Hello. I have Chiari I and had my decompression 9 years ago. My herniation is currently 7mm and I still have some spinal fluid flow issues. I went for a conciliation for LASIK vision correction and I am a candidate. The doctor doing my surgery hasn't done LASIK on a Chiari patient before. Has anyone with Chiari had LASIK done? Can LASIK cause any complications with Chiari or spinal fluid?
Ditto. I wouldn’t ask the doctor doing the Lasik. I would need to hear from my NS or even better, an NO that it’s safe. I assume this is that important to you. With 7mm herniation and csf flow issues, I would be staying clear of any procedure not absolutely necessary, especially one involving the eyes…but that’s just me. Whichever way you go, best wishes!! - TracyJessica
I don't see a neurologist anymore but my general doctor said that the Lasik won't affect my Chiari or spinal fluid
I went in for Lasik about 5 years ago before I knew I had Chiari. I wasn't a candidate for Lasik because my corneas were too thin. I remember someone else on here mentioned the had the same problem - don't know if its a Chiari thing or just a coincidence. I went with PRK instead - which is the older version of the corrective surgery before Lasik. They can do that procedure on the thinner corneas. The complication I had was horrible double vision afterwards that took 6 months to stabilize. I couldn't get glasses to help until it stabilized so it was awful -couldn't read or drive. I discovered later it was because I had double vision for most of my life but my brain was correcting for it. With the sudden vision change it took time to retrain my brain. When I got the Chiari diagnosis this all made more sense; I know many of us have some degree of double vision. I now have about 20/60 vision with some fuzziness because of the double vision; I wear glasses with prisms to correct for the double vision and get me closer to 20/20. Even with these issues I don't regret the surgery. I was 20/210 before the surgery. I can now get by without my glasses for a big portion of the day.
Hi Denise,
I am scheduled for my Lasik surgery in July. The doctor said my corneas are thick and I am a perfect candidate for Lasik. I have heard several people say they had Lasik first, and were then diagnosed with Chiari. Do you think the Lasik had any affect on your Chiari? Even though my doctor said there would be no affect, I always like to hear from people who have been through it. My vision is about 20/600, I can only get 20/25 with my glasses, and the Lasik is guaranteed to give me 20/20 or possibly even 20/15 vision. I don’t think I have double vision… is there a way to find out if I do, in case my brain is correcting for it like yours was?
I don't think the Lasik will impact your Chiari. Your opthamologist should be able to test for double vision, they have a test where you watch two images and tell when they look aligned. My double vision is vertical; which I guess is less usual then horizontal.
IvoryGirl3232 said:
Hi Denise,
I am scheduled for my Lasik surgery in July. The doctor said my corneas are thick and I am a perfect candidate for Lasik. I have heard several people say they had Lasik first, and were then diagnosed with Chiari. Do you think the Lasik had any affect on your Chiari? Even though my doctor said there would be no affect, I always like to hear from people who have been through it. My vision is about 20/600, I can only get 20/25 with my glasses, and the Lasik is guaranteed to give me 20/20 or possibly even 20/15 vision. I don’t think I have double vision… is there a way to find out if I do, in case my brain is correcting for it like yours was?