Originally Posted by Al1943
I think you are confusing "changing shape" with presbyopia which is the natural loss of elasticity in the lens that comes with age. That happens to all of us.
Al
No I am talking about myopia, which causes near sightedness due to the shape of the eyeball changing to a more elongated shape. The continual process of this over life is called myopic creep.
Now I am just playing the Devil's Advocate here and do not claim to be an expert on this. I am tying to use common sense to try to explain the explanation that a real optometrist told me, so please take this for what it is worth.
I have seen online prescreening for LASIK and they only ask if you have changed your prescription over the past 2 years. If you have myopic creep that is slower than that, you will be fine for surgery even though the eyeball is still changing shape.
For those who have had LASIK 5 years ago and still have no problems, ask your self how many 5-year-old children you see wearing glasses. What about 40 years from now? One fact, that am sure of, is that there is no long term proof of lasting effects because LASIK has not yet been around long enough to study those effects.
If your LASIK is guarantied, then that is good for you. However, due to the discounting cost of money to reach a future value, the present value of that money is significantly lower. Additionally, the cost of the equipment used in LASIK will have already paid for itself by the time anyone may need a re-treatment. So a simple guaranty is not proof of the lasting effects, but a good risk backed investment on the part of the LASIK doctors. Simply put, the combined patient’s cost of LASIK now will provide them enough with enough profit to cover the future cost of all possible re-treatments. (Just my speculation without seeing actual numbers)
Having said all of this, I am still seriously considering having LASIK done myself.