Announcer: How would you like to throw away your glasses or contact lenses for good? Well, a new vision correction surgery promises just that, so CBS 2 anchor Kyle Kraska decided to see for himself.

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: Eyeglasses. More than half of America needs them to see for one reason or another, including me. In fact up here ( showing blurred picture of Kyle Kraska) is how you look to me when I’m not wearing my glasses. But that’s about to change. I’m about to have eye laser surgery. Now you’ve probably heard of that and you’re very likely curious about it, but now for the first time, you’re going to see it, every bit of it, every step of the way.

 

Kyle Kraska goes to Dr. Andrew Caster’s office.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster walking into the room: “Hi Kyle, how are you?”

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: Dr. Caster, not only has performed thousands of eye procedures, he himself has undergone LASIK — an acronym for Laser In Situ Keratomileusis.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “We use a little machine called a microkeratome to pull back the front layer of the eye, then we apply laser energy to the surface of the eye and causes the eye to change shape.”

 

Cut to Dr. Andrew Caster’s office. Kyle Kraska is having his pre-operative eye exam.
He is asked to sit at the auto refractor.

 

Optometrist performing examination at auto refractor, speaking to Kyle Kraska: “It is very important to just look all the way down at the end of the road that you see here; that’s excellent, you can sit back now.”

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: First Dr. Caster uses an auto refractor to automatically determine my focusing ability. A prescription is read right off my cornea and all I have to do is stare down a long animated desert road.

 

Kyle Kraska is asked to go to the corneal topography machine.

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: The next part of the exam involves a corneal topographer.

 

Optometrist explaining: “You’re going to be putting your chin right here (points to the chin rest), your forehead straight ahead. You’re going to see a colored light; please look straight ahead at it.”

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: The topographer tells Dr. Caster that I have astigmatism in each eye, meaning the cornea is oblong in shape, somewhat like a football.

 

Kyle Kraska asking Optometrist performing exam: “Now, can astigmatism also be corrected by the surgery?”

 

Optometrist answers: “Yes, and it will be corrected by the surgery.”

 

Kyle Kraska in exam room with Dr. Andrew Caster

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Kyle, we’re going to do some measurements now”.

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: Finally Dr. Caster performs a routine; an extensive eye exam, one like most of us have had many times.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster examining: “He asks Kyle which is better 1 or 2?”

 

Kyle Kraska: “One”

 

Kyle reporting: Well after all the testing, it is determined that my vision is about 20/1000, which means from about 20 feet away I struggle to see this (holds up the big E on the eye chart). But they tell me that once the procedure is over, I should be able to see this (holds up a very small E).

 

Less than a week later…Dr. Andrew Caster and Kyle Kraska walking into the laser room.

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: It’s now less than one week later and time for me to undergo the LASIK procedure.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster asks Kyle Kraska to remove his glasses before entering the laser room.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “That’s the last time you’ll need those.”

 

Kyle Kraska: (Smiling) “Wow, that’s a nice feeling.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Take a look at the clock Kyle.” “Can you see the clock?”

 

Kyle Kraska: “I know there’s a clock on the wall and I can kind of see some hands, but I can’t see any numbers whatsoever.”

 

Kyle narrating as the surgery is being performed

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: First both eyes get a share of numbing drops (shows Kyle lying on the surgery chair getting drops). A patch is placed over my left eye. ( shows patch being placed over left eye) Then my right eye is positioned under the laser held wide open by a speculum, so it is now impossible for me to blink. ( shows eye being positioned).

 

Dr. Andrew Caster quotes while doing surgery: “Okay, you’re going to feel a little pressure now while we do the flap, okay?” (shows Dr. Caster placing the microkeratome on his eye and creating the flap)

 

Kyle Kraska: “Okay.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Suction on.”

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: This instrument, a microkeratome is actually slicing the outer portion of my cornea, creating a flap.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Suction off.”

 

Assisting technician asks Kyle Kraska: “How are you doing?”

 

Kyle Kraska: “I’m doing great.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “That was easy?”

 

Kyle Kraska: “Yeah, very easy.”

 

Kyle reporting: This flap is gently rolled back by Dr. Caster, thus exposing the inside of my cornea. It is this inside portion of my cornea that the laser will re-shape, and in doing so, correct my nearsightedness and my astigmatism.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Okay, look right into the center of the light.” (Asking the technician) “How many seconds is this treatment going to be?”

 

Technician: “34 seconds.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “34 seconds, Kyle. Okay here we go.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster begins administering laser treatment:

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: The clicking noises you hear are the excimer laser treating my eye. Now this laser is extremely precise. Take a look at an actual human hair etched by the excimer laser. (showing a picture of etched hair)
Best of all, I’m feeling absolutely no pain or sensation during this laser treatment, yet with every click, my vision is improving and that red dot I’m staring at is getting clearer.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster finished with the laser treatment.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster quoting: “That’s it, that’s all it takes.”

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: There was absolutely no pain whatsoever. The eye has an amazing ability to heal; in fact the initial healing of my cornea will just take a few hours. Dr. Caster repeated all of the same steps for my left eye and it was over in less than 20 minutes.

 

Kyle Kraska gets up from the surgery chair and walks out of the laser room.

 

Kyle Kraska: (Smiling) “Whew.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “You’ve just had you’re eye’s fixed.”

 

Kyle Kraska: (Smiling, looking somewhat amazed) “Thank you Dr. Caster.” (Shakes Dr. Caster’s hand)

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Here turn around, let’s take a look at the clock.”

 

Kyle Kraska: (Still smiling, turn’s around to look at the clock) “WOW 12, 1,2,3, I know I’ve got the memorized, but I can see the clock.” (Laughing)

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “It’s pretty clear now isn’t it?”

 

Kyle Kraska: “It’s amazing.” (Still smiling)

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: Amazing indeed, but the true test came the very next day.

 

The Next day Kyle Kraska comes into the office for his one-day post-operative visit.

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Okay, lets check the left eye now.”

 

Kyle Kraska: “Okay.” (Taking the eye exam test) “That’s uh, F Z B D.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “That’s 20/40, that’s what you need to pass you’re drivers test.”

 

Kyle Kraska: “That’s crystal clear.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “Okay, here we go.” (Moving the eye chart to the next level)

 

Kyle Kraska: “T Z V E.”

 

Dr. Andrew Caster: “That’s 20/20 in both eyes.” (Kyle begins laughing)

 

Kyle Kraska reporting: My vision is even sharpened since then, as good as 20/10 in my left eye.

 

Kyle Kraska, CBS Channel 2 News.