Thread:
An article on VISX in today's SJ Mercury Sports section:
sjmercury.com
STEPHANE MATTEAU EARNS his paycheck in the rough world of professional hockey, where players are more likely to hang up their skates than concede fear. But when confronted with laser eye surgery, even the tough ones sometimes tremble.
For Matteau, a Sharks forward, that moment came two months ago as he sat in a waiting area at the Turner Eye Institute in San Leandro, minutes before he underwent the trendy laser procedure called LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratomileusis) to correct nearsightedness. "I was very afraid," Matteau said. "Very scared."
But Matteau, who took a small dose of Valium to calm down, looked at the latest advancement in ophthalmology as an opportunity to compete without corrective lenses. So despite his worries, he gave his doctor the o-ahead.
``For me, it was just a pain in the butt,' Matteau said of wearing contacts. ``I was sick and tired of it, knowing that surgery was available. . . . To me, it's a miracle.'
Matteau is among a growing number of sports figures who have
undergone the procedure hoping to discard their contacts or glasses.
Baseball players Greg Maddux and Wade Boggs have had the surgery. So have football stars Terrell Owens and Troy Aikman. And golfers Corey Pavin and Tom Kite, to name a few.
``You're talking about one of the more popular things of our lifetime,'said Harvey Carter, a Dallas physician who performed the procedure on Aikman in February. ``This operation is literally doubling in the number of procedures performed every year. It's just astounding.'
Analysts in the vision industry predict that at least 800,000 people in the United States will undergo the procedure this year, compared with 450,000 in 1998 and 22,000 in 1996.
There is no data to indicate how many athletes have had the surgery. But it seems as if the numbers are going up in locker rooms across America.
``There is a lot of people who got it done in the last year or two,' Matteau said of the procedure that costs $4,000 to $5,000 for both eyes and usually isn't covered by insurance.
The surgery is relatively painless. It calls for physicians to cut a flap of corneal tissue, remove the targeted tissue beneath the flap with a laser, then replace the flap. Patients take anesthetic drops just before surgery. The operation usually is completed within 15 minutes.
Though no athletes have reported problems -- at least not publicly --industry experts say that up to 5 percent of LASIK patients suffer side effects. Some get ``halo vision' at night; others still need touch-up surgery following the procedure.
``I couldn't do it,' St. Louis Cardinals star Mark McGwire told the Austin American-Statesman last month. ``It hasn't been a proven fact that (with surgery) you can get to 20/10 or 20/15 (vision) like I can see with my contacts.'
The American Academy of Ophthalmology says about two-thirds of LASIK patients end up with 20/20 vision. The other third usually end up with 20/40, good enough to drive a car without glasses. Golfer Hank Kuehne, the 1998 U.S. Amateur champion, underwent the surgery in July and said his vision is now better than normal without corrective lenses -- 20/10 in both eyes.
``It's something that I've wanted to have done for a long time,' said Kuehne, who made his professional debut last month at the Sprint International. ``I've always had trouble with dust getting into my contacts, and that is the main reason I wanted to have it done. . . . It's been great. And it solved the problems.'
Professional golfer Mark Brooks said he hit balls the day after his surgery. That's not unusual. Doctors don't encourage patients to risk injury in the days after surgery -- one physician said he wouldn't recommend football for up to two weeks -- but most patients return to daily activities almost immediately.
And that includes athletes.
Satisfied customer Maddux, for instance, pitched two days after his July 9 surgery and allowed one run in eight innings against the Boston Red Sox.
``It flat-out fixed them,' Maddux said shortly after the procedure. ``I see good now. I think I am better than 20/20. Incredible. It's like I am seeing better than I ever saw. It's wild.'
Aikman, though satisfied, wasn't ecstatic. He said the only advantage for him is that he no longer has to wear contacts.
``My vision is the same as it was when I wore the contacts (20/20),' Aikman said. ``I don't see the field any better. It's just the convenience of not having to wear contacts.'
49ers offensive tackle Dave Fiore, who had the surgery in the off-season, said he initially experienced halo vision at night. But it went away within a few weeks.
He has no complaints now.
``I'd done a little bit of research on it,' Fiore said. ``But I put it on the back burner for a little while, because I didn't know all the risks involved. I didn't consult anybody about it. I wasn't going to do it until after football because, God forbid, if it didn't work . . . But after talking to the doctor and hearing about other cases, I was convinced.' The day before Matteau's June 14 surgery, he called his doctor's office to say he was having second thoughts.
The fear factor
The doctor understood. ``He was worried about his vision because he makes his living as a hockey player,' recalled Dr. Stephen Turner, who operated on Matteau. ``And if he can't see properly, he is going to be in trouble.'
During surgery, Matteau said he felt a slight burning sensation, which is common, but experienced no other discomfort.
``Everything happened exactly like they told me,' Matteau said. '`They told me I was going to lose focus of the red light (from the laser) for about five seconds. After that, everything was fine.'
When Turner completed the procedure, Matteau returned to a waiting room. He underwent a re-examination about an hour later and had 20/30 vision, strong enough to drive without corrective lenses. The next day, his vision improved to 20-15.
``People are typically amazed that it works as well as it works,' Carter said. |
