies during this period of our lives and we have to set out to enjoy every moment of it.

From graduations to christmas parties to just parties in general, is when you see nothing but smiles on everyones' faces. Congrats to all the college graduates this semester. Congrats to people who are pursuing new jobs, pursuing a new family and pursuing new loves. How boring would life be without all these changes in life? So stick with the punches and roll with it!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Toan's things to do during the winter break:
- Spend time with Cindy and my parents when I can
- Redoecorate and organize the top floor of my house
- Shop for the snowboard, Bindings, and Boots
- Work out and be in shape for Lake Tahoe Snowboarding Trip (Jan 9-13)
- Reorganize my life of music, why did they invent CDs for?
- Get togethers with the young professional friends when I can.
- there's more but it's irrelevant to list. =P