WEBVTT - TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Stares at Laser Eye Surgery 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:07.160 Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:13.760 stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:16.239 I'm your host, Jonathan Strickling. I'm an executive producer with 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:18.680 How Stuff Works in love all things tech, and when 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:21.959 my producer is not being super snarky at me, I 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:25.200 like to go back and reflect on the past. So 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:27.480 I very rarely get to do it because Tar's got 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:30.280 some attitude on her. Let me tell you, but today 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.000 it's time for another classic episode of tech Stuff, which 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.000 means it's Friday. Today. We're gonna look at an episode 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.839 that originally published on October twenty four, two thousand eleven. 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:45.600 Chris Pallette and I talked about laser eye surgery. I 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:50.040 found it fascinating. Chris turned about eighteen shades of green 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:52.720 while we recorded this. It's been a long time since 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.920 I've seen Mr Pillette, but I remember how green he 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:59.360 turned when we talked about the process. I have had 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:04.640 laser eye surgery done, and now I'm essentially a super human. 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:09.520 I can see through walls and shoot lasers with my eyes. Maybe, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.120 I guess we'll find out. Let's listen in on this 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.440 classic episode today. We're going to talk about laser eye surgery. 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:19.959 We've had some people ask us about laser eye surgery 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.800 and what goes into it and exactly how are lasers 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:25.600 used in the process. But I think that's a record 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:29.400 for your use of that version of lasers. Yeah, And 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.680 so we're going to, uh, we're gonna kind of break 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:34.839 it down and talk about what goes into a laser 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:38.360 eye surgery procedure. And we should also mention I should 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.240 mention that I am very close to someone who has 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.440 had laser eye surgery, not right now, not like physically. 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:48.000 I was going to my wife. My wife had laser 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:52.880 eye surgery, um, and she has been very happily moving 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:57.400 around without the need for glasses for several years now, um. 0:01:57.440 --> 0:01:59.400 And it was very impressive to me because my wife 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:03.280 is not the the person who typically likes people, uh, 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.800 you know, messing with eyeballs exactly. Yeah, She's it's not 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:09.600 high on our list of things to do today, but 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:11.840 she did it anyway. And we're going to kind of 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:15.280 talk about the process and what you have to do 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.760 in order to get laser eye surgery and what's actually 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:21.120 being done to you. Yeah. And I think probably the 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.640 best place to start is speaking of eyeballs with the 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.400 eyeball itself. Yeah, and why you might need laser eye 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:30.520 surgery in the first place. Right, Uh, to to to 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.520 understand this discussion, you have to have at least a 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.960 basic geography of the eyeball. So let's talk a little 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.840 bit about the eye. So, so your your eye. The 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.239 outer coating is this sort of tough outer coating called 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:46.760 the sclera, and that's sort of what keeps the eyeball 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.000 in its shape. It's it's kind of the the well, 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.160 it's just it's the outer layer. And then part of 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:55.680 this outer layer, about I think one sixth of it 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:59.400 is the cornea, which is the clear outer layer that 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.000 goes or the part of your eye where light actually 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.200 passes through to get to you know, your eyeball. Right, 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.680 So the cornea is, uh, it's kind of like a 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:11.639 window in a way, or if you want to think 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.960 of it like a a tablet device or something. It's 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.840 the gorilla glass. It's on the outside that protects the 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.760 the the innards. And then behind the cornea, well, first 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:24.680 of all, you've got this sort of a watery clear 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:30.079 liquid called the aqueous humor. Yeah, this goes back to 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:36.040 the old humors. UH idea that dates back centuries where 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.400 we used to think that our bodies we were like 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:45.720 we're governed by a well, a small group of various 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:51.680 liquids called humors. We've somewhat developed beyond that at this point, 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:54.800 although I do think it's it's funny that even now 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.720 we are referring to this particular liquid as a humor. Yes, 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.480 so so the queens humor. It's it's this clear, clear 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.200 liquid that's behind the cornea. It's also in front of 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.080 the iris, and there's a little bit behind the iris 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:10.200 as well. So then that leads to the question, what 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:14.320 then is the iris. Well, that's the that's the color 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.600 part of your eye. So for example, my iris is 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:21.839 blue because it lacks a certain amount of pigmentation which 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:25.000 makes it a blue color. My wife's eyes are brown. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.479 And uh, this is the part of the other acts 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:32.520 is like an adjustable diaphragm around the pupil. So the 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.960 pupil is the that's the dark center of your iris. 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:41.400 That's the little opening actually that allows light to pass through, right, 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.839 And of course that's the part that the UH enlarges 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.360 or gets smaller depending on the amount of light in 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:52.120 the room. Yeah, it's it's it's really an ingenious kind 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.400 of approach. Really, it's it's the same sort of thing 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:56.320 that we do with cameras when we have an aperture, 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.080 you know, the aperture of a camera. And you may 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.760 remember this if you us into our our podcast about 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.000 slow motion, we talked about the aperture quite a bit. Uh. 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.159 That's what allows you to adjust how much light comes 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.760 in through the camera's lens and hits the sensor. Uh, 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.960 same sort of idea here. The iris is what will 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.640 expand or contract around the pupil and thus control the 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:21.279 amount of light that comes in. So, if you walk 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:25.239 into a dark room, then the it's going to the 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:28.320 the iris is going to allow more light to pass through. 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.440 It's gonna allow more of the pupil to be exposed 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.400 so that you get more light so that you can 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.200 maneuver through because you know you're gonna be able to 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:36.719 you need to be able to see if you're in 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.760 a really bright environment. In order to protect the eye, 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:43.880 the diaphragm is gonna close around the pupil to restrict 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.200 the amount of light that comes in. Right, And of course, 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:52.920 um there there's more than one um analog as far 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:55.839 as the eye and a camera. Sure, we were talking 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.000 about cameras not too long ago, where we we talked 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:01.800 about the lens and how light passes through the lens 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.599 to the film on the other side, or or an 0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:08.440 image sensor in the case of a digital camera. Well, 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:13.080 in the eye, you've got the retina, which is um 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:16.080 if you will, on the on the back side of 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.760 the eye, which is what records the image as as 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:21.840 the light comes through the pupil right you've got You've 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.000 got the pupil, that's the aperture. You also have a 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.760 lens right behind the pupil, So the lens, the lens 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:29.760 is what is focusing that light, directing that light so 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:33.159 that it it hits the focal point ideally, which is 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:37.680 the retina. And the retina contains certain kinds of cells, 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:42.760 rod cells and cone cells. These are light censoring light sensors. Essentially, 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:48.159 UM he sells sense the presence of light and UH 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:52.039 through a chemical reactions send that information to your brain 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.640 and then your brain says, hey, I recognize that that's 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:59.360 a puppy. Also, at the interesting point, if you weren't 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:03.440 familiar with us, UH, the image that you see when 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.960 you're looking at something. When it hits your retina, it's 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.479 actually inverted, just as it is in a camera. But yes, 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.160 that's the So this, this is the basic part of 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.880 the eye. Now, what happens when something is just not 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:18.720 quite right? For example, Uh, Chris, I don't know, are 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.640 you near sighted or far sighted? I am myopic. I 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:24.480 am also myopic. That means we are both near sighted, 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:26.720 and since we both have our our glasses off at 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.480 the moment, we're both a little blurry. So myopia means 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:35.240 that the focal point is hitting. Uh, it's it's hitting 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.480 before it gets to your retina. So inside your eye 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:42.000 there's a you know, the light is being directed by 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.360 the lens to your retina. Uh, those the points of 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:48.880 light are all converging, right, and that point of convergence 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.520 is the focal point. Now, the focal point for those 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:55.400 with myopia is in front of the retina. It's not 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.080 hitting the retina just right. So that means that when 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:00.480 we start looking around things, things tend to be the 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:05.440 further way things are, the blurrier they tend to be. Yes. Um, Now, 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:11.280 this can happen through various uh, just well irregularities. There 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:13.920 could be irregularities in the cornea that can cause this 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.720 to happen, or in the lens itself, or it could 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:20.160 be that the eyeball itself is elongated. Yes, so that 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.880 the you know, if the eyeball was not elongated, the 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:24.720 focal point would be right there on the retina where 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:26.360 it's supposed to be and everything will be fine, but 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:31.240 the eyeball has been stretched. Nice sound effect. Thank you 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.880 doesn't necessarily doesn't necessarily mean that someone's actually gone in 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:37.960 there and stretch your eyeball. It just means that that's 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.560 kind of the way it developed. Um now far sighting 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.600 this which is a hyperopia hyperopia, thank you, I'm glad 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:48.760 you're ready for that one. Ready, Yeah, hyperopia. You've got 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.840 the focal point that's that's actually behind the retina, so 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:56.920 when the lights hitting hitting the retina, it's not converged 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:01.200 on that point like it should be. And U hyperopia, 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:07.000 If you're hyper hyperopic, would that be correct? Hyperopic? Then 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.400 that would mean that, you know, you would the the 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:13.400 the closer something is, the more out of focus it is, 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.720 the further away it is, the clearer it is. Also, 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:22.200 in addition to being myopic, I also have an astigmatism, 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.400 I too have an a stigmatism. I think he's just 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:27.280 just you know, doesn't want me to have one more 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:30.280 than he does. I only have one. Do you have 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:36.280 to well know I'm saying, are you and have an astigmatism? 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:42.520 Me too? Me too? Just it happens to anyway, and 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.840 and an a stigmatism. Um, you have a difference in 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:49.440 the shape of your cornea or the lens. And basically 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.040 what happens is it creates, in effect, two focal points 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:57.480 within your eye. Yeah. Um, And so basically that sort 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:00.920 of confuses the way the light is travel inside your eye. 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.560 And that, um, you can have, as we were both 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:06.160 pointing out just a moment ago, you can have, uh, 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:10.200 a stigmatism on top of another eye condition. Yes. Yeah, 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:14.760 it's really an uneven curvature of the cornea or or lens. 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:18.960 And yeah, it's it. It can cause problems. So the 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:23.440 thing is that the humans are clever and um, yeah, 0:10:23.520 --> 0:10:26.400 and we figured out a long time ago that if 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:30.480 you use a lens of glass and it's curved just 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:34.080 the right way, the curvature of the glass can direct 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.960 light so that it corrects for these problems. I can't 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.200 imagine the amount of trial and error it took to 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:48.079 be able to figure this out. But to correct your 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.280 your vision you have to, you know, take into account 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:55.720 what the focal point is doing, uh, inside your eye. 0:10:56.160 --> 0:11:00.160 So with it's a little bit different between myopia and 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.760 and hyperopia. But anyway, the curvature of the lens depends 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.199 upon the condition, right, you know, if it's gonna be 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.520 a concave lens for one and a convex lens for 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.480 the other, And honestly, I can't remember the one from 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.079 the other. I guess I could stare at my glasses 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:16.079 long enough and try and figure it out. But um, 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.800 but the point being that that's what's going to direct 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.200 the light the right way into your eye so that 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.680 it corrects for whatever problem you already have. Chris and 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:27.720 I have more to say about laser eye surgery, but 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.760 first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:40.600 What if we didn't want to wear glasses, what if 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:44.600 we wanted something where it wasn't you know this this 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:48.000 pair of frames sitting on our face. Well that's when 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.360 we started to come up, well, we could maybe make 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:53.560 a lens that could sit directly on the eye and 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:58.240 do the same sort of correction. It's gonna require a 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:02.880 more precise approach because it's going to be a much 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.520 smaller lens that by definition, I mean, you can't have 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:10.040 an enormous lens shoved into your eye and expect any 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:14.360 sort of comfort. So, um, well that's where the contact 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.719 lens idea came from, where we started to kind of 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:20.880 get you you apply these same kinds of thought to 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.400 a thin lens that could fit directly on top of 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.720 the eye. But then we thought, hey, wait a minute, 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:30.640 we're really just talking about lenses here. Even even the 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.440 cornea can act somewhat as a lens. The cornea on 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:37.360 your eye itself directs light. So what if we were 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:41.800 to reshape the cornia so that it corrected for whatever 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:45.199 problems we had as you know, as far as vision 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:48.120 problems are concerned. Uh, what if we just did that, 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.920 then we wouldn't have to wear contact lenses or glasses 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:55.840 or anything. And that's where the idea for corrective surgery 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:02.400 comes from. And um, and at its very most basic level, 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.000 what correct to what this laser eye surgery is doing 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:10.240 is it's altering the shape of the cornea so that 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:13.360 directs light in a way that corrects for whatever vision 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:17.240 problem you have. That's that's the basic you know, when 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.360 you get down to it, that's what laser eye surgery 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.840 is all about. So it's just it's that same principle 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.520 behind grinding the lens so that you can see, you know, 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.360 in a pair of eyeglasses, but now it's applied directly 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:34.280 to our biology. It sadly does not mean you will 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:36.920 actually end up with laser shooting out of your eyes, 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.520 well at least not for most people. No, I would 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:46.680 think that's a pretty rare side effect. So, yeah, where 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.600 would you like to start with laser eye surgery. Well, 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.880 I was going to talk about sort of the process 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.199 you have to go through before you get laser eye 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.120 surgery done, and then we'll get into what is actually 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.880 going on in a a laser eye surgery session. Yeah, 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:05.480 because frankly, it's it's reminds me of a lot of 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.880 life events. You know. The actual event itself doesn't really 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.280 take all that long. Laser eye surgery only takes a 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.800 few minutes. Yeah, it can take less than half an 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.520 hour total um. But there is quite a bit of 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.880 preparation that needs that you need to go through beforehand. 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:25.080 To make sure that everything goes smoothly, um and preferably 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:27.440 not panicky, which is the reason that I haven't had 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.800 it done. Yeah, So the first thing you have to 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:32.920 do is you have to go through and we're talking 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.520 about a reputable laser eye surgeon. This is a good 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:38.120 time for us to point out there are a lot 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:42.440 of different facilities out there that offer laser eye surgery services. 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.480 Do your research. Yes, that's a great idea, because I 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.960 know for a fact that there are there's a few 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:56.560 in Atlanta that have a reputation for being less than honesty, 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.160 Like they'll the what the they do is they'll offer 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:03.280 this amazing sounding deal and of course we all know 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:05.880 the phrase it sounds too good to be true. It 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:09.880 was probably on the internet. Um, and the deal the 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.520 deal would be something like two D and I, which 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.800 is about a tenth of what some eye surgeries cost, 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.720 you know, and you're thinking, Wow, that's amazing, And then 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.160 you know it's got an official sounding name and that's 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:24.080 gonna be great. And then if you actually start doing 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.120 some research, you'll see that there's often a lot of 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:28.680 bait and switch involved where you'll go in and they'll 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:33.440 do this initial I exam, and then they'll say, oh, well, 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:37.560 in your case, because you have this particular you know, 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.600 condition or whatever, it's actually gonna be closer to hundred 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.680 per eye or and and just that alone is a 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:46.960 you know, first of all, that's kind of a shady 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:49.680 business practice. But beyond that, you don't want you know, 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:53.800 you don't know how far their ethics extend into, say, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:58.320 not being a good doctor. So so in other words, 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:04.000 do your research quick alert. So assuming that the the 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.160 facility has got a good reputation, uh, you go in, 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:10.720 you would get a very thorough eye exam, probably more 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.960 thorough in fact, I would are definitely more thorough than 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.040 you would get going to just get a pair of 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:19.320 glasses or contact lenses. I'm sure yes, because they have 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:21.720 to be they have to be very careful. Um, if 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:25.680 you're going to go for for lasic, for example, Um, 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.040 your eyes have to fall within a certain set of parameters, 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:34.040 and they can treat myopia, hyperopia and a stigmatism, but 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.680 it has to be within a certain range. Now, of 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.680 course that's measured in diopters um. That's that's kind of 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.560 the degrees of prescription. So you know, if you hear 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.440 someone say, oh, I've got minus three in this I 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.440 and minus two point seven five in that I the myopic. Yeah, 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.840 their myopic. Yeah that a negative number means myopia, a 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:58.800 positive number is hyperopia. And then um, a stigmatism can 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.560 go either way. Yeah. Now, we we do have a 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.960 great article on how lasic works on the website. UM 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:09.600 and according to the research in there, UM, myopia treatable 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:13.200 with lasic can be from negative zero point seven five 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.720 to negative ten, which is that's a big, big range. 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.880 And and I should also add that depending on which 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:21.959 doctor you go to, they may tell you that if 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.359 your eyesight falls within you know, a certain range, like saying, 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:29.560 let's say the negative point seven five to say negative 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.280 one point five, they might say, you know what, the 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.000 the experience you're going to have, the the new vision 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.720 you're going to have, may not be so dramatic as 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:42.399 to warrant laser eye surgery. Again, a reputable UH clinic 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:46.399 is going to tell you if the the result is 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:48.879 going to be truly noticeable or not. For some people 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:52.120 it may not be. I for at least years ago, 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:53.920 when my wife could have done I was right there 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:57.080 on the the border like like you know, I could 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:58.920 have gone it done, but it may not have been 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.800 that dramatic. And when you're talking about that kind of expense, 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:05.159 really do you want to go in for that. My wife, however, 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.120 she had gotten to the point of vision where they 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.240 no longer use the eye chart. They would say how 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.160 many fingers am I holding up? So she was an 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:19.360 ideal candidate. Well, you have to hold some up. Um, 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:23.600 Like whoa, you need some surgery. Hyperopia that they can 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.840 treat with lace ranges from plus zero point seven five 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:28.959 to plus four and then they can treat a stigmatism 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.680 for plus or minus zero point seven five to plus 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.720 or minus four um. So that's a pretty a pretty 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.520 decent range of vision that they can they can correct. Um. 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.240 They also look at the cornea thickness. It has to 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:46.400 be five microns or greater um. That's we'll explain why 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.040 the cornea has to be at least that thick coming up. 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:53.280 And that's going to be the the squiggly squirmy part 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:56.200 where we're both like, okay, so here's what happens next. 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.679 I'll be going out for some water, Chris, Chris might 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:02.680 might go bye bye for about for about five minutes. 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:05.560 Was that thud? Yeah? But there are other types of 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:09.120 laser eye surgery that you can pursue if your cornea 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:11.840 is not of that thickness, if it's if it's thinner 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.119 than that, there are other types of laser eye surgery 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:18.679 you can look into, so to speak, right, Um. And 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:23.040 then your pupil uh should be no more than six 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:27.560 point five millimeters in diameter. Um, although you know there 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:30.879 are advances now that allow you to work with up 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.800 to eight point five um. Also, so if you' have 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:37.439 been Diesel from that that movie where he's got those 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:41.520 huge corneas, the huge pupils, that just wouldn't work. Lady 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.240 Gaga from that that one video, Yeah, there you go. Yeah, 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:48.760 those those folks, I'm sorry, or practically any Disney character, 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.359 because I mean, have you seen Tangled. That girl's eyes 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.439 are huge. Yeah, Sailor Moon is not gonna have it 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:59.040 done either. Um. So yeah. And also if you're pregnant, 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.320 have heart problems, severe heart problems anyway, Um, if you're 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:09.240 taking drugs such as medicine for migraines or acne, um, 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:14.080 you have a condition called kara to countess, I'm hoping 0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:16.119 I'm pronouncing it right. I didn't check the pronunciation, but 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:19.960 it's a thinning of the cornea condition. And UM, actually 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:22.920 I might be Uh, I might not be eligible either 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:28.320 because certain conditions like autoimmune diseases one of which I have, UM, 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.200 vascular disease, different kinds of eye diseases, and diabetes, all 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.960 these things might prevent you from going through with a 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:38.440 lasic procedure. UM. So these are things that the doctor 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:41.160 is going to have to talk to you about. UM, 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:44.199 and I would encourage history. Yeah, you need to be 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:46.439 honest too, because you know, even though you may not 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:49.360 want to wear glasses. Uh, you know, this is serious 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:52.080 business and you could end up with results that you 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.600 are not happy with. It can be complications as well. 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:56.960 I mean even yes, you know, it could be that 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:00.920 everything goes well, but uh, you have some complications during 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:04.000 the healing process. And if your medical history means that 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.720 you can't have certain kinds of drugs to to help 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.840 that healing process along, that could be an even bigger 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.240 problem down the road. So yeah, it's very important. And 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.000 then the actual exam, you're going to be looking through 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:18.520 lots of different devices that are going to be measuring 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:23.119 how your eyes are receiving light. And there's actually technically 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:26.320 mapping out your eyes, the inside of your eyes. Um, 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:29.880 there's a thing called a corneal topographer. Yes, that's where 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:35.680 they type on your eyes, right, that's a typographer topographer. 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:39.600 It actually maps the cornea, so it's it's looking at 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:43.760 the actual shape and thickness of the cornea. Um, and 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.960 it's to uh to really determine exactly how the light 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.720 is behaving once it hits that part of your eye. Um. 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:55.520 There's also the pupilometer, which is another device that's looking 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:57.600 specifically at your pupil I mean, there's not a big 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:00.000 surprise there, right, you have a student in your eye, 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:06.160 all yeah, and then the their software, very powerful software, 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:08.920 but working behind the scenes that's mapping out your eye 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:13.000 so that the surgeon is going to know exactly what 0:22:13.240 --> 0:22:16.560 sort of of adjustments they're going to need to make 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.320 to your cornea in order for it to um to 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:23.359 direct light the way you need it to be so 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:25.880 that you don't have to wear glasses or contact lenses anymore. 0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:30.000 So it's it's pretty complex stuff. I mean, it's um, 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.880 pretty fascinating to see. And also a laser eye surgery 0:22:33.200 --> 0:22:39.800 procedure often requires two people A surgeon and at well 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:43.879 beyond the patient to people to actually to do the 0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:47.720 procedure the surgeon, and then there's usually a an operator 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:51.480 who's working on one of the laser machines. I hate 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:54.000 to interrupt while we're strolling down memory lane, but it's 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:56.520 time for us to take another quick break to think 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:07.800 our sponsor. Now we've talked about the process where let's 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:10.680 say that you've gone through you've had your eye exam, 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:13.960 you've done your medical history, and they've determined your what 0:23:14.160 --> 0:23:16.880 is called an ideal candidate. Now, that does not mean 0:23:16.880 --> 0:23:19.720 you are the perfect person to have had laser eye surgery. 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:23.040 It just means that you fit those parameters that um 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:25.720