I just finished watching the new Final Destination movie and it was pretty funny and far fetched as usual.. The laser eye surgery scene they were making so much hype about had me interested to see what happened... If you plan on seeing it you might want to stop reading - I have tried to not give away too much....
I found it funny that the "excimer" laser was somehow red with a visible beam and the screen said "DO NOT EXCEED 5mw" it finally made it to almost 10 mw before it sliced holes in her eye and face and then through her hand instantly... now I've owned a 10 mw laser before and it never made holes in my hand In any case the laser didn't really play a major role in her death and that's all I am going to say about the movie.
I can't believe they left out the most horrifying part of laser eye surgery that awful microkeratome that slices flaps in peoples eyes.. Now that would have been a great scene
Also the beam is focused in rather shallow cone .. so the focus area is very small. Even if you exceed the power 1000 times, it would only damage the eye, probably only the cornea.
The idea was that the laser was moving around and then the she put her hand over her eye to stop it from burning her face at which point it burned a pattern in her hand... I think it takes a little more than 10 mw to burn flesh
I thought the last reading I saw was 9.8 mw but maybe I am wrong... Either way it was ridiculously low.
I hope they means watts but they meter said milliwatts for sure..
You could probbly cut flesh with less than that.. I saw Adam burn a hole in a penny with a 60 watt co2 laser but even that took 10 or more seconds..
I am sure that could cut you good if you got your hand in the beam and held it there but to do it instantly you would need a shitton of power I believe.
Hmm...Just re watched the trailer on YT. Looks like it starts at 4.9mw and goes as high as 8.2mw. (I think) Anyway maybe I was thinking of the "must not exceed 5mw" label on the readout. LOL I had Lasik. Let me tell you that beast they used on me was higher then 5mw.
The worst part was when the applied the suction to my eye to make it "pop up" for the laser to do it's slice and dic
e routine. They referred to it as a slight pressure. I refer to it as my eye ball being pulled across the room and out the door!
btw; They don't use a blade anymore for the "flap". Mine was actually cut with a laser.
Actually the worst part was that your vision goes black when they apply the pressure. This is one of those gripes I have with some medical staff. I deal with the truth so much better then omissions or "white lies".
"You are going to feel a slight stick." is *NEVER* the case.
Here it is if anyone want's to watch. Although I did find a slightly shorter version online. The laser scene was still mostly the same.
Here is a video put out by the place I had mine done. (And with my doctor even). Keep in mind I did mine back in 2004. I think the blade-less surgery was pretty new.
If you jump to around 4:40 you can see an animation of the way it was done. The thing that looks like a wrench, applies pressure and "pulls" your cornea up so it forms a nice dome for the laser to cut. :shudder:
It's the pressure that causes the temporary blindness. It only last a few moments. I can't say that I remember seeing the laser cut the flap, but I did see them use the "spatula" to fold the flap back. Kinda weird. I think I still have some of the nurse that was holding my hands, skin under my nails.
If I'm remembering the procedure correctly, I think I saw speckles when the laser was working. More of a splash then a dot or beam. I can't remember seeing much other then that though.
My vision was something like 20/250 in one eye and like 20/300 in the other eye. A week later I was seeing 20/25 in both eyes, and even this many years later (and being a diabetic to boot), I still see about 20/30. It quite literally changed my life. Best money I have EVER spent. :wave:
In any case the laser didn't really play a major role in her death and that's all I am going to say about the movie.
