Sylvain
Contributor
How long do you have to wait after the surgery before you can dive again??? Did anybody have the surgery done and also what are the pro and con?????????
Lazer eye surgery
- Thread starter Sylvain
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I think it's about a month, especially because of the possibility of getting water in the eyes.
I did it and I love it. No contacts to mess with. No glasses to worry about on the boat. No special mask to lose. I can open eyes underwater, get stuff in my eyes with no more contact related hassle.
If you are active: diving, skiing, etc. it's great.
I did it and I love it. No contacts to mess with. No glasses to worry about on the boat. No special mask to lose. I can open eyes underwater, get stuff in my eyes with no more contact related hassle.
If you are active: diving, skiing, etc. it's great.
Had it done October 1st, and getting back in the water this weekend. If your Dr. tells you that you are a good candidate, go for it! I went from 20/100 to 20/15 vision, and my only regret is waiting so long to do it.
My Dr. had no recommendation as to when I could dive again, but he did ask that I wait until my 1 month check-up.
My Dr. had no recommendation as to when I could dive again, but he did ask that I wait until my 1 month check-up.
My sister is currently researching this. One doc states on his website that you can fly and exercise the same day as LASIK and swim and rub your eyes 5 days later.
That Doc is a liar, then. I had mine done at 3:00PM, and had to come home and sit in a dark room all night. It burns like all hell the first day...like someone put a hot laser in your eyes. You can't see the first day, it's almost like trying to see underwater without a mask on. The next day I was fine, but your eyes are really sensitive to any touch for a few weeks. I did hit the hot tub in about 4 days, even though my Dr. said 1 month with no water activities at all. Today is 5 weeks for me, and I am completely healed and ready to dive this weekend. Like I said before, do it and you won't disappointed, but be smart and follow a conservative approach to getting back in the water.
xSandman3:
Had mine done (conventional Lasik in 2002) at 1:00 pm, was driving myself to dinner with perfect vision by 7:00 pm. Minimal pain, did not use any of the pain meds. My Doc said 10 days on the SCUBA, went diving after 11.
So...this shows that individual results, recommendations, and experiences may vary.
Talk to the doc that is doing your procedure and follow their recommendations.
I had it done almost 2 years ago. When I sat up on the surgical table, I could see better than I had in years. I had no real discomfort post op (went out to dinner with a friend that night) and taught a trimix class 10 days after surgery. I couldn't be happier with the post surgical results.
It all depends on the procedure you're getting, I'm assuming. I had mine done about 4 years ago, best thing that ever happened to me (20/400 to 20/20). Docs told me to wait until my one month checkup to start going into the water. The eyeball covering was completely healed at 1 week, but the risk of infection was still present and they wouldn't clear me for water activities (besides showering) until the one month point. Good luck though, it's worth it.
Here's DAN's position:
Diving After Lasik Surgery
Q: How long should I wait before going back into the water after Lasik surgery and what other effects might there be?
A: The Lasik laser procedure is performed many thousands of times each year. Risks are reported to be minimal and improvement in vision is said to be considerable. The physician performing the procedure will provide you with recommendations for activity following Lasik surgery. In general, it's suggested that you can return to all of your normal activities without disrupting the healing process in two weeks. However there is no specific data on when it's safe to return to diving, nor has there been any research on the effects of a mask squeeze and the negative pressure it can create on an eye that has had this procedure.
Considering the lack of specific data, in uncomplcated cases, a conservative recommendation would be to wait an extra two weeks to allow the eye extra healing time.
Here's Scuba-doc's recommendation:
LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis)
1. There are no case reports that document diving related complications after LASIK.
2. There are at least three potential complications that might occur in post-op LASIK patients as a result of diving:
- Globe rupture from face mask barotrauma (unlikely)
- Interface keratitis (infection of the flap interface)
- Flap displacement from interface bubbles
3. Complications that might impact the safety of divers include;
Halo
Glare
Night diving complaints
These decrease from 25+% early to about 4% in one year.
4. It is recommended waiting a minimum of one month before resuming diving after LASIK. [Butler]
5. This should always be discussed with the personal ophthalmologist, so that he or she will be able to add any special knowledge about your specific situation that would be relevant.
Diving After Lasik Surgery
Q: How long should I wait before going back into the water after Lasik surgery and what other effects might there be?
A: The Lasik laser procedure is performed many thousands of times each year. Risks are reported to be minimal and improvement in vision is said to be considerable. The physician performing the procedure will provide you with recommendations for activity following Lasik surgery. In general, it's suggested that you can return to all of your normal activities without disrupting the healing process in two weeks. However there is no specific data on when it's safe to return to diving, nor has there been any research on the effects of a mask squeeze and the negative pressure it can create on an eye that has had this procedure.
Considering the lack of specific data, in uncomplcated cases, a conservative recommendation would be to wait an extra two weeks to allow the eye extra healing time.
Here's Scuba-doc's recommendation:
LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis)
1. There are no case reports that document diving related complications after LASIK.
2. There are at least three potential complications that might occur in post-op LASIK patients as a result of diving:
- Globe rupture from face mask barotrauma (unlikely)
- Interface keratitis (infection of the flap interface)
- Flap displacement from interface bubbles
3. Complications that might impact the safety of divers include;
Halo
Glare
Night diving complaints
These decrease from 25+% early to about 4% in one year.
4. It is recommended waiting a minimum of one month before resuming diving after LASIK. [Butler]
5. This should always be discussed with the personal ophthalmologist, so that he or she will be able to add any special knowledge about your specific situation that would be relevant.
My wife recently had it done and the Dr. recommended that she wait 30 days to dive. We were in the process of getting re-certified and we did our check out dives on day 30 post surgery. She had no issues and did very well during the dive. The only post-op problems she had was halos arounds lights at night for about 4 days. Other than that, no pain or other issues.
Similar threads
