l heard that if you have LASIK surgery, you can no longer ride a rollercoaster, pilot an airplane, or even ride a car with the top down. The so-called reason is that the flap in your eye created by the laser might open up again or come loose in the event of high-G forces or gusts of wind. Is this really true? l love roller coasters but am thinking about getting LASIK myself and would love to know the true answer to this myth.

Pish and tosh. l had Wavefront Lasik, went on Kumali at Flamingoland last month. Went round Castle Donington in a single seater too.
l have never heard this before, someone is pulling your wotsit.

Good heavens. Someone is apparently trying to scare u away from Lasik, is completely uninformed, or both.

l work for a nonprofit Lasik patient advocacy. We do not provide Lasik. We provide Lasik information & certify Lasik doctors' patients' results.

The first step in Lasik laser vision correction is to create a thin flap of corneal tissue. The flap is moved aside, laser energy is applied, & then the flap is repositioned over the treatment area. By applying the laser energy to the inner portion of the cornea the eye is ''fooled'' into not realizing it has had surgery. This mutes the wound response & contributes to Lasik is rapid vision recovery & general lack of pain.

http://usaeyes.org/lasik/faq/lasik.htm

Within minutes of flap repositioning the flap has adhered to the underlying cornea due to the natural suction created by the cornea absorbing oxygen into the eye. This is why u can blink immediately after Lasik & not dislodge the flap.

Within a few days a seal around the edge of the flap begins to form. This seal eventually acts like the lid on a Tupperware bowl to strongly adhere the flap to the underlying corneal surface. For a detailed explanation of the Lasik flap healing process visit:

http://usaeyes.org/lasik/faq/lasik-flap-heal.htm

The United States military has approved Lasik for fighter pilots, who experience significantly greater G-forces than u would experience on a roller coaster. Special service branches of the military, such as Navy SEALS r able to have Lasik. This is a group in extreme environments. At a recent US Food & Drug Administration hearing David J. Tanzer, M.D., Commander, Medical Corps, US Navy, & a Lasik surgeon extolled the virtues of Lasik & similar refractive surgery for US troops.

http://tinyurl.com/3s6x3y for Dr. Tanzer is presentation to the FDA.

There r about 1 million Lasik surgeries throughout the world each year. If the Lasik flap was going to flap in the wind when riding in a convertible with the top down, do not u think u would have heard about it on the news? l suspect that if Tiger Woods’ Lasik flap dislodged – or the flap of other prominent sports personalities, movie stars, police, fire fighters, & others who have had successful Lasik - u would hear about it.

Although the Lasik flap does heal, the cornea is always different after Lasik. Once u have had Lasik, u have always had Lasik. Significant trauma to the eye can dislodge the Lasik flap. Fortunately this is relatively rare & if the flap is intact it can commonly be repositioned & will heal.

If u r involved in activities & sports where trauma to the face & eyes is very likely, such as a professional fighter, then Lasik may not be appropriate because of the high probability that u will suffer blows to the eye. Even if a problem is unlikely, it seems prudent to consider Lasik alternatives such as PRK, LASEK, & Epi-Lasik. These techniques, commonly known as surface ablation, do not require the Lasik flap. The patient will have a much longer vision recovery & more discomfort, but laser vision correction without a flap is available.