I had laser surgery last summer, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. My corneas were too thin for LASIK, so they did PRK instead. PRK is what the military uses instead of LASIK. From what I understand it's essentially the same thing, with the difference being how they get inside your eye. LASIK has a flap which reattaches and heals; PRK removes the flap entirely and it grows back. So the healing time for PRK is much longer ... a few weeks or even months. But it's not like you're disabled or anything; I was driving the next day.
Before the surgery my eyes were so bad that I couldn't even read the big-ass "E" at the top of the chart. Now I'm at 20/15 in both eyes. My long-distance vision is so good, it's just stupid. I can read shit at distances that I have no business seeing. It's great during hunting season because I can see for miles. It's also great being able to wear normal sunglasses, not getting glasses wet in the rain, etc. (But you still need reading glasses, and in fact I think laser surgery can hasten the need for them. It wasn't a big deal for me because I was already using bifocals.) They can also "aim" your eyes, depending on your normal activities. People who use computers a lot can get one eye adjusted for the monitor and one for distance; golfers can get one eye adjusted for the tee; etc. Your brain adjusts for the difference.
PRK has a lot more recovery time and I had to use a whole line-up of eyedrops for a while. But really, that's the extent of the recovery. It's not bad at all and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. However, from what I've heard, most of the people who have problems after surgery weren't following their post-op instructions. My sister-in-law went to the same doctor I did (but had LASIK) and she's had some minor complications. But she isn't doing the follow-up care correctly, which boggles my mind.
As for the procedure itself, it wasn't bad at all. There's a little tug when they saw off the top of your cornea, but no pain. Then the NOISY machine starts lasering. I could smell smoke, and my wife said she could see smoke (they let her watch). I told her later that night in my Valium/Ativan haze, "Oh, that was just my bad vision floating away."
So yeah, I'd get laser surgery again. No question. Just do what the doctor says and do the follow-up care like they say. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
